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To keep animals away from your trash, you can spray store-bought ammonia-based cleaners on the bag or make your own spray. All you need is a spray bottle with one part ammonia and one part water. Once you’ve sprayed the bags, keep your kids and pets away.

A solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water or a disinfecting product that contains phenol (such as Lysol) is known to kill hantavirus and other pathogens found in mouse urine and feces. Simply spray this solution over and around the locations you expect mice to be living and running through, and the homemade disinfectant will do its job to rid your home of any feces and urine particles you could be exposed to.

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.

There are several ways to make your yard a less attractive habitat for moles. Protect your garden beds by installing a fence or other barrier about 2 to 3 feet deep around your garden.

Moles eat insects, so grub removal is another important way to prevent moles from destroying your yard.

Likewise, remove tree stumps, dead leaves, and other debris that attract insects to your lawn. Some plants will deter moles as well, including daffodils, marigolds, crown imperial, and alliums, like garlic or onions.