Skunks Sliding Underneath Deck in Farmingdale, NJ
Challenge
This homeowner in Farmingdale, NJ noticed a horrible odor coming from underneath his deck. When he and his wife went to inspect it, they were both sprayed in the face by a skunk! After several showers, they called our office and we were sent out!
We carefully inspected the deck area and immediately noticed the large gap. Typically, when skunks enter underneath a deck they'll dig a burrow, but this opening was so big that there was no need. If not sealed off properly, the homeowners will not just have issues with skunks, but possible raccoons, groundhogs, and feral animals. The most effective way to resolve this issue is to seal off the area.
Solution
First, we dug approximately 10 inches down into the ground and then dug 10 inches out from the deck. Next, we installed our hardware cloth, folded it into an L-shape, secured it along the entire deck area, and then filled the hole back up.
Skunks and groundhogs burrow at a 45-degree angle, they cannot burrow straight down. So when they try to burrow along the deck, they will come in contact with that hardware cloth and be deterred from the area. This is an effective, long-term solution to the homeowners' skunk problem. Now the owner will no longer have to worry about any type of nuisance wildlife or feral animal hiding under his deck.
