Baby skunks rescued in Pittsfield: What should you do if you get 'skunked'

Yahoo

7 days ago

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – An animal control officer rescued some little, but stinky, animals in Pittsfield.
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The Pittsfield Police Department Animal Control Unit rescued six baby skunks, or kits, and took them to a local wildlife rehabilitator. They will receive the care they need and will be released back into the wild when they are old enough.
As the weather continues to climb, it is important to be on the lookout for skunks as they emerge during warmer temperatures. According to Mass.gov, the striped skunk is a common mammal that is found in Massachusetts.
Skunks can be found everywhere and are similar in size to domestic cats, weighing 6 to 14 pounds. They typically have a black coat with white stripes down their nape and split into two white stripes on the back. No skunk has the same white stripes as a human fingerprint.
Breeding season is usually from February through March, and in late April to early June, the moms will excavate a den and give birth to 2–10 kits. Striped skunks are usually docile mammals that tolerate humans nearby without showing aggression. The most distinguishing characteristic is how they can direct a stream or spray of musk as far as 10 feet from paired anal glands.
Skunks become active when the temperatures at night are above 30 degrees, as they search for food and stretch their legs.
They can thrive in suburban and urban areas, so if you want to make your property less attractive to skunks and avoid having any problems, follow these basic practices:
Remain Calm: Should you encounter a skunk, speak softly and move away to give it room to leave. Once you back away, the skunk will no longer feel threatened and will move off. If it doesn't, try clapping your hands and making some noise from a safe distance.
Secure Your Garbage: Skunks will raid open trash materials and compost piles. Secure your garbage in tough plastic containers with tight-fitting lids and keep them in secure buildings when possible. Take out trash the morning pick-up is scheduled, not the previous night. Keep compost piles in containers designed to contain but vent the material.
Keep Bird Feeder Areas Clean: Use feeders designed to keep seeds off the ground as the seeds can attract skunks. Remove bird feeders if skunks are seen regularly around your yard.
Pet Owners: To help prevent your pet from being sprayed, turn on a flood light and check your yard for skunks before letting your dog out at night. Additionally, feed pets indoors. Outdoor feeding attracts skunks and other wild animals.
If you get 'skunked,' taking a bath or shower should be your first step for removing the smell, states healthline.com. In scientific terms, this means that you'll be attempting to oxidize the thiols into sulfonic acids, which have little to no skunk smell. Wash your entire body with deodorant soap or a grease-cutting dish detergent. Also, wash your hair with a shampoo made for oily hair.
You can also soak in a baking-soda bath for about 15 to 20 minutes:
Pour 2 to 4 cups of baking soda into hot water.
Rinse to remove the residue from your skin.
Tomato juice is a common at-home remedy that most think works at getting the smell out; however, if you take a bath in tomato juice, it will just mask the smell, not get rid of it, according to howstuffworks.com. This is called olfactory fatigue, which is just another way of saying that your nose gets accustomed to a scent after a while. When your nose stops detecting the skunk spray, the smell of the tomato juice tricks you into thinking it must have taken care of the problem.
You can also try a peroxide bath. Mix one quart of three percent hydrogen peroxide, one teaspoon mild dishwashing detergent, and 1/4 cup baking soda in a bucket. Lather, rinse, repeat. This can work on both dogs and humans.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
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