Skunk Smell is 'Offensive to Everybody'

As the skunk population rises in the suburbs, it’s hard to escape the smell that, at times, seems to permeate the area.

“I live here, too. It’s offensive to everybody,” Buffalo Grove Village President Jeff Braiman said.

So far, Buffalo Grove has not taken measures to combat the skunks. The village does not have a trapping permit or access to euthanizing facilities and officials have not publicly considered obtaining either.

But as neighboring Vernon Hills attempts to ease the problem by hiring a trapper, Buffalo Grove officials are keeping an eye out for the result. 

“Is it going to be effective? I don’t think you can totally eliminate the skunk population,” Braiman said. 

Village officials are keeping in touch with Vernon Hills leaders to find out whether their trapping efforts make a difference, Braiman said.

Buffalo Grove residents have shared their skunk woes — and proposed solutions — with Patch for the past two years.

One resident was thinking outside the box last fall, when he proposed a possible solution.

“…why not have trucks spread moth balls throughout the city because these skunks and raccoons hate the smell and it burns their eyes, maybe that will give them the message [that] they are not welcome here and they will go elsewhere," Scott Simon posted on Patch’s Facebook page.

Braiman suggested a simpler solution. 

“I’d like to send them all to Vernon Hills and let them take care of them,” he said.

Tips on how residents might keep skunks out of their yards and advice on how to bathe a pet that has been sprayed are posted on the Village of Vernon Hills’ website.

Do you think Buffalo Grove should explore options to reduce the skunk population? Tell us in the comment section below.