How to Keep Skunks Away from Your Garage

If you’ve ever gone outside and smelled that unique skunk smell you know how pungent and hard to get rid of it can be. If a skunk sprays around your garage, or gets into your garage and sprays, getting rid of that odor can be a real challenge.

The best way to prevent that skunk smell is to keep skunks away from your yard and garage so they don’t get close enough to your garage.  In order to figure out how to keep skunks away from your garage and outbuildings, you should know these things about skunks:

Skunks are Foragers

Skunks will dig all over your yard looking for their supper. They will dig holes looking for small animals to eat like moles or mice. Look around your property and your yard for noticeable holes. Finding holes around your property is an indication that you probably have skunks and squirrels camping. Skunks are also attracted to a property where there are food sources from trees and plants.

That means if you have a garden full of vegetables or fruits near your property, especially near your garage, that can attract skunks. Skunks are very attracted to garages when homeowners store their trash cans next to the garage or in the garage until the weekly trash pickup.

Skunks will dig under the plants in your garden, steal seeds and pieces of fruit that fall from fruit trees, and generally eat anything they can find. Once they know that your property has food, they will come back, and they might bring friends.

Skunks are Crafty

Skunks want more than just food from your property. They may be looking for a safe and warm place to take up residence. Skunks can be creative when it comes to finding shelter from the elements and if they have identified your property as a good food source, they might be looking to move in so they can be closer to the buffet.

Skunks can live in holes under your garage or outbuildings, in woodpiles or underbrushes, in bushes and hedges, and if they can find a way in, they will definitely move into your garage or basement. They’re pretty good at hiding so you might not see them but you will definitely be able to smell them. Even if they don’t spray, they will still leave behind a distinct musky odor that will let you know that skunks are living on your property.

How to Keep Skunks Away

Now you know what skunks are looking for: food and shelter. So the best way to keep them away from your garage and property is to make sure that they won’t find either food or shelter on your property.

If they can’t find the food they need or a good place to take shelter they will move on to the next piece of property looking for what they need to get through the winter. A few of the things that you should do in order to make your property less attractive and accessible to skunks are:

Check Your Garage Door

If the walls of your garage are in good condition the only place that the skunks would be able to get into the garage would be through the door. Make sure that the doors of your garage are tight and locked. Keep them locked. Also, check to make sure that it’s not possible for skunks to dig underneath the doors and go in that way.

They are great diggers and if you have a dirty driveway or have a dirty walkway leading to a side door on the garage, they can dig through that dirt to get under the door. Consider putting in paving stones or pouring a concrete driveway if you have problems with skunks getting into your garage.

You should do a walk around your garage and inspect the walls to make sure that skunks aren’t digging underneath and that there are no cracks or holes where they could be getting inside the garage. Repair any problems with the walls of the garage to keep the skunks out.

Seal Any Windows

Windows can be as good as doors for skunks, especially low windows or windows in the doors of your garage. Double check to make sure the windows are sealed tightly and fit tightly into the frame so that a skunk can’t knock them out or knock them loose enough to get through them into the garage.

Store Trash Inside the Garage

Once you’re sure that there is no way the skunks could be getting inside the garage, you should put your trash and recycling bins inside the garage until trash day. Keep them in tightly closed cans, just in case a skunk manages to get inside the garage.

If they can’t get any food they will probably leave even if they do manage to get inside. Take the trash out each week and don’t let it accumulate in the garage. The longer the trash sits, the more attractive it will be to skunks and other critters. If you have to keep your trash cans outside of the garage or near your house make sure that you use trash cans that have tightly locking lids and always keep the lids closed.

Pick Up Vegetation

Skunks don’t just eat garbage. They are also attracted to seeds, plants, fruit, and other vegetation. If you have fruit trees or plants near the garage, make sure that you sweep up or pick up all the droppings from the trees and plants especially seeds or whole pieces of fruit that fall from the trees. You might need to sweep daily during some seasons of the year but that’s much better than having skunks coming by on a regular basis for a meal.

If you have a garden near the garage, then it’s time to build a fence or wall it off so that it’s much more difficult for the skunks to invade. If you’re planning on starting a vegetable garden create a garden plot that is far away from your home and garage so that you don’t get critters like skunks invading the garage trying to find shelter close to the food source that is your garden.

You should also clear up any brush or clippings that are in your yard. Keep your hedges and shrubs neatly trimmed and pick up branches and other foliage that falls down. Skunks are attracted to woodpiles, brush piles, and other possible sources of shelter that could be close to your home and garage.

Keeping your yard neat and tidy and free of brush and debris will make your property less likely to catch the attention of any skunks in the area. If you’re diligent and thorough, you can make sure that your property is one that won’t provide shelter or food for any skunks in the area and they will move on.

What About Your Garage?

Your skunk problem can be solved once you clean around your property and get rid of fruit, seeds, and vegetables surrounding your garage. However, your garage is too small for storage and the roof is slowly on the brink of collapse. Are you thinking about a newly detached gable, reverse gable or a hip roof garage?

Well, now is the time to go with Danley’s for a brand new garage that can be customized to any size and style that you’ll like. At Danley’s, we’ve constructed over 100,000 custom detached garages around Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Speak to a specialist and get a free quote today.