Do mothballs or ammonia help repel skunks?

Some of the most traditional but outdated methods of repelling skunks in the world today include the use of mothballs and ammonia compounds. For some reasons, these substances may be temporarily effective, especially when they have just be applied fresh. The substances rely on their offensive odors to repel activities of animals, including skunks who can burrow and search for foods in places where they are not wanted.



The strength of the odor released by mothballs and ammonia when they are first applied can be very strong, however, the potencies of such substances dissipate as time goes on. When mothball and ammonia are applied in open places, the effect of air, and moisture can create a rapid loss of the potency of the substances, thus they eventually become too weak to have effect of repelling the animals. In places where rainfall are high , it becomes a waste of time applying mothballs or ammonia to repel skunks, therefore the substances can be seasonal in nature.

Aside from losing their powers rapidly due to wind and moisture, ammonia and mothball will require continuous application over a long period of time. Their application, thus, can be expensive and time consuming. When you consider the effort you will make in applying hundreds of cans of ammonia or mothball on a small piece of land, you will definitely want to give up and consider other alternatives such as trapping.

One other reason why you may want to ignore the use of mothball or ammonia is the fact that they require a professional application. Wrongful application of these substances can result in waste of time and money. Also the health risks of other animals such as your pet , eating foods that accidentally come in contact with ammonia and mothball are high. Food poisoning may be triggered when pet food come in contact with ammonia or mothballs- even the smallest particle of these substance can cause a significant food poisoning symptom in animals.

Eventually, skunks will learn to create pathways from areas treated with ammonia and mothballs, and that means they can migrate to other places within your property to wreak havoc. It is ideal to use effective methods of animal control, such as exclusion fencing, and trapping, as such methods have been proven for centuries to be dependable and highly effective in getting rid of nuisance animals from private places.

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