Smelling a skunk..why it is such a strong smell!

We don't have skunks here in the UK so I have no idea of what they smell like! I have always been curious as I've seen movies where the actors are pulling faces and holding their noses etc. But curiosity killed the cat as they say.. And where the skunk sprays from gives me a good enough idea! _Derek

I have often wondered why they have such a strong scent! Wonder if there are many predators who are after them? I sure would stay away from them. They are all over the place where I live, and it isn't unusual to be in the country and smell them. One time, when I worked at the drive-in theater, there must have been a family of them near, since we could smell them all the time. It has to be one of the most awful smells and does linger in the car, as well. UGH!!

smelled them a lot in the country and was always told from a small child why they smell that way. its obviously Gods way of protecting a small lovely animal.

We smell them all the time in the country, they are great rodent control but can sure stink up the house. Here in the Northwest the smell seems a lot stronger then it did when we lived in the desert. It must be the moisture in the air. I think skunks are a beautiful animal and one of the cutest animals I ever saw was a tiny sknuk outside our back yard steps, it has turned away from us and raised it's tail in defense so we exited the steps and hid in the house where we could watch it and it wasn't afraid of us. Finally it just went about it's business hunting bugs in the yard, we were so charmed by this little one that we forgot to get pictures.

I have not encountered a real skunk but have named a few creatures that look like human beings who get on my nerves. It may be perhaps ok to bear a strong smell but not a strong bad smell and that is how I am told a skunk smells!

Haven't see any skunk in my life and don't want to experience its smell lol. It their defend mechanism for their protection.

Oh yes I have not got sprayed but I have smelled them. and one more scent as bad as a skunk is running over a turtle and its on you r tires and the scent stays even when ya wash it.

Most of the ones that I have seen...and smelled lately..ARE WALKING AROUND UPRIGHT....and on TWO legs! Two legs or four, smell just as lingering and obnoxious! Grew up in skunk country...so I know that I am firing on on "smell receptors!" Had a friend that had one "de-scented" and what a delightful little furry friend it was...forever a curious little puppy! Did you get your Thanksgiving Card? Rainbows...to you! The horrendous winds (which I hate) have hounded us every second day for the past 8...Every second day we can count on our power being out! Dang!

hi JenInTn oh indeed let me tell you what happened to me, I think I was about fourteen ,on the farm in SouthDakota. we had a lovely big tom cat we called skunky as he was black with some white stripes almost like a real skun,a big lazy tom who had the irritating habit of sneeking in the hen house and sitting on a nest of eggs. So like usuall it was du sk and I was gathering eggs and of course there he was the big old fat T om Skunky. uh I grabbed him and yanked on his tail but it was not my cat o h my G od. the odor but worse even tho ugh I was wearing glasses, the spray got in my eyes and whatever chemicals are in that it burned like fire,I was screaming and smelling horrid and my dad caught me and got me to our kitchen, he told my mom to wash my eyes out with a lot of water with boric acid in it to counteract the spray and finally it quit burning but the smell was nauseating my mom took my jacket and soaked it in tomato juice but finally I had to toss it. the odor although faint was still there. I was so glad that my parents quick thinking saved my eyes. my eyes were already quite near sighted but left in my eyes very long that spray might hav made me almost blind. After that when it got dusk I carried a flashight to gather eggs and if I saw anything that looked like a skunk I left that to the men folk to straighten out. I am 85 now but still remember that evening all too well. lol

I've smelt a skunk a few times before. Just going down the road, it's such a strong smell and it lingers for a few minutes. I've never had a pet have the scent on their fur, but years ago my brother and uncle were coming back from somewhere when they went by one and it got into their clothes so much they had to take a shower and their clothes be washed instantly. EWW-E!

I have desmelled a skunk, YUCK, but thankfully i haven't smelled one lately & i hope i don't.

You can't get rid of the smell in a dog. When my dog was sprayed, and I did not know until I let her in the house. In the few seconds that she was in the house, and pushed her out immediately, the smell permeated in my home. It took months to get it out of my carpet and furnishings, even with constant cleanings. The dog, well, according to my vetenarian, it does not work. We washed her EVERYDAY, had her sent out to be washed, it was there, for months. Even after that, when she got wet, it was there. Finally, one day, it just went away. Since I live in the country, we pass by road kill skunks and once you pass, it's in your car. Closing the windows is bad. After you pass them, open all the windows, for about a minute, and let the wind pass through. That dissipates the smell.

Ugh! Out on the highway there are stretches where you can smell skunks all the time. You would think they would learn after awhile. Tomatos do help but sure don't aliviate the whole smell. I wonder if Febreeze would help any. Hmm. It does help with alot of things.

For me yes it is good you have a good smell keep up the good work.

I have never seen a skunk let alone smelled one. We don't have anything like that here in Australia...unless you count stink bugs in the garden...yucky! they are terrible. Skunks are pretty little animals, it's such a shame they have that protective trait.

That is really interesting! I had never heard that before. I never did care for the critters myself and now I know why! I just wish they did not exist because it can be a royal pain to get rid of the smell. Thanks for sharing!

We smell them all the time around here. In the country, especially around highways, it's almost a weekly thing. I'm almost used to the smell, but not quite. When I'm driving down the road and smell one, I turn on "inside air" and put the fan/AC/heat on blast as fast as possible until that smell goes away. I smelled one once when I was driving in my last car with the broken air conditioner and it was like 90 degrees outside. There was no way I was going to close the windows or I'd roast pretty fast. Since that smell is so widespread, especially when a skunk has been run over by a car and tends to follow you for a mile or so, I have to admit that I went a TAD over the speed limit to get away from that awful smell as soon as possible. Luckily, almost everyone else was doing that, too, so I didn't stick out. Thanks for the lesson, though. I honestly didn't know why skunks smell so bad for so long. That scent receptor thing makes perfect sense. Wouldn't it be great if we all had that ability so we could do what skunks do and for the same reason?

You can't get rid of the smell in a dog. When my dog was sprayed, and I did not know until I let her in the house. In the few seconds that she was in the house, and pushed her out immediately, the smell permeated in my home. It took months to get it out of my carpet and furnishings, even with constant cleanings. The dog, well, according to my veterinarian, it does not work. We washed her EVERYDAY, had her sent out to be washed, it was there, for months. Even after that, when she got wet, it was there. Finally, one day, it just went away. Since I live in the country, we pass by road kill skunks and once you pass, it's in your car. Closing the windows is bad. After you pass them, open all the windows, for about a minute, and let the wind pass through. That dissipates the smell.

Thanks for the lesson. I did not know that about skunks. Skunk....do you think that they were named that because they stink? It is not a very glamorous name for an animal is it? I have never smelled one, or even seen one in real life. Do they smell all the time or only when they are threatened and release the smell?

hi dear Jen, I am not sure whether we do have skunks, I guess not apart from the zoo. LOL But I heard they are really bad stinkers.