Signs the source is not on your property

Lots in the neighborhoods around Washington Park are often narrow, with side yards only a few feet wide between houses. Windows on one house can look straight at the porch, window well or crawlspace vent of the next. When a skunk sprays under a neighbor's porch, the odor drifts across that gap, and a bedroom on the near side of your house may smell worse than any room next door.

Clues that the source is elsewhere: the smell is strongest on the side of the house facing a particular neighbor; it shows up at night when skunks are active; you have checked your own porch, deck, window wells and garage and found no digging, tracks or entry holes; and the smell is stronger outside along the fence line than at your foundation. Walking the alley at dusk can also reveal where a skunk is coming and going.

Things worth asking a neighbor, gently

Most people are glad to know, and they may be dealing with the smell themselves.

  1. Have you noticed a skunk smell or seen one around your porch, shed or deck lately?
  2. Is there an opening under your porch or shed that an animal could be using?
  3. Would you be open to having a wildlife operator take a look, if the cost or the hassle is worked out together?
  4. Do you know whether the house is a rental, and if so, who manages it?
  5. Could the trash or compost carts along the alley be kept closed at night?

What you can do on your own side

  1. Close the windows facing the source

    Especially at night, and keep the furnace fan on auto so it is not pulling air through that side.

  2. Treat what your house absorbed

    Curtains, bedding and fabric in the affected rooms may have picked up odor and will keep smelling after the source is gone.

  3. Close your own openings

    Make sure your porch, deck and window wells are not the next den once the skunk next door is moved along.

  4. Remove attractants on your lot

    Fallen fruit, birdseed under feeders and open compost all draw skunks across property lines.

  5. Escalate only if needed

    If the source is a rental and a neighbor cannot help, the property manager or owner is the next contact. For a sick or aggressive animal, call 311.

General information for Washington Park, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.