I went to open the window in the basement yesterday and saw that I had a little visitor. The window is in a window well, and there are 2.5’ walls on all the sides. At first I thought she was just rooting around, but then realized she was trapped. So, I set a wooden plank down into the alcove to give her a way out. She didn’t take it.

I tried to avoid interacting with her because I didn’t want to stress her out, so I waited until she was asleep and put some berries from the yard and a little dish of water out for her through the window.

When she still wasn’t leaving by the next day, I called a wildlife rescue agency and they advised wrapping the plank in a towel so she’d have some grip, and putting some cat food at top to give her a scent to follow. I did that, and within an hour she was climbing out.

I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty broken about this. She was adorable, but I’m happy she’s gone, running little skunk errands and living her best, if stinky, life.

  • LogicalDrivel@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    6·
    2 days ago

    Great job helping that little stinker out. Might i suggest a more permanent ramp for critters to escape in the future? Something like this ramp or little steps to help animals out if they get in? Added bonus to that is, you may get more visitors if they can get in and out safely.

  • Botzo@lemmy.world
    12·
    2 days ago

    That skunk will be back around for cat food.

    We had a juvenile come in through the patio door we had cracked for the cat. Dogs chased it under the stove. Took hours for it to let its guard down and leave following a trail of cat food.

    It has been back several times over the last couple years. Only been back in the house 2x that I know of (the 20 year old cat demands the open door or she howls all night). We have a “skunk gate” on our patio now (it’s just plywood that runs between 2 rails on the steps).

  • icon4691@lemmy.world
    7·
    2 days ago

    That was a great suggestion from the rescue agency to wrap the plank in a towel for traction (I really write like this, and I maintain that I’m a lurker not a bot ::: spoiler ¯\(ツ)/¯ HeliBoard has a double backslash for the emoticon left arm, lmk if that’s not how it’s done here ;) ::: clearly I don’t know what I’m doing. The left arm is fine but not the spoiler?

    I really had an emotional reaction and I’m happy to hear she made it out! It might be worth getting grate covers installed for the window wells if you can invest in that (I might not be able to say DIY covers, maybe for legal reasons, j/k). They can open from below to allow emergency egress from the basement if you need that for code. Best of luck keeping the critters wild :)

  • TheSambassador@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    This has happened a few times to me with little bunnies. Luckily those will let you just pick them up (with gloves) and set them down. Good idea with the towel wrapped cloth!