![A baby skunk looking for a playmate. [CREDIT: KANKLEBORG.NET]](http://scienceline.org/_s/files/2007/03/skunkbaby2.jpg)
ask scienceline | biology
My dogs were sprayed by a skunk, and I’ve washed them in hydrogen peroxide and baking soda — but how do I rid my house of the odor?
- asks Frank DeMayo
With spring just around the corner, there are several things to look forward to in the coming weeks. Warmer weather. Blossoming flowers. Lush trees. And skunks awakening from their wintertime slumber.
Skunks are known for using their natural defenses to stink up anywhere and anything nearby. Skunk musk, the liquid that harbors that smelly odor, comes from the skunk’s anal glands, where only little bit – about one tablespoon – is held in the glands at a time. This meager amount of liquid is so potent, it can protect the skunk against five or six enemies and is detectable to the nose as far as twenty miles away. For years, people have had their own homemade remedies for dealing with “skunk smell,” but what makes it so bothersome in the first place?
There are seven chemical compounds that make up skunk smell, and they can be divided into two groups: thiols, which are compounds that have a sulfur and hydrogen atom attached, and their acetate derivatives, which have an acetyl group attached. The attached hydrogen/sulfur compound, called a functional group, gives musk it’s pungent odor. The acetyl group (what gives vinegar it’s acidy smell) also contributes to a skunk’s perfume, but it only becomes as pungent as thiols when it reacts with water. This is why animals sprayed by a skunk tend to smell even worse when they are damp.
Chemistry is not only part of what makes skunk musk so smelly, but also it is used to help get rid of the odor. William F. Wood of Humboldt State University in California, who studies the chemistry behind skunk odors, recommends scrubbing pets that have been sprayed in a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide bath. According to his research, these two agents oxidize thiol, adding oxygen onto the sulfur and changing the functional group into sulfonic acid. Such acids do not trigger olfactory receptors in the brain to sense a “bad” smell, but there is a risk that the chemical reaction may bleach a pet’s fur.
While the urban legend of using tomato juice to treat skunk smells won’t bleach your animal, it also won’t rid it permanently of the pungent fumes. Tomato juice does nothing at the chemical level to oxidize, and therefore nullify, the effects of thiols, however it does mask the musk odor temporarily. Other commercial deodorizers include Neutroleum Alpha, which has a minty smell, and Freshwave, which smells like tea leaves and is actually used to deodorize oil tankers, can also be used as a musky cover-up.
For a smelly house, the hydrogen peroxide or baking soda approach won’t work: the mixture only works for a short time after being combined, making it ideal for pets (because it’s not caustic), but not for homes. The solution to eliminating the smell from a sprayed house is bleach. If it is known precisely where the skunk secretion occurred, liquid bleach used exactly where the spray occurred will eliminate the odor. If the smell has drifted throughout the house, the only remedy, unfortunately, is ventilation and time.
Of course, the best way to deal with skunk smell is to avoid skunks altogether! The College of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky recommends keeping yards clean and storing trash in sealed containers (as opposed to garbage bags), because the scent of garbage attracts skunks. The same should be done on farms, where grain storage areas also lure skunks. Proper fencing will keep the striped-creature from crossing into a backyard, but don’t depend on a guard dog: the varmint will probably spray it in self defense, and the guard dog will bring the skunk musk right into the home!
Using these techniques, and keeping baking soda and hydrogen peroxide on hand, will help you enjoy a pleasant, odor-free springtime as the snow melts away and the skunks come out to play.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Our company has been successful with skunk odor by using BioWorld Odor Neutralizer in a fogger or fine mist sprayer. Please contact us for more information.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:53 pm
While I completely agree with your pet wash system
and have used it and included it in my ebook, I do not go along with your suggestion to use bleach for removing the odor from the home.
Dry hydrogen peroxide (sodium percarbonate) as well as several biological odor control and mineral products work very effectively by removing specific chemicals from surfaces, fabrics and carpeting.
While bleach has been a mainstay for generations, the extensive spread of organochlorines including dioxins and other carcenogenic compounds; as well as NIH studies showing conclusive long term exposure and increased cancer risks make it not a best practice, but a practice of last resort. (IMHO)
Sincerely,
Becky Mundt
author
101 Home Uses of Hydrogen Peroxide
November 14th, 2007 at 12:46 am
Think about it. Wouldnt i be cool to be a 6 foot tall skunk? When people make you mad you could just fart and people would be gasping for air trying to escape your thick cloud of noxious deadly skunk fumes. Or if you wanted to get revenge on somebody you could knock them over and sit on their face, shoving it into your skunk ass and then just fart and let out gallons of thick noxious skunk fumes directly into his face. Is it possible to die from inhaling too much from a skunk? Because i know if you get sprayed in the face the simple after shock from that can leave you puking, feeling dizzy or light headed so technically if you inhaled enough (lets say from this 6 foot tall skunks ass) you could possibly die.
December 4th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
I got a terrible aroma, I’ll put you in a coma. I’ll peel the paint, off your car (P.U!). The worst smell you’ve ever seen, your face is turning green, you hope I don’t pass gas right in your face (Phew!). My farts are really thick, inhaling them will make you sick. Pick up my tail and smell my butt, smell that stinky funk, hold your nose and say P.U!!!, you smelt a skunk! You want to be one of me, I’ll lock you in a room, I’ll sit right on your lap and emit horrible skunk fumes! Now you have a stinky stripe and a big tail of your own, you better fart noxious clouds of gas, all the way home. Now that your a giant skunk, release some gas and skunky fumes, and be sure to get someone skunked.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
We had a skunk in our backyard once. Little stinker did nothing but smell up the place. I love watching them because there so cute and the tails are so fluffy, but once the tail goes up, that smell is just awful.
February 8th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
It’s no fun to walk into your backyard and have your dog run up to you for a hug, but then smell that awful smell.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I was half asleep last night when my fiancee brought up on of our dogs. That dog wasn’t in the room for 10 seconds and I woke up..out of my sleep, and said, “what is that smell?” He couldn’t smell anything because he was sick. I dont see how anyone couldn’t smell this, no matter how sick they were. Anyway, I couldn’t figure out what it was. It was so overpowering, and potent, every hair on my body was on end, my poors felt as if they were streching open, my teeth were gritting, and I felt like I was shrinking. It was a very scary, upsetting smell. One you will NEVER forget. It was my dog. I didn’t think that it could be a skunk… it smelled a lot like burnt rubber. Not how you would imagine a skunk to smell. Anyway, I’ve bathed him in peroxide, dawn, and baking soda. It hasn’t helped a bit. Any hints before I pay big bucks to get this dog to a vet??