Have you ever been sprayed by a skunk? How’d it happen? What was it like trying to remove the smell and live with the odor? How long until you didn’t stink anymore?
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Mythbusters had an episode about if tomato juice removes skunk spray. It doesn’t, not very well. Water is also bad, it activates the scent. A mix of 1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide, a quarter cup of baking soda, and 1-2 tablespoons liquid soap works best, out of the things they tried.
Never been personally sprayed, but if anyone trips over this thread looking for advice, hopefully that can help them. Again: WATER MAKES IT WORSE. Don’t try to wash it off with water. Tomato juice isn’t very effective, but may help a little since it’s acidic.
(I did stink up our backyard with a roadkill skunk, once. I wanted to see if it was fresh enough to skin. It was not. I had wind blowing in my face as I was bringing it from the road to the yard, so I didn’t realize it was not-fresh until I got into the yard and the wind stopped. We quadruple-bagged it and the trash can still reeked for months afterward. Skunk spray and rot is a bad combination.)
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I regret to say that I have been skunked a few times, always because of an inquisitive dog. @fishkeeper is correct. Hydrogen peroxide, sodium bicarbonate, detergent and patience are your best option. Be prepared for people to suddenly remember important business elsewhere when you sit down beside them, for a while.
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Yup, hydrogen peroxide. When I was a kid, our dark grey dog had highlights from all the hydrogen peroxide he needed because he got skunked all the time.
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I have been (many years ago), and it was quite my fault: my sister and I were on horseback, we saw a skunk, and we decided to chase it. It responded defensively.
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Also, this is a related question that I think people may have opinions about:
Is a skunk poisonous? (and/or venomous)
Most people would say at first that skunks aren’t poisonous, but they also fit the definition of a poisonous/venomous animal: they have chemical compounds that cause severe adverse reactions that discourage predation.
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I could be mistaken, but I think I recall the only mammal(ish) animal that is truly venomous is a male duck-billed platypus?
Causing a noxious reaction … I’m not sure is the same as venomous. If it was, then any animal that caused allergic reactions could be considered venomous or poisonous. People with severe cat, dog, or chicken allergies, may feel differently; But I don’t think we can say a dog is venomous, even if it makes some people sick.
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I thought I remembered that some shrews were venomous, looking it up apparently slow lorises and arguably vampire bats are as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venomous_mammal
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This gives me a whole new perspective on Perry the Platypus…
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Don’t forget the Solenodon, with grooved incisors for delivering the venom.
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by definition, venom is injected via a bite or sting with fangs, spurs etc
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Wow this thread took a turn!
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A solenodon is just a very big shrew.
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I’m not sure how you’re defining shrew, but a taxonomist would emphatically not say a solenodon is a very big shrew. Shrews are Family Soricidae and solenodons are Family Solenodontidae. Solenodons are not even the closest relatives of shrews – hedgehogs and moles are closer.
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No, I wouldn’t recommend eating any scent gland, if you eat dog’s perianal glands you won’t feel much better, plus it’s disgusting anyway.
I almost got sprayed once.
Any particularly memorable skunkings? Or memorable reactions folks had to smelling you afterward?
Hope the two of you didn’t have to share a tomato juice bath.
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I have not been directly skunked but I have been been “second-hand skunked” by many dogs. I find the most effective treatment is a product called “Skunk Off”.
Personally, I only mind the intense, fresh skunk spray. After a few days I find it mildly pleasant!
A memorable experience I had with one of our dogs, Herschel, was letting him out at 1 am to go to the bathroom and he came back gagging and with his face literally dripping with skunk spray. I was not thrilled and gave him a quick bath and then off to a dog crate in the woodshop to sleep it off.
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Aw, poor pup, but I agree with you about faint or days old skunk odor. It’s a nice smell.
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