# Animal ID or prevention?



## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

From the size and insect content, I'd say either skunk or possum. Try spraying one of the oil based cayenne pepper repellents around the area.


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Can you put a portable security camera under there for a night or two? Hook it up to a tv in the house. 

I got mine from www.x10.com. Maybe someone you know has one you can borrow.


----------



## johnnyboy (Oct 8, 2007)

BataviaJim said:


> I'm afraid it might be a skunk, and I don't know how I'd deal with a live skunk in a trap on my porch.


You can cover the trap with a heavy blanket/tarp, if they can't see what's going on and you're gentle they likely :thumbup: won't spray...


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

> You can cover the trap with a heavy blanket/tarp, if they can't see what's going on and you're gentle they likely won't spray...


Just don't have your cell phone on you as you approach the cage. There's almost a 100% chance someone will call when you're about 2 ft. from the skunk. 

The phone will startle the skunk, causing it to spray.

Instead of saying "hello" into the phone, you'll be screaming.

The caller will hear you screaming and ...... LOL


----------



## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

I've always put hot pepper powder down to keep animals away
Worked wonders on the neighbors dog at the last house


----------



## BataviaJim (Dec 26, 2008)

*Thanks for the suggestions*



gma2rjc said:


> Can you put a portable security camera under there for a night or two? Hook it up to a tv in the house.


I don't know anyone who has a security camera, but maybe I could get a webcam and connect it to a laptop. There's a couple windows looking onto the porch so the laptop could be safely inside.



johnnyboy said:


> You can cover the trap with a heavy blanket/tarp, if they can't see what's going on and you're gentle they likely won't spray


That might work. The trap I have here is too small for a skunk (chipmunk size) but I can get the bigger one from my parents. Of course if it sprays when it realizes it's trapped, even though I wouldn't get hit it'll still stink up the porch for a while. I did a quick search and people on the Internet say that the smell lasts from a few weeks up to a few months. That would put quite a damper on our summer enjoyment of the porch...



Scuba_Dave said:


> I've always put hot pepper powder down to keep animals away. Worked wonders on the neighbors dog at the last house


Our porch is about 25ft long so it would take a lot of pepper to cover the whole area. The critter appears to walk along the whole thing, as we find poop all along it. (I mean that there's only one or two droppings per night, but they're left at various spots along the whole porch.)



ratherbefishin said:


> Try spraying one of the oil based cayenne pepper repellents around the area.


I'm looking for something like this now.


----------



## BataviaJim (Dec 26, 2008)

*Update*

We also have an enclosed side porch, about 20' around the corner from the front porch. It's raised about 8" off the ground, and long ago I put a mesh fencing-like material around the bottom to keep leaves from blowing underneath. Today I noticed that the mesh was pushed in along most of one side. There's been something going under there, and it's bigger than a chipmunk or squirrel. I suspect that skunk(s) may have settled there. I tried looking but even with a flashlight it's too dark and has a lot of leaves. I couldn't see or hear anything but it would have had to move for me to spot it. So I may have an issue not only of keeping it off the front porch but also relocating it from the other porch.


----------



## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

Havahart Critter Ridder would probably be the easiest to find. Or you can do what I did a couple years ago. Mix about 8 oz of cayenne, 4 oz of garlic powder, a quart of canola oil and a quart of vinegar, emulsify it in a blender (yup, cayenne vinaigrette:devil2, and spray it under and all around the perimeter of the house with a hand pump garden sprayer. The racoons decided pretty quickly my crawl space wasn't such a good place to live after all.....:laughing:

One other thing, do you leave a light on outside? If you do, it's attracting insects and the skunk keeps coming up on the porch because of the food source. You might want to think about using yellow bulbs if that's the case.


----------



## DUDE! (May 3, 2008)

I was told and have found to be true, a skunk needs to lift its tail to be able to spray, use a smaller trap. And keep in mind, once you trap it, what are you going to do with it. In our area, commercial trappers have to dispose of the animal. Haven't seen it in print but you can't transport an animal to a new location if the animal is susceptible to rabies.


----------



## Bushwhacker (Jul 11, 2009)

*Bushwhacker*

You might want to try and get one of those sensors that you hook the watter hose to that people use to prptect thier flowers from pets. You could place it next to the steps wherer the animal enters and probably after a few blasts of water it may avoit your home.


----------



## BataviaJim (Dec 26, 2008)

ratherbefishin' said:


> ... Or you can do what I did a couple years ago. Mix about 8 oz of cayenne, 4 oz of garlic powder, a quart of canola oil and a quart of vinegar, emulsify it in a blender (yup, cayenne vinaigrette:devil2, and spray it under and all around the perimeter of the house with a hand pump garden sprayer. The racoons decided pretty quickly my crawl space wasn't such a good place to live after all
> 
> One other thing, do you leave a light on outside? If you do, it's attracting insects and the skunk keeps coming up on the porch because of the food source...


I found a commercial product but it costs $20 for a fairly small amount, so I'm going to try your recipe.



Bushwacker said:


> You might want to try and get one of those sensors that you hook the water hose to that people use to protect thier flowers from pets.


I've never heard of these things but it sounds like a good idea.

I tried spreading some flour around the area that it's using to access the porch, to see if I could get a good enough footprint to identify the tracks, but it was too muddled. There were definitely tracks but they weren't clear.

I have a motion sensor that you plug a light into. I tried that with a spotlight pointed at the end of the porch that I think the critter is coming from. It didn't work though -- this morning there was a turd right next to the light.

