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Once the animals and their young are out of the house, remove the nest and locate any entry points. Some may be difficult to find because some animals can fit through very small holes. Once you’ve located as many entry points as possible, use materials such as metal or masonry to block off the entry. Ideally, you should choose materials that most animals cannot chew through. Create a one-way door or flap to allow animals to leave but not return. Additional methods include using repellants designed to make an area unappealing to the types of animals that find your home so inviting. 

Skunks spray as a defense mechanism to ward off predators. The active ingredient in their sulfurous, oily musk is n-butyl mercaptan, which evaporates into a powerful and smelly gas. Once the spray hits the skunk’s target, the stench can linger for days, and water and common cleaning kits aren’t enough to wash it away.

If you happen upon a skunk in your yard, try to back away slowly to reduce the chance of them aiming at you. Encouragingly, they don’t use their weapon casually, as it can take up to 10 days for their life-saving weaponry to refill. Paw stamping, hissing, lifting their tail, and arching their back are early signs they feel trapped or under threat and that it’s time to make a careful retreat.

Squirrels are pretty skittish creatures, and they dread the presence of rodent-chasing dogs and cats. Sudden noises and bursts of activity can send them scampering away. Anything with an element of surprise, like motion-detecting lighting, strobe lights, and noisy wind chimes, can unsettle them. Even loud radios and voices can be perceived as threatening and terrifying to these furry critters.

Squirrels tend to forage, traveling along roof and fence lines. To trap a squirrel, placing a baited trap on the roof near the point of entry is the best option. If you can see them going in and out or recognize the damage they might be causing to the exterior of your home, you can also try placing traps near those locations.