I'm working on a story about a guy who gets sprayed by a skunk. I've read up on skunks, but would love firsthand accounts of folks who've been sprayed and had to deal with removing the odor.
Not me but my dog. It is as horrible as you think it is. It is a stench that does take many applications of tomato products (we had to use several cans of tomato paste, all we had) to get rid of. It does make your eyes water and your lungs burn.
I live in skunk country and long ago lost track of the number of dogs/skunk incidents I've cleaned up. Listerine was my go to plan until I came across this formula about ten years ago. It works well. 1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide 1/2 cup of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) 1 or 2 tablespoons of liquid soap (I like Dawn for its grease-breaking qualities. Skunk spray is greasy.) Mix together and wash your stinky pet or person. Soap up well, rinse well, give the sniff test. Sometimes it takes more than once if there has been a bad hit. Larger quantities may be needed for large dogs. DO NOT STORE IT. Make it fresh each time. If you store it in a closed system like a bottle, it will explode.
Thank you for sharing. I imagine the stink is the most notable part, but the eye watering and lung burning is certainly part of it.
I've read about that recipe online, though Listerine is a first. I imagine I'd have much more knowledge on this subject if I lived in skunk country. I wish you luck in the future with the skunks.
Skunks are not my favorite neighbors. We have spotted skunks in Wyoming in addition to striped skunks, but in all my years in the field, I've only seen a couple of spotted skunks, both in the same place at the same time. They're tiny little things. When they spray, they do a handstand and shoot over their heads. Bless their stinky little hearts, they don't like people and stay away from us if at all possible, unike the big stripies who I swear live to make trouble for us.
I've only ever seen striped skunks, but I've seen videos of spotted skunks doing handstands. It's pretty cute.
I’ve been lucky enough to never been sprayed, but yeah… country dogs. Lab and golden retriever both got it bad. Required multiple rounds of tomato sauce and a hose. even then, that smell sticks for a while In the coat. For humans it really shouldn’t be that bad. You might want to throw out your clothes, but usually a soak in the tub with oatmeal will get rid of it. It’s hair that it sticks to, bare skin is easier to clean, and they’re small so you’re most likely to get sprayed in the leg. skunks don’t really spray that much. You might be curious to learn that usually when country folk smell a skunk, it’s because someone hit one with a car and it’s stinking on the side of the road. They’re fairly docile and small enough to hide. You’ll get a warning before they spray you. Dogs just don’t take that hint. Cats usually will. I’ve never had a cat sprayed.
I have been sprayed a couple of times, I used to trap for furs as a kid. The direct spray makes you feel pretty nauseous, you feel it in the pit of your stomach, but more importantly, you taste it in your mouth, your eyes water. That is just the first few seconds. Your first thought is that maybe you didn't get it that bad, your nose adjusts to the smell and convince yourself that somehow you missed the worst of it. For days no matter what you do, people will say, "Got sprayed by a skunk." There is no real fix, no home remedy that I found that ever gets rid of the smell completley only lessens it.
I have, and it is horrible. I was confined to the barracks in Orlando, FL and had this wild idea I would go under the barracks and route out the skunks living there. With my frog gig and a flashlight, I met up with an unhappy family of skunks. Besides all the things @RMBRON encountered, the worst for me was I couldn't breathe. The air was so heavy you could have stirred it with a spoon. Part of my childhood was on a farm and you would meet up with a skunk, but the warning was enough to walk away. Sometimes they will tap their front paws to let you know you had better turnaround.
Yeah, I can certainly see nose blindness coming into the story, with the protagonist thinking he doesn't stink too bad and everyone around him telling him firmly he stinks to high heaven.
Wow, sprayed by a whole family of skunks? That must have been awful. And I've heard they give plenty of warning, though sometimes it happens suddenly to folks, especially in the dark at night.
Reminds me of a family story about my oldest living uncle - he's well over 90 now. In a rural Oklahoma high school back in the 40's, he ran some trap lines for hides. There were several species for which the state paid bounties. In a cold February, he checked his lines, and came across a pissed off skunk. Grandma made him take two very cold, tomato juice baths on the porch before allowing him in the house. According to my mom, he still stank for days.
Poor guy! Bet he was the talk of the school for all the wrong reasons. Could have caught hypothermia during that bath too!
I had a very friendly, very curious dog, and when she got hit, she was up close and personal. When we got home and found her, you could see the dried spray lines criss-crossing her face. She got loose for a minute when she slipped out of her collar on the way from the backyard to the bathroom. She was having this uncontrollable fit. She slammed her face on the ground and tried to rub it off on the carpet. She even got into the curtains for a second. We called a vet tech friend, and she said to forget the tomato stuff and just use dish soap. It took a while, but it worked. The real problem was the lingering, deadly odor in the carpet and curtains. We washed. We scrubbed. We aired the place out for days. It was relentless. I don't know if it helps your story, but it's worth noting that anything it gets into that you can't wash in a tub or a washing machine will wreak for quite a while after the victim is clean.
That's good thinking. I'm sure the smell could get into all sorts of problematic areas, like a phone or a wallet, maybe into the mattress of his bed.
