Can’t something be done about skunks?

There have been articles and letters in the paper regarding the prevalent skunk problem in the suburbs. I want to add my voice.

We reside in Palatine and have lived in our home for over 13 years. A few years after we moved in we had a skunk fall into our uncovered window well in July, and die. That was one of the most nauseating odors I have ever encountered. The animal control expert who came said the smell would get worse after he removed the carcass, and it did.

That was the first time skunks cost us money. A few years later three baby skunks fell in a different window well and until animal control came to remove them, their mother was standing guard. I barely got into my car on my way to work without getting sprayed. More money, and yes, we covered our window wells.

A few years afterward they were burrowing under our back door step, so we had traps set. That was another expense. This summer, the same thing happened, even though my husband had put block and bricks there to thwart them

They caught one in the trap again, and more money spent. They charge to just come out, and if they catch anything, there is another charge.

You absolutely cannot open your windows during the night to enjoy a nice breeze, because the skunk odor will awaken you, as it has my husband and me many times.

My husband runs early in the morning, before work. There is hardly a day that he does not see a skunk and hope he won’t get sprayed.

They are everywhere and in increasing numbers. The villages really should look at ways to keep them away. They have become a nuisance and a costly one at that.

Barbara Ann Kohn

Palatine