Skunk Removal in Lake in the Hills, IL
A live trap set for a stray cat can catch a skunk instead, and McHenry County Animal Control warns about exactly that. If it happens, stay back, leave the trap shut and call a licensed operator for skunk removal in Lake in the Hills, then get the den closed.
Why a Homemade Trap Is the Wrong First Move
McHenry County Animal Control doesn’t encourage trapping stray cats, because it is too easy to catch a raccoon, opossum or skunk by mistake. Trapping nuisance wildlife also takes a permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the county notes. All of Lake in the Hills is in McHenry County, so this is your county’s advice.
A skunk is the worst catch of the three. Illinois lists the striped skunk among its protected furbearers, and a skunk a licensed operator traps as a nuisance can’t be released.
Nor will the county haul off a healthy skunk. Animal Control handles sick or injured animals, immediate threats and possible rabies exposures, and for other wildlife it says a wildlife removal service can help.
A Wildlife Corridor Runs Through Town
Crystal Creek flows through the village and through the Lake in the Hills Fen, managed by the McHenry County Conservation District. The district calls preserving this creek corridor critical to the movement corridors much of the area’s wildlife depends on.
Where a backyard borders the Fen, the creek or a park such as Sunset Park, a deck, stoop or shed at the edge is ready-made skunk cover. A skunk ranges widely on summer nights but stays close to its den in winter: a rock or brush pile, or the space beneath a slab, shed, deck or stoop.
Signs a Den Is Active, and How It Gets Closed
The clues that count are at ground level: a burrow by the foundation or under a stoop, shed or deck, plus a skunk slipping out of it around dusk. Leave the opening alone. Blocking it blind can shut in an adult or a litter.
After the free on-site inspection, any skunk still inside comes out first, handled to limit spraying, and we make sure nothing is left in the den. The closing itself is a strip of hardware cloth set into the ground along the shed, deck or stoop, so a skunk that digs there hits wire. The exclusion is backed by a written warranty.
More on skunks is in our skunk removal guide. Raccoons, bats and the rest are on our wildlife removal in Lake in the Hills page.
Lake in the Hills Skunk Questions
I set a live trap for a stray cat and caught a skunk. What do I do now?
Keep kids and pets well back, and don’t open or move the trap; a startled skunk can spray. Call a licensed operator, such as AquaText at (847) 997-5215. A skunk is a protected species, so it needs someone permitted to handle it, and we’ll explain what Illinois rules allow.
We still have a stray cat problem. What does the county suggest?
McHenry County Animal Control will pick up a stray cat if you have it contained, but it doesn’t set traps for cats. A cat missing the tip of its left ear belongs to a managed feral colony, so the county doesn’t count it as a stray. For a skunk using your yard, the fix is closing its den, not another trap.
A skunk died in our backyard. Who takes it away?
If no person or pet was exposed to it, the county says a wildlife removal service can take it. McHenry County Animal Control collects dead wildlife for rabies testing only after a possible exposure; then call (815) 459-6222. One in the street goes to whoever maintains the road, such as the village or township.
We smell skunk most nights. Does that mean one lives under our house?
Not necessarily. A skunk that only passes through at night can leave the smell behind, and outdoor skunk odor fades on its own, IDNR says. A smell that keeps returning is worth checking against the den signs above. Found a burrow? A free inspection can confirm whether the den is active.
A Skunk in Your Trap or Under Your Deck? We’ll Take It From Here.
The on-site inspection is free. AquaText is IL DNR licensed, works from Hampshire and puts a written warranty on den exclusion work.
Related & Nearby
Skunk guide, county contacts and the rest of our Lake in the Hills wildlife work, plus surrounding areas.