If you have ever encountered a dead skunk, you already know how pungent the smell can be. But that is nothing compared to a skunk that releases the spray close to your home. Many times this occurs when the skunk comes around to search for food. Skunks are scavengers and they will attempt to eat anything and this includes pet food that is left outside or even garbage. In the process, they might be interrupted by the family dog and it will be sprayed too. If this is the case, you might be overwhelmed and left wondering what to do next.
There is no other odor that can compare to skunk spray, especially when it has sprayed in close proximity to your home. The smell can take over your entire house in seconds and it is so strong, that you might think it is impossible to remove. You might try bleach or other products to remove the smell. But this only works for a matter of hours and the irritating smell will return. When attempting to remove this odor, you will also want to mask it.
Purchase a product that is heavily scented. But do not use anything that contains any kind of perfumed scent. This includes flowery or powdery scents. These cleaners will not help to mask the smell and may even make matters worse when they mix with the skunk odor. Instead, choose a product with either a lemon or orange base. Citrus based cleaners work exceptionally when trying to mask odors. Pine-Sol makes a lemony citrus cleaner that is perfect for removing skunk spray.
You can use the cleaner on any surfaces within the home. This includes floors, walls and counter tops. You will want to distribute the cleaner evenly throughout the house to remove the smell from every room. Once you have completed this, there will be a noticeable difference. But if the skunk was close to your home when it sprayed, you may have to repeat the process again in a few days to completely remove the odor.
Removing skunk odor from the home seems easy enough but it isn’t that easy to remove the horrible scent from your dog. When a dog encounters a skunk, it will attempt to chase it from your yard and it may even try to attack it. The skunk will lift the tail area and warn the dog a few times before spraying. But if the dog persists in trying to bark at or harm the skunk, the skunk will retaliate by spraying the dog. Most of the time, the dog receive the spray directly in the face or neck area and this makes it even more difficult to remove.
After the dog has been sprayed, you should leave it outdoors until you can address the problem. The first thing you should do is to use an old rag to blot the spray. You do not want the spray to be absorbed into the skin, so try removing as much as you can. You will want to immediately give the dog a bath but you should treat the dog with an odor removing mixture before doing this.
You can purchase many odor reducing mixes from your local pet store but they can be expensive and they might not work that well. It may be a better idea to use a mix of a quart of hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup of baking soda and a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. Mix this substance in a plastic bowl and use a wash cloth to apply it to the dog. This substance can irritate the dog’s eyes, so use a dry wash cloth to cover the eyes when applying the solution. Let the mixture soak for a few minutes before you rinse it off. Repeat the process until the solution is gone.
You can now give the dog a bath. This will reduce the smell considerably but the dog still may have a slight odor for a few more weeks. Overtime, the smell will completely go away.
Never use tomato juice to remove skunk odor. This is an old wives tale and it simply does not work. It will not mask any odor and our dog will smell worse than ever.
