| In this article, I would like to share what I learned | | | | under the house footer then up and into the crawl |
| about a polecat that took up residency under my | | | | space. |
| house and I did not even know it was there. | | | | The plastic ground cover under the house had been |
| My wife and I were surprised to find out that we | | | | pulled around and was no longer providing good |
| had one or more polecats living under our house | | | | moisture barrier protection. So, I pulled it tight and |
| even though the signs were there. For several years | | | | stapled it to the ground with landscape staples. |
| off and on whenever we had been out and arrived | | | | In the process of stapling, I found the skunk's home. |
| back home, there was the fowl-smelling odor of a | | | | It was directly under the steps from the garage. |
| polecat at the door to the house from inside the | | | | There were a few black and white hairs in a corner |
| garage. You may know a polecat. The other name it | | | | next to some concrete blocks. All of a sudden, it all |
| goes by is skunk. | | | | made sense. That was what we smelled on and off |
| It was always in the same area. The door was 20 | | | | when we arrived home. |
| feet from the closest outside wall, so the smell made | | | | With all the evidence of the skunk removed and with |
| no sense. I would look around and then the aroma | | | | the help of my son, we proceeded to pour 640 |
| would dissipate before I found anything. It was never | | | | pounds of concrete in the hole to keep the skunk |
| the full smell, just a whiff every so often. | | | | OUT. New dirt was brought in to finish filling the hole |
| The way we found the true problem was when our | | | | and new plastic ground cover was stapled down. A |
| HVAC unit needed some work. While our HVAC | | | | new one-inch opening plastic lattice was installed |
| repairman was working on our unit, he said he | | | | around the deck. |
| thought there is a cat living under our house. My | | | | We believe the skunk got in by going behind the |
| attitude was that if the cat was not paying rent, he | | | | steps of the deck and crawling past the support |
| was out. So, I went looking as to how the cat got | | | | boards. We also added 1/4 inch mesh galvanized wire |
| under our house. | | | | behind the lattice to keep all but the smallest critters |
| We live in a brick home with a concrete foundation | | | | out. This year there have been no aromatic smells. |
| and no discernible access points. It turns out that on | | | | It turns out that skunks are really good at digging. |
| the inside wall of the crawl space, there was a hole | | | | They have large front claws, but they can not climb. |
| about two feet long and six inches wide going down | | | | Can you imagine yourself under a house in a three |
| then turning to the outside. The hole came up under | | | | foot high space, face to face with a skunk? Well, I |
| our deck, close to the house under some torn plastic | | | | am happy to report that the skunk was not home |
| ground cover sheeting behind the deck's lattice. | | | | when we went looking for the cat under the house. |
| The hole, on the outside, was two feet by two feet | | | | If you think an occupant is home when you have to |
| tapering down to approximately ten inches around. | | | | go into your crawl space, call animal control and have |
| We could not see under the deck and, thus, did not | | | | them verify the pest is gone. Better them than you! |
| see the hole. The hole went down two feet and | | | | |