Spring brings out skunks across Chicago area
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- The beginning of spring has Roselle homeowner MaryAnn Grygiel in a funk. The northwest suburban resident, like many others, is learning skunk season is beginning in the Chicago area.
"As you walked up, I'm sure you can smell the skunk," Grygiel said.
Brad Lundsteen, who owns Suburban Wildlife Control, has been in the nuisance wildlife control business for nearly 30 years, working in Kane, DuPage, and Cook County municipalities. He's says skunk troubles for homeowners can begin in late winter or early spring.
"Every spring we get more and more skunks. Like this year already, we're well over 300 since January. On average its five skunks a day, but there's days we're catching 20 skunks a day," Lundsteen said.
Experts say skunks begin coming out of their winter dormancy in February or March.
Naperville animal control officer Christine Maybach says when people start spotting them, it's because of an increase in their seasonal activity, not necessarily in their numbers, which fluctuate.
"Owls really don't have a sense of smell, so they can kind of fashion themselves to consume these guys. But the other biggest predator is actually cars, so we're really not seeing an increase of their population," Maybach said.
Beyond the pungent odor and property damage, skunks also are a potential danger to household pets.
"If a dog does come into a very close encounter with a skunk, there's always the potential for disease transmission through a bite, with diseases as serious as rabies," said Dr. Tony Kremer, Hinsdale Animal Hospital.
Meanwhile, Grygiel says there could be a total of nearly a dozen smelly critters living under her front porch as she faces another stinky start to spring.
"I've have my windows open in the house, just to get rid of the smell from the skunk," Grygiel said.
Experts say that as the temperatures get into the 50s and 60s, you can expect to see more skunks. But as mating season ends in the next few weeks, spotting skunks will become less common.
