North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

They lived on our old property, but I never worried about them.  In the
garden, they'll eat cutworms, grubs, all kinds of beetles, grasshoppers, and
small rodents. They may leave holes just like you describe, but they do more
good than harm.  They're nocturnal unless food is very scarce, so I didn't
run across them except when they would sneak onto the porch to eat the cat
food.  If you stay out of the garden at night, you probably won't see them.
They can and will eat garden produce, such as strawberries, but they much
prefer grubs and bugs, and will turn to berries only if such other food is
scarce.
As far as spraying, it's not something they like to do.  They'll do it when
threatened; so people will experience dogs getting skunked, and young
foolish boys, but you don't find many skunkified deer or grownups.  Walking
by would not usually be a threat requiring chemical warfare; barking and
growling, or poking with a stick, would draw a response.
This may not be a new problem.  They could have been leaving your
strawberries alone for years, and recently found the dog food.  If they do
eat some strawberries, it might be easier to attract them away rather than
shoo them away.  You could leave some pet food out away from the berries.  I
would wait until if and when you have actually berry damage attributable to
the skunks, as pet food is a favorite treat, and may increase your skunk
population. If you continue feeding the dogs outside, don't give them more
than they'll eat in one session. 

~ Stephen
  

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jim Fruth
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 6:17 AM
To: NAFEX
Subject: [NAFEX] War on Skunks

    Pet food had been disappearing overnight for several weeks so I decided 
to put a live trap out to see who my nocturnal visitors were.  The trap was 
sprung several times before I caught a (young) skunk - now they won't go 
near the live trap or the bait (dog food) that we used.  Once we saw momma 
skunk scurrying out of the yard (under a gate).
    I put sills under all of the gates and now they are burrowing under the 
woven wire fence.  When I plug one hole, they burrow another.  I can't put 
sills under 1,000+ feet of fence.  I baited them with Decon Rat Poison mixed

in jelly and they ate the jelly leaving the Decon pellets.
    The skunks don't seem to be doing any damage but the thought of 
accidentally running into one gives me the creeps.  I have water set out for

the honeybees (I have three hives) but the water bowls are atop 5-gallon 
pails; can skunks reach that high?  Could they be in the orchard because of 
being able to get a regular drink?  Otherwise, the worst damage they have 
done (besides the under-the-fence-holes) is tiny holes as though they dug up

an acorn that some squirrel might have hidden.  The strawberries will be 
ripe soon and I wonder if they will eat them.  What would you do in this 
situation?

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell] 

_______________________________________________
nafex mailing list 
nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed.
This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web
sites.
Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have
permission!

**YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!**
Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded.
No exceptions.  
----
To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used
to change other email options):
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex

File attachments are NOT stripped by this list.
TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
Please do not send binary files.
Use plain text ONLY in emails!

NAFEX web site:   http://www.nafex.org/