Welcoming the unwelcome

Welcoming the unwelcome
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published June 11,2003

June Dallas has a stinker of a visitor at her home. In fact, she has 11 of them, and she doesn't mind one bit.

An entire family of baby skunks was born underneath the garden shed at Dallas' Rumble Street home last month, and the longtime south Burnaby resident is absolutely ecstatic.

"If you didn't know they were skunks, you'd think they act just like kittens," Dallas said. "They play, they rassle, and they chew on things."

And, while many people might be reluctant to allow the most famous stinker in the animal kingdom to live right outside their back door, Dallas is actually encouraging her little critters by feeding them cat food and making sure they have lots of water.

"I don't think they would have survived if I hadn't fed them," Dallas said. "And our yard is very private. I don't think the neighbours know."

Dallas, who's lived for 20 years in the quiet neighbourhood near Rumble and Royal Oak, said she first noticed something was happening in her backyard at the end of April when momma skunk began traipsing through the yard and heading into a hole underneath her garden shed.

Although she initially tried covering up the hole, the skunk persisted and eventually began tearing up the weeds to take underground with her. That's when Dallas became convinced that her visitor was building a nest.

But nothing prepared her for the day when a 'surfeit' of 10 baby skunks popped their heads out of the hole and began scurrying about with their mommy.

"It was the second week in May when she first brought those babies out," Dallas said. Now, I don't get anything done when they come out. And they're getting big, so fast."

And this is not Dallas' first encounter with wildlife in her central Burnaby home. The house, which she said was built atop a 100- year-old foundation, has been frequented by squirrels for many years and those little animals are now trained well enough to climb right through the front door to get their peanuts.

"I think it's the neatest thing," she said of her animal visitors. "One day they will be gone, because there isn't much wild land left for them around here. That's why they come here."

Now, after more than a month of getting to know each other, Dallas can walk within three feet of mother skunk and she still hasn't triggered that most famous defence system - the thick and musky smell.

Officials at the city SPCA shelter refused to comment on Dallas' intention of keeping the skunks around, however, they admit that most people simply want to know how to get rid of the creatures. Their advice? Call a pest control company to have the wild animals humanely removed from their property.

And the folks at the Wildlife Rescue Association caution against feeding the animals both because of their smell, and because it might make the animals dependent on humans.

"If someone wants to keep them at her place their place until the babies are old enough to leave, that's fine. But don't encourage them," said Roy Teo. "It's never a good idea to habituate them or to have them associate people with food."

To encourage the skunks to move on, the WRA recommends sealing off their nest area - leaving only one exit - and taking other measures to encourage the wild animals to leave.

Seal the nest by burying wire mesh around the area, burying the mesh at least 12 inches (30 cm) underground. The mesh should also be extended in a L-shape, extended forward to a distance of about eight inches (20 cm).

Because skunks are nocturnal, they can be further encouraged to move on simply by shining a bright trouble light into their nest at night, by having music played into their nest, or by leaving a sealed container of ammonia near their habitat. (Soak a clean rag with household ammonia, deposit the rag into a four-litre ice cream bucket, then seal the bucket and place it near the nest, again remembering to leave room for the animals to exit.)

And should the skunks ever let loose with the only defense system they have - that awful smell - the following recipe should remove the odour of that musk. Mix together one-quarter of a cup (65 ml) of baking soda, one teaspoon (five ml) of common dishwashing liquid, and one quart (one litre) hydrogen peroxide (3 per cent). Remove all jewelry and apply the mixture to the affected area while the mixture is foaming. But be careful, sensitive skin may be irritated by the concoction.