"Phisherman" wrote in message
news
The house next to mine is abandoned and skunks are living under the
rotten deck, or perhaps even inside the house. I don't care about
that, but now my back deck smells of skunk when the wind blows a
certain direction. I called the City Animal Control and they said
they can't do anything about it since it is not my property. Then I
called the city manager and someone came out to take a look, but that
was 3 months ago. The owner is paid up with property tax so the city
will not do anything. I'd prefer not to break any laws. Am I stuck?
We have red fox and hawks, but not sure if they will bother a skunk.

I had a family of skunks living under a deck that was built on the ground;
when they were under it (between the joists) they didn't have enough room to
lift their tails. They'd come out every night at dusk and back home by
daylight. I tried everything: ammonia soaked rags, broken glass in between
the joists and where they came in and out, moth balls, a liquid guaranteed
to get rid of skunks--nothing helped. So in the end we decided to live and
let live. They were right under our feet, we could see then through the
spaces between the decking. No matter what we did during the day--walked
the deck, ate on it, swept it, washed it down with a hose we never had a
problem with the skunks (at least four of them)--I guess they were willing
to put up with us in exchange for such a nice dry place to live (deck was
covered by a trailer canopy). BTW, no smell; before the summer was out they
decided to relocate on their own.
Maybe, as suggested, a continuous loud radio noise would be a worthwhile
thing to try---anyway, good luck.
MLD