Wildlife Removal Services
Skunk Removal in Northern Virginia
Skunks den under decks, sheds, stoops and crawl spaces, and the first sign is usually smell rather than sight. Handled wrong it becomes a sprayed dog, a sprayed crawl space, or a litter of kits under your deck.
Licensed in VA (#56104) and MD (#049372). Family-owned, 20+ years, answering 24 hours a day.
How You Know a Skunk Has Moved In
The obvious sign is a faint, persistent musk around one side of the house that gets stronger at dusk — not a single spray event, just a smell that will not leave. Skunks are nocturnal, so the animal itself is usually seen late, waddling rather than running.
The other signs are in the ground. Small, cone-shaped divots across the lawn, three to four inches wide, are skunks digging for grubs — a heavy grub year in Northern Virginia is a heavy skunk year. At the structure you will find a dug-out entry at the corner of a deck, shed or stoop, wider and shallower than a groundhog hole, often with coarse black and white hair caught on the lattice, and a worn path leading to it.
A skunk under a deck is also a warning about the deck. Whatever gap it used is now a known opening, and once the skunk moves on, a groundhog, an opossum or a fox uses the same hole.
Spray, Pets, and Why Panic Makes It Worse
A skunk does not want to spray. It has a limited supply, it takes over a week to replenish, and it is a last resort after stamping, hissing and a raised tail. Nearly every sprayed dog we hear about was a dog that cornered a skunk under a deck at midnight, and nearly every sprayed crawl space was someone trying to chase one out.
So the method is the opposite of chasing: keep pets in, do not block the exit while the animal is inside, and let it leave on its own terms through a device that will not let it back. That is also how the job stays odour-free, which matters when the den is under a crawl space or attached garage — spray in an enclosed space under the house gets into the air handler and lives in the insulation for weeks.
If a pet is sprayed, the tomato juice story is a myth. Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap, mixed fresh and kept out of the eyes, is what actually breaks the thiol compounds down.
Rabies Vector Species: What That Changes
The skunk is one of Virginia’s rabies vector species, along with the raccoon, the fox and the bat. That is not a reason to panic about a skunk crossing your yard — it is the reason the handling rules are strict.
Timing matters as much as method. Skunks breed in late winter and kits are under decks and sheds from roughly April into June. A one-way door fitted over an active den in May lets the mother out and leaves kits that cannot follow her sealed underneath your structure. We check for young first, every time. And any skunk showing daytime disorientation, staggering or aggression is a public-health call — keep people and pets away and phone us or animal control immediately.
How the Job Runs
1. Inspect at the right time of day
We find the den entry and every other gap under the deck, shed, stoop or crawl space, read the sign for how many animals are using it, and check for kits.
2. Let it leave, or trap it properly
One-way doors where the structure suits it, covered trapping where it does not — handled under Virginia’s rabies vector rules, calmly, without spray.
3. Trench the skirting closed
Galvanised mesh trenched along the deck, shed or stoop with an outward L-footer, lattice rebuilt, and crawl space vents and doors made solid.
Why Homeowners Call BEDR
- 20+ years, family-owned — you deal with the people doing the work.
- Licensed in Virginia (#56104) and Maryland (#049372).
- Humane and legal methods — we work inside Virginia’s relocation and protected-species rules, not around them.
- We seal, not just trap — the reason customers do not call us back about the same animal.
- 24/7 answering, with same-day service across Northern Virginia.
- Full restoration in-house — attic cleanup, insulation, chimney caps, crawl space work.
Humane Solutions. Lasting Results.
Frequently Asked Questions
I smell skunk under my deck. Will it spray if you remove it?
Almost never, when it is done properly. Spray is a last resort for the animal and it is triggered by being cornered or chased. One-way exclusion and covered handling are specifically how we avoid it — which is the main reason not to try this with a broom at midnight.
There are kits under there. Can you still do the job?
Yes, but not by simply sealing the den. Kits are under structures from roughly April into June and cannot follow the mother out. We remove the family together, or time the exclusion for when the young are mobile. Sealing them in means a smell under your deck you cannot reach.
My dog got sprayed. What actually works?
Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a little dish soap, mixed fresh and kept away from the eyes. Not tomato juice. Wash outdoors if you can — a sprayed dog brought inside transfers it to carpet and upholstery.
Should I be worried about rabies?
Skunks are a rabies vector species in Virginia, so it is a real consideration but not a reason to panic about a healthy skunk passing through. Keep pets vaccinated, never corner one, and treat any skunk that is out in daylight staggering or acting aggressively as an emergency.
Will they come back after you have finished?
Not under a trenched barrier. They will come back to an open gap under a deck every year, and so will the next opossum or groundhog — which is why the barrier, not the trap, is the part that ends it.
Get the Skunk Out Without the Spray
Checked for kits, removed calmly, and the deck trenched closed. We answer 24 hours a day.
Other Wildlife Removal Services
Squirrel Removal · Raccoon Removal · Bat Removal · Bird Nest Removal · Snake Removal · Groundhog Removal · Fox Removal · Opossum Removal · Mole Removal
Where We Work
Fairfax · Alexandria · Arlington · McLean · Vienna · Reston · Herndon · Falls Church · Woodbridge · Fredericksburg · Chantilly · Centreville · King George