Skunks may look sweet and innocent but they can cause fatal damage especially when they enter houses.
Getting rid of skunks can be scary if they are inside the house. Skunks can sometimes invade your privacy by fitting in through the tiny gaps of your houses. They can also ruin your garden which you have been nurturing for a long time, simply in search of insects.
Repelling skunks is necessary. However, what if you don’t readily have access to the things required to drive them away?
We can try by making sure we have access to something that skunks usually dislike such as ammonia. As human urine contains ammonia so, here rises a question. Does human urine repel skunks? Here’s everything you need to know.
Does human urine repel skunks?
Human urine does repel skunks. This is because skunks feel threatened by human urine. If human urine is sprinkled in the area needed to protect from skunks, they will not enter that area due to the smell. Predator urine such as dogs, coyotes, foxes, etc also works well to keep skunks away.
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Skunks are timid and nocturnal creatures. Even though they are known not to be harmful, they can still be a huge threat at times.
Skunks will not cause any trouble unless they feel threatened by you. However, if they feel threatened they will release a very fowl-smelling toxic spray from their anal glands.
This spray does not only have a bad odor but it is also highly flammable. Skunks also hiss, growl, and raise their tails if they feel threatened.
Skunks can also bite sometimes and their bites can cause rabies. Rabies is the most dangerous disease transported by animals to humans. If they are not treated soon enough, they can cause you, your life.
This is why we require materials such as human urine to keep skunks away. Human urine acts as a great repellent for skunks.
If sprinkled in an area, skunks will not enter that area. It can be used to protect your gardens from skunks entering to feast on the insects and ruining your well-nurtured plants.
However, there are some drawbacks to applying this method. As urine dissipates within 24 hours, it needs to be reapplied or sprinkled again every 24 hours.
Below given is a list of reasons why human urine repels skunks.
Humans as predators:
Skunks are very timid and they think of humans as predators and they think of themselves as prey.
This is why they can feel the presence of humans whenever they smell human urine and feel threatened. This stops them from entering the area human urine was sprinkled on initially.
When they are surrounded by human beings, they already feel threatened and respond in a less vicious but more disgusting way of releasing a spray from their anus glands with a bad odor.
This can be controlled by preventing them from entering your house or garden by using human urine.
Ammonia:
Skunks cannot tolerate the smell of ammonia at all. Ammonia operates by exuding strong odors. In addition to the stench, these gases irritate the skunk’s eyes and nose.
Human urine contains ammonia in a large amount. Hence the presence of ammonia forbids the skunks from entering the place where it is sprinkled.
Skunks cannot tolerate the pungent fumes released by ammonia. Hence they stay further away from the presence of ammonia.
The odor:
As human urine smells both like predators and ammonia to skunks, the odor keeps them away.
The odor is the actual reason why skunks are repelled because of human urine. They alert them of human presence and also the smell of ammonia irritates their eyes and nose.
This is why they run furthest away from places covered with human urine.
How effective is human urine in repelling skunks?
Human urine is very much effective in repelling skunks. As skunks are timid creatures and think of humans as predators, human urine alerts them regarding the presence of humans which keeps them away.
Human urine also contains ammonia. The pungent smell of ammonia irritates the eyes and nose of the skunks.
With both the presence of ammonia and the ability to represent skunks, human urine becomes very much effective in terms of being a skunk repellent.
However, human urine dissipates within 24 hours which is why the area needs to be sprinkled with human urine every 24 hours.
The smell of urine plays a vital role in keeping skunks away. You can sprinkle human urine in your garden to keep them away and also on the openings of your house if skunks pop up in your house at times.
How long will human urine repel skunks?
Human urine repels skunks for up to 24 hours. This is because human urine dissipates within 24 hours and they need to be re-applied frequently.
This is one of the disadvantages of using human urine to repel skunks as you may not always remember or be active enough to apply human urine in your garden.
However, it is necessary as human urines play a great role in keeping skunks away as skunks sense the human presence through the pungent smell of urine and feel threatened.
You can apply human urine in various ways while making a routine so that you do not forget to re-apply it every few hours.
They are suggested to be used in your gardens especially, as skunks tend to have their interests there due to the presence of numerous insects. They can also be used in the small entrance to your home.
How to get rid of skunks with human urine?
Getting rid of skunks can be tricky especially if you are fond of gardening. The numerous insects in your garden attract the skunks like a moth to a flame.
Human urine can be a great repellent if used at proper intervals. They help to alert the skunks of human presence and the pungent smell of ammonia is irritating to the nose and eyes of skunks.
Here’s a list of ways on how you can use human urine properly to get the most effective results in terms of keeping skunks away.
Sprinkling in your garden:
The most effective way of protecting your garden is to sprinkle human urine using a spray bottle on the corners of your garden where most of the insects reside.
You can also sprinkle some on the fence to prevent the skunks from entering your garden.
Applying on the tiny entrances:
Skunks often enter the corners of your house such as through your window, the back door, the dog door, the vents, etc.
They enter the kitchen mainly ad sometimes even your bedroom causing a mess. You can apply some human urine to those small entrances and prevent the skunks from entering.
They somehow fit in their heads through tiny holes and wiggle their way in. So, skunks can be prohibited from entering through those holes by applying human urine to them.
Applying at accurate intervals:
As human urine dissipates within a few hours up to 24 hours, they need to be applied at accurate intervals for the best results.
That way they are most effective if it is a bit of a hassle.
Will these animals’ urine repel skunks?
Apart from human urine, skunks can also be repelled by the urines of predators such as foxes, coyotes, and dogs.
Here’s a detailed explanation of why this urine repels skunks.
Coyote Urine:
Strong olfactory repellant, coyote urine preys on a pest’s sense of smell. Larger animals that coyotes pursue in the wild are the ones that coyote urine works best to repel.
Skunks fall in this category. As they are timid, they are intimidated by the smell of coyotes. Hence using coyote urine can prevent skunks from entering any place.
Fox urine:
Skunks know that the smell of a fox’s urine indicates that danger is probably approaching because wild foxes feed on them.
Skunks are genetically predisposed to fear foxes, thus they don’t need to learn it. A skunk just wants to do one thing when it smells a fox, and that is to run away.
This way fox urine is as much effective as human urine to prevent skunks from entering the marked zone.
Dog urine:
Dog urine can also be used to deter skunks away because skunks are also considered major predators. However, it is not the most effective.
It is advised to use the other alternatives for the best results.
Final thoughts
To sum up, human urine is a good repellent for skunks as skunks consider humans as predators. The urine represents the presence of humans which skunks always avoid. It is best to sprinkle human urine on areas that you want skunk free. Fox and coyote urine are also very much effective.