How to keep skunks out of my garden

Do you know skunks?
Skunks are types of mammals that are well known for having ability to spray a strong odor liquid. Skunks are of different species that can be identified by their appearance from brown, cream to black and white but all possess warning colors. The scientific name for skunk is Mephitidae Carniformia.

Keeping the skunks out of your garden
Skunks do feed on insects, small rodents, lizards, eggs, fungi, leaves, nuts and other types of seeds and crops and fruits. Their feeding habit changes seasonally. Suppose you have such crops and seeds in your garden, they will definitely attract skunks. For this reason, there are ways which you can use to prevent these destructive animals from interfering with your garden as discussed below.

Fence
This is regarded to be the best approach to keep the skunks away from your garden. When you put cages around the plants, using netting method to cover the berries, you will eliminate food access for the skunks hence discouraging hem from visiting your garden.

Use stinging nettle
Plants such as Urtica Dioica can actually prevent the skunks from accessing your garden. In the leaves of this plant, there are pointy sharp hairs that normally break off and produce a liquid when the plant is disturbed. These sharp hairs and the liquid createpainful stinging and burning. Other plants like Crown imperial also produce flowers with an unpleasant scene to skunk rodents and even some individuals.

Treat your garden
Skunks feed on insects and some of these insects feed on the leaves, stems or roots of the plants in your garden, and are commonly known as pests. This will form a food chain hence the skunks will be attracted to your garden because of food. Therefore, it is advised to treat your garden for insect. Keeping insects such as bugs and worms, which are skunks favorite under control, will discourage skunks from visiting your garden due to lack of food for them.

Traps
Traps can be used to catch the animals such as skunks and then relocating them to a better place far away from your garden. Narrow and turbulent- shaped traps will keep them calm and prevent them from spraying. Use berries or nuts, or any other food as bait and place the traps in the path followed by skunks or in the garden.