If you’ve spotted the telltale black-and-white fur or noticed a peculiar smell lingering around your property, you might have a skunk problem on your hands. While skunks might seem harmless from a distance, they can cause serious issues for homeowners in Oakville, particularly when it comes to your home’s foundation. Their burrowing habits can lead to structural damage and a host of other problems you don’t want to deal with.
But don’t worry—our team at Skedaddle is here with wildlife removal in Oakville and can guide you on how to protect your home if you find yourself dealing with these uninvited guests.
What Attracts Skunks To Your Property?
Before we get into how skunks can damage your home, it’s important to understand what attracts skunks to your home and why they’re hanging around in the first place. Like most wildlife, skunks are opportunists. They’re drawn to areas that provide easy food, water, and shelter.
One of the most common attractions for skunks is food. This could include pet food left outdoors, unsecured garbage bins, fallen fruit from your trees, or even insects and grubs in your lawn. Skunks are nocturnal creatures, so they often go unnoticed as they scavenge for a midnight snack.
Skunks are also looking for shelter, particularly during colder months. Loose soil beneath your deck, porch, or shed makes for a perfect burrowing spot. These areas provide warmth, security, and a safe place to raise their young. Unfortunately, once skunks settle in, they can quickly turn into a problem.
How Skunks Get into Your Home
Skunks are skilled diggers. They can use their sharp claws and strong legs to burrow underneath structures, targeting areas where the soil is soft and easy to move. Foundations, concrete steps, decks, and sheds are all common entry points.
Once skunks start digging, it doesn’t take long for them to create space large enough to take shelter. They might also widen gaps or small openings they come across in search of a warm, safe place to nest. If they gain access under your home or porch, the damage can escalate quickly.
Not only do skunks dig under foundations, but they can also damage insulation, wiring, and ductwork under your home while they’re nesting. Worse yet, the smell they leave behind can seep into your home and linger for weeks or even months, making it difficult to reclaim your space.
The Damage Burrowing Skunks Can Cause
When it comes to your home’s foundation, skunks can cause significant and costly damage. Their digging weakens the structural integrity of the areas they burrow beneath. Over time, this can lead to cracks in the foundation or even cause parts of your deck or porch to settle unevenly.
Moisture is another issue. When skunks dig burrows, they disrupt the compacted soil, making it easier for water to seep in. This additional moisture exposure can lead to wood rot and attract other pests like termites.
If the skunks make their way further under your home, they may damage pipes, insulation, and other structural elements as they create their nests. Left unchecked, these issues can lead to expensive repairs.
How to Keep Skunks Away from Your Home
The good news is, there are steps you can take to make your property less inviting to skunks. Prevention is the key to keeping your foundation, and your peace of mind, intact.
- Secure Food Sources
Remove potential food sources from your yard. This means securing your garbage bins with tight-fitting lids, bringing pet food indoors, and cleaning up any fallen fruit or vegetables from your garden.
- Maintain Your Lawn
Skunks love to dig for insects and grubs, so keeping your lawn healthy and pest-free can help reduce their interest in your yard. You can use natural grub deterrents to make your soil less appealing without harming the environment.
- Eliminate Access Points
Inspect your property for any potential entry points where skunks might begin digging. Use materials like mesh or hardware cloth to seal off gaps under decks, porches, and sheds. This should be done before skunks show up—otherwise, you risk accidentally trapping one inside.
- Be Mindful of Water Sources
Standing water in your yard can attract skunks, as it provides a convenient drinking source. Make sure rainwater is draining properly and remove any containers where water could collect.
What to Do If Skunks Have Already Settled
If skunks have already burrowed under your home or another structure, attempting to handle the situation yourself is not recommended. Skunks can spray in self-defense, creating a whole new set of problems. Additionally, improper handling can lead to injury or further damage.
That’s where our team at Skedaddle can help.
Humane Wildlife Removal in Oakville with Skedaddle
At Skedaddle, we take a humane approach to wildlife removal. Our goal is to remove skunks from your property without harming them, while also protecting your home from future invaders. One of our most effective tools for this is the use of one-way doors.
Here’s how it works. We install specially designed one-way doors over the entry points skunks are using. These doors allow the skunks to leave freely but prevent them from coming back inside. Once we’re sure all the skunks are gone, we seal up the openings to keep other wildlife out.
This method ensures the skunks can go on to find a new, natural home while you get your space back—no stress, no unnecessary harm.
Long-Term Solutions to Prevent Future Burrowing
After the skunks are removed, our team doesn’t stop there. We take a proactive approach by identifying areas of your property that might attract skunks or other wildlife in the future.
We’ll assess your home’s exterior for vulnerabilities and make recommendations for how to close them off. That might include installing buried barriers or reinforcing structures to prevent digging. By addressing the root causes, we help ensure you won’t have to deal with the same issue twice.
Trust Skedaddle for Expert Wildlife Removal in Oakville
When it comes to protecting your home and keeping your family safe, you don’t want to take any chances. Skunks might seem like a minor nuisance at first, but the damage they can cause to your home’s foundation is no small matter.
If you’re dealing with a skunk problem in Oakville, don’t wait for the damage to get worse. Contact the experts at Skedaddle. Our humane removal process, combined with proven prevention techniques, ensures your home is protected and wildlife is treated with care.
Give us a call today, and we’ll help you take back your home while keeping your foundation secure and wildlife outside where it belongs.
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