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Durango Herald, Sep 13, 2007
Sally Shuffield, Community Coorindator
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Artwork courtesy of R. Pease
Miller Middle School
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"Hurry, close the windows," my
husband yells, too late to avoid the sickly smell seeping into the
house and working its way into the rugs and bedding.
Our dog, Sam, wags his tail happily as fumes emanate
from his body. Little does he know that he will be confined to the doghouse
for quite some time.
Of course, most people recognize what has caused this disruption in daily life
- we've been skunked!
This time of year, we may notice more skunks around because adolescents have
just left their mothers. Born in May, baby skunks stay with their mothers through
July, forging out on their own in August or September. Skunks don't hibernate,
so they will be looking for food all through the fall and winter months.
In Durango, we mostly have striped skinks, those most commonly depicted in
pictures. But we may also see some spotted skunks, which are smaller than striped
ones. They are also much smaller in the western than in the Wastern United
States. They are really quite beautiful, having white spots behind each ear
and broken stripes on the body. Their coloration almost gives them a marbled
look.
Skunks play an important role in an ecosystem. They are omnivorous, and their
diet is made up mostly of mice and insects. Therefore, they help to keep insects
and mice under control.
One skunk can usually be found every 13 acres or so, and they need to live
within two miles of water. So, folks living closer to the Animas River, Junction
Creek or the San Juan River will see more skunks than those living farther
from water.
Skunks prefer to stay on the ground, but will climb trees when scared. Skunks
only spray their scent in defense. So, the most common way that people bring
skunk scent into their house is through their dogs, who have just chased a
skunk.
Skunks' scent is made up of sulfur thiols. Thiols are chemicals to which our
noses are super-sensitive. They block out other smells and bind so tightly
to the odor receptors in our noses that it tires them out, causing "olfactory
fatigue.
Using tomato juice to rid skunk smells is actually a
myth. Tomato juice also contains chemicals that bind tightly to our odor
receptors, so for a while, it replaces the sulfur thiols. But, tomato
juice doesn't actually take away the smell. It comes back once our noses
have become fatigued by the tomato smell.
A much
better solution is to use a hydrogen
peroxide and baking soda mixture,
which chemically neutralizes
the thiols. For the complete
recipe, visit the
skunk recipe.
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