Skunk Bait for live trap in machine shed

Backed the combine into the machine shed and drove a couple of tractors in for the night and what do you know; the prettiest skunk was in the shed too. I went to the house and got my pistol, but Mr. Skunk was gone. I borrowed a live trap, but what is the best thing to use for bait?

try dog food or grubs

Poison them with a mixture of Golden link_disallowed and Mountain Dew
They wont make it 20 ft.

wwell obammma was in madison at a $3,000 a plate fund raiser so I would suggest a $100 Bill ought to do the job let me know if it works....

Probably best thing to do is just let the skunk be. If you get it in a trap then what. If you shoot the thing inside then you will have stink for a long time in your shed. stan

Just for fun let's say you find the right bait and actually catch this skunk in a LIVE trap. Then what? Who are you going to get to go anywhere near a metal wire cage with a WILD skunk in it?

we used sardines or bread with a little oil from them.

Make sure you use a trap like a closed in rabbit trap with a screened open end, If they can't see you you are not a threat.

A full grown skunk cannot spray in a low rabbit trap as it can't get its tail up .

When I lived in town caught several that way .-- police would put them in their trunk . take em to a safe area and use em for target practice -- only lost one trap because he shot it just as it cleared the door.

I caught a skunk last weekend and relocated it after adding some weight to it. Cat food or dog food works pretty good for most of the varmints. Set the trap outside so that you can get a clear shot without putting a hole in the combine or some valuable. Then wait till rigor mortis sets in and relocate.

Thanks to the housing development behind my barn . I can not safely shoot the ground hog who as taken up residency under the wood floor that I put in to keep tractors off of the dirt. So far this year I have trapped 3 skunks and one big coon in a have a hart trap.I gave the skunks a orange spot of paint that is how I know it is not the same dumb skunk. To remove a Skunk Just toss a sheet over the trap then relocate it some place else . I then flip up the front of the sheet open the door then from the back side I pull the sheet off and the Skunk goes on his marry way . I have not been sprayed with this method yet. The coon gave me some trouble and was growling and pawing at me. I told him my 22 will change this out come if he did not settle down.He must of recognized the smell of Hopps cleaner and new I was not kidding about the out come as he then did settle down so I could open the door.

MARSHMALLOWS

If the shed is fairly air tight why not run a flexible tube from a gas engine in there with the doors closed? If you do shoot a skunk, just bury it. The smell will go away quickly. If there's a market for skunk hides, you can dig him up after three days, maybe less. No smell.

Stinky fish cat food, from a can works pretty good. I'd figger a way to turn him loose, at an external_link rally, he'd be right at home with all the other skunks! Seriously, no critter can swim, wearing a havahart trap, just drop him in the water, come back an hour later, and release him. He will be very cooperative by then.

Marshmellows mixed with peanutbutter works best here in Az.

I used to use cat food but caught to many cats.
Peanut butter works too. I have 5 or 6 large hava-hart traps and have trapped 100s over the years.
Just cover the trap with something so he can't see you "I use an old beach towel with a slot cut in it for the handle" and you can gently move him to a new location to take care of business.
With all the development around here, I trap a lot of groundhogs squirrels and skunks (mostly in the Spring and Fall)for people all over town.

Just another way to supplement my retirement.

Caught another skunk overnight. Going to see how this one works out, same game plan as before.

I'm with DiyDave, fishy smelling food. I typically use a bit of tuna and make some tuna salad with the rest and eat a sandwich while awaiting the skunk to be caught.

Be sure to have a piece of tarp or something to lay over the trap for moving it peacefully.

Release the skunk at lest 5 miles from your property. They have a large range and may visit you only once every few weeks.

Dad has caught everything from possums to coons to a badger, a fox, and a skunk with an apple for bait. Don't use fish or catfood, or all you will catch are cats. If no one objects to your disposal methods, you will eventually run out of cats.

Thank you everyone for the skunk bait tips. I tried marshmellows with peanut butter and caught one cat. I'm going to try sliced apples next.

Thanks, again.

I laid a tarp over a trap after catching a skunk. It left a smell on the tarp and when I was driving down the road, the tarp blew loose and no way was I going to fix it.

I found that you can slide your trap into a black trash bag. Close the drawstring around the entrance. It will look like a natural hole to them.

Easy to pick up and move and retie the drawstring to close it up. I moved the last one I trapped. The trash bag is handy if you are one of those who puts it by their exhaust pipe or sticks the end of their propane torch into it unlit for a gas chamber. Or like they used to do in the hospital, spray some starting fluid/ether in there to knock them out till you move them.

Oppossums are a bugger to get out of the trap if you move them, they just dig in their claws even if you hold it upside down. It takes a while to shake them out. Skunks will walk out quicker but the trick is trying open the hatch without it tripping again. I got another piece of wire run through the top so I can pull open the hatch, latch the hatch open with the wire, and run like heck till the skunk leaves.

Skunks, when trapped, will try to dig their way out the bottom and will leave a mess of the ground plus the bottom of your bag. But you can still pick up the trap as it can't see you and slip another bag over it without any spraying. Next time I'll probably use some ether as well.