Worrying about pesky invaders in your home is never a fun situation. As a homeowner, you will always have the fear of various rodents, insects, and other creatures gaining access to your home. Your best bet is to hire a pest control company for some preventative maintenance. If you aren’t sure how to classify a creature, do some research or call on your local pest control team. One area that most homeowners are unfamiliar with would be skunks. Are skunks rodents? No, they are not rodents and are consumers of rodents. More like the weasel family, such as wolverines.
Let’s take a look below at some more details regarding skunks.
What Are Skunks?
Believe it or not, skunks are not rodents. They have distinct markings like white stripes. Depending on where you live, you will see striped skunks or spotted skunks. The main similarities between skunks and rodents would be their small face and body types. Also, they are omnivorous and nocturnal, like rodents. Keep in mind that in the hierarchy of creature classifications, skunks and rodents are in different orders.
Additionally, skunks’ teeth are very different. They do not continue to grow like in rodents. This means that they do not need to continuously gnaw things.
Consider a skunk a small mammal that is well-known in the United States. Skunks are notorious for living in woodlands, grasslands, deserts, forests, and other urban areas.
What Do They Eat?
If you are looking to keep skunks away, eliminating their food source is a great start. To accomplish this task, you will need to know what they like to eat. Believe it or not, they eat mice, rats, grubs and worms, insects, bird eggs, and other small rodents.
What If I Get Sprayed?
The best thing to do is stay far away from a skunk. However, in some cases, this is not possible. Skunk spray is a foul-smelling scent. You will want to use hydrogen peroxide to help alleviate the scent. In some cases, taking a bath in tomato juice is recommended.
Other Recommended Maintenance
Now that you have learned a skunk is not a rodent, you can research more about skunks. For example, do skunks come out during the day? This is important information to know if you are experiencing a skunk problem in or around your home.
Next, another rodent to read up on that can be a nuisance to homeowners are moles. Are moles good for the yard? In most cases, yes, they eat a lot of insects and can control the insect population in your yard. The downside, they can dig so many tunnels that your yard is no longer stable.
Lastly, before you go exploring the woods or high grasses in your yard, make sure to protect yourself from ticks. Ticks are prevalent in a lot of areas and can cause you harm.
When Do I Call A Professional?
Getting rid of a skunk’s nest in your yard is not exactly a weekend project. You will want to reach out to a professional pest control company to assist with this project. Not only do they have the experience in relocating the skunk, but they also have the proper clothing to do so.
Conclusion
Skunks are great for your yard if they are simply eating the bugs and rodents that are causing a problem. However, you risk the possibility of getting sprayed or having your pets sprayed by a skunk. This is not a welcoming scent and will need to be immediately attended to. Reach out to Inside and Out Pest Services in Jacksonville, FL, and surrounding areas to get your pest inspection done today.