I'm thinking about plugging a leaf blower into the motion sensor. Maybe the noise and the air flow would scare it off. Of course that'll only work if I'm right about where it's entering the porch. Also I don't know if the sensor is rated to handle anything other than a lightbulb. I think I'll try it out tomorrow and if it seems okay then set it up for tomorrow night.


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Would the sudden noise of the leaf blower make him spray?

I've heard that one reason for skunks coming into a yard is that they're digging for grubs under the surface of the soil.

Try spreading something like Grub-ex under there. 

The only other thing I can think of would be to put a pan full of anti-freeze under the porch at night. Animals love the taste of it, but it kills them. If you have cats or dogs that wander through your yard at night though, you wouldn't want to do this.

Btw, I'm not positive, but you may be the first person who ever posted pictures of poop on the forum. LOL


----------



## BataviaJim (Dec 26, 2008)

gma2rjc said:


> Would the sudden noise of the leaf blower make him spray?


Oops, I didn't think of that. A blast of wind and the noise from the leaf blower might be over the top. It would seem to be a fine line between something that would startle it enough to keep it away without causing a spray.



> The only other thing I can think of would be to put a pan full of anti-freeze under the porch at night. Animals love the taste of it, but it kills them. If you have cats or dogs that wander through your yard at night though, you wouldn't want to do this.


No unleashed dogs, but there are several neighborhood cats wandering around.



> Btw, I'm not positive, but you may be the first person who ever posted pictures of poop on the forum. LOL


:thumbup:


----------



## asassyvic (Nov 3, 2009)

Thanks for a good laugh. I laughed so hard over this scenario.
I'm talking about what gma2rjc posted. LMAO


----------



## spark plug (May 5, 2009)

gma2rjc said:


> Would the sudden noise of the leaf blower make him spray?
> 
> I've heard that one reason for skunks coming into a yard is that they're digging for grubs under the surface of the soil.
> 
> ...


And what (do you think) are they doing in labs. It's been presented in a "Scientific" way. If it helps solve the problem, it was all worthwhile. Eliminate confusion:yes::no: Through Education:smartass: Don't Drink and Drive, Ever!!!


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

????  I'm not sure what you mean.


----------



## spark plug (May 5, 2009)

gma2rjc said:


> ???? I'm not sure what you mean.


You're saying that the OP is the "first person to publish the picture of poop on line". My response was that it's done for the purpose of ID'ing the animal.The same way in labs many unsavory things are done for the sake of making Scientific progress. I personally couldn't handle Lab rats or mice. Eliminate confusion :yes::no: through Education; Don't Drink and Drive, Ever !!!


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Oh, I see. I knew why he posted the picture, I was just goofing around about being the first one to post pictures of it *on the forum*, not on line though.


----------



## n0c7 (May 15, 2008)

Maybe it's just an optical illusion but the two zoomed in "items" look like heads with eyes.


----------



## BataviaJim (Dec 26, 2008)

*Follow-up*

Since this thread was revived I might as well post the outcome.

Shortly after my last post, Ace Hardware had a sale on Critter Ridder so I bought it. It was unbelievable how well it worked. I put the container in my garage and didn't get around to opening it for a couple days. During that time I noticed that there hadn't been any "calling cards" on the porch. So I waited longer, and they never re-appeared.

That stuff is a miracle product! I didn't even have to open it to get rid of the critter! :laughing:

Seriously, though, whatever it was never came back.


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Glad to hear it worked so well. It must be a huge relief not having to worry about that any more.


----------



## spark plug (May 5, 2009)

gma2rjc said:


> Oh, I see. I knew why he posted the picture, I was just goofing around about being the first one to post pictures of it *on the forum*, not on line though.


Thank you for pointing out the distinction. It's just that I didn't have the EXACT quote in front of me when I posted the reply. (Blaming someone or something else for my own mistakes) :no::no::drink: (No text this time)


----------



## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Judging from the size and shape of the specimens, as compared to the ruler, and the internal remains of bug wings/shells: Those certainly look like "frog poop", I'm serious. You mention that this evidence is found on your front porch, do you by chance leave a light on at night which would attract bugs? This would attract the frogs. I'm not talking about the little green tree frogs, the big ole toad frogs is what I'm talking about. They lie low during the day and come out at night to feed. Porch lights, such as mine, will attract bugs, the frogs just sit there waiting for the bugs to light near them, and _zap! _they catch them. Frogs do not digest the wings of bugs and shells of beetles, etc. My morning, when you see these specimens, they have dried out which makes them easy to break apart. That's my best guess, David


----------



## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

DUDE! said:


> And keep in mind, once you trap it, what are you going to do with it. In our area, commercial trappers have to dispose of the animal. Haven't seen it in print but you can't transport an animal to a new location if the animal is susceptible to rabies.


My trapper is a sap and relocates squirrels out into the country. By law he has to dispose of other critters like raccoons. Rabies is not a major issue here but some animals, like raccoons carry diseases in their feces that can be really dangerous to the young and old among us. Animal HIV/AIDs was big around Cincinnati and the neighboring part of Kentucky especially with cats and things they came in contact with. 

I have international markets around so cayenne pepper comes in huge bags for next to nothing. It sometimes works. The pest control pro I use also has stuff he sprays that seems to keep most critters away most of the time.


----------



## The Bug Doctor (Dec 31, 2009)

I don't think it is an animal at all. To verify you could just put down some flour or talcum powder and look at the tracks in the morning. I would say you have frogs my friend. At least by the pic. Raccoon, opossum or rat droppings don't really fit but frogs diets are insects (I know these others eat them too) and can be quite big even though they may be small. Check the top edge of the porch wall where the ceiling meets. 

I have written an article on it and you could follow my profile to get to it if you like.


----------

