I usually post all kinds of quick and easy dinner ideas, breakfast recipes like baked oatmeal, delicious desserts, and even some kitchen tips, but I will warn you that this post has nothing to do with food! It has to do with how to get rid of skunk smell.
Yes, you read that right, this post is about how I got rid of skunk smell in my house and on my dog.
Most days I love life in the country. One day last week though I was longing for the city. Today I am posting about something most of you will never need, in fact you probably really don’t want this information.
But I want to remember this information, so what better way to remember where the information is then to put it on my blog. And even if you do not need this information I am sure you will get a good laugh out of my story.
We woke up one night last week to our dog barking, more like yelping, quite loudly and wildly. A few minutes later we smelled a skunk. Well, that explained what he was mad at. But we went back to sleep forgetting about it.
Fast forward a few hours. I was awake, but still laying in bed and smelling the skunk smell wondering why, when my daughter came running in to the room yelling, ” Mom, Roy (our German Shepherd) has a skunk in his mouth and daddy is chasing him around the yard trying to get it away.”
I jumped out of bed to see if my husband needed help, really hoping that he didn’t! Well, he did get the skunk away from the dog, but what a mess. It turns out that Roy killed the skunk, but not before all three dogs had been sprayed. And from the smell of the inside of our house I assume a lot of other things outside got sprayed as well.
The entire house smelled horrible. And to make matters worse not only had our dog killed the skunk, all the dogs decided to play with the skunk, so skunk hair was all over the yard.
If you have never had this happen at your house, which I am assuming you have not, it is not pleasant. Not only did the inside of our house smell and the dogs smell, so did the dog house, the front porch, and the door mat on the front porch. All we could smell was skunk.
At this point I was wondering what in the world I was going to do. I knew I had to take care of the dog smell, but I was also wondering how I to get the smell out of my house.
I searched the internet and found a few things for both problems, but then I remembered a friend telling me about a solution you could make to use on animals that had been sprayed. I found the information and decided to give it a try. This is the information she gave me.
Mix together:
1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1/4 c baking soda
1 tsp liquid laundry soap or dish washing detergent
The first two ingredients from an alkaline peroxide that chemically changes the skunk essence into an odorless chemical. The soap breaks down the oily skunk essence an makes it more susceptible to the other chemicals.Chemicals in this formula are harmless and can be used on people, clothing and pets. Use immediately after mixing; do not store (it will expand and can burst a closed container.)
I made some of this up and put it in a spray bottle. I was careful as it was bubbly and I did not want it to explode. I sprayed the dogs down, hosed them off, and sprayed them down again. This worked really well. I could not believe how well.
We have had dogs sprayed in the past and used tomato juice and also tried something called skunk off. I think this was easier than those things and worked as well if not better.
It was not a fun job, the dogs were not at all pleased about being cleaned. It was also time consuming, but worth it. They smelled much better.
We moved the dog house away from the house and the smell got better. We also threw out the door mat. I decided it was not worth trying to save.
But my house was still awful smelling. I called my mom to tell her/complain about my day. I knew she would sympathize/laugh at me since she has spent most of her life living in the country.
Well, she had a great tip that an older lady told her years ago. Vinegar, good old vinegar. It can fix almost anything can’t it.
She told me to place vinegar in small bowls around the house and it would absorb the smell. I was not sure this would work, but I was willing to try. And do you know what it worked.
Now I am assuming it absorbed the smell, but it could be that the vinegar smell over powered the skunk smell. Either way vinegar smells better then skunk.
By the next day when I tossed out the bowls of vinegar you could not smell either the skunk or the vinegar so I think this trick really worked.
Update 2018: This how to get rid of skunk smell post has become one of the most popular posts on my site. I am so glad that people have found it so helpful. There are a lot of helpful comments and stories that readers have shared on this post so please take time to read through them as well.
I live out in the country too and we had this happen about a year ago. We had a skunk on our front porch that ended up leaving on his own. He evidently didn’t like us staring at him, so he came back that night and sprayed our poor cat along with the side of the house. I was woken up at 3 a.m. with the entire house smelling like skunk! It was AWFUL!
The only thing that took any of the smell away was to mix coffee grounds with some cinnamon, spread on a baking sheet, and bake for 2-3min at 250 degrees. After that turn the oven off and open the oven door. It will somewhat over power the skunk smell and neutralize the air some.
I feel your pain! The things us country folk have to deal with! LOL. Love your blog!!
OMG it worked for my dogs bathing them in backing soda peroxide dawns dish soap but could not get it out of my boxer nose so I took peanut butter rubbed all over her nose and cheeks and let her eat a little bowl of it she no longer smells like SKUNK… Use PEANUT BUTTER ON HEAD OF DOG AND NOSE AND LET THEM EAT IT !!
Ugh! I can’t even imagine having to do that. 🙁 We have a lot of skunks in the area, but thankfully I’ve never seen them come close to the house. I usually see them on the road.
Oh, I am so sorry !
When I was a teenager, our german shepard got sprayed by a skunk and it was awful too…he also inhaled so much of the skunk juice that he was very sick for a few days…skunks smell really bad to us humans, but oh, those poor dogs, what they must have smelled when the skunk sprayed them !!!
Hope you can get all that smell out of your home too LOL
Oh my. That sounds worse than when we had a skunk in our engine compartment. We took him to church! I’ll have to remember this next time.
Oh my, not fun. Never had to deal with that but I know placing charcoal in a plate or pan and letting it sit in a room, or car, will take out the odor of smoking. Wonder if that would work like the vinegar?
Susan
Great post. We don’t have a dog, but do we seem to have alot of skunks in our neck of the woods. The up side is they are great ratters. The down side is they foul the air frequently, and sometimes it seems to linger in the house. I am going to try the vinegar bowls trick next time I cannot smell anything but skunk!
I beg to differ on the point that this post has nothing to do with food. Who really wants to cook in a kitchen that reeks of skunk? Great story!
We live in the suburbs, and at one time, a skunk took up residence in the empty land behind our house. So we’d get up in the AM and smell skunk. Now, he never did get in the house or anything like that.
Whew…what an adventure…and it wasn’t even in the kitchen!
I'm so sorry this happened to you,but I'm incredibly grateful for the info. I had a skunk die in our back yard(which my dog played with) & just recently ran over the remains with the lawn mower!! I needed to know how to get the smell off me,the dog,lawnmower & house. I'll try this. Thanks so much!
A lady I know uses a shampoo called dogosuds made by a company dinovite it is a all natural essential oils and keeps the coat really shiny, but anyway her dog was a bit to nosy and got sprayed big time and she used the shampoo and it took all the odor away, so if it got rid of the odor on the dog you could probably use it on clothes and as a body wash as well. I found the link if anyone wants to take a look.
https://www.dinovite.com/index.php/shampoos
while i was checking it out also found other pet products that pet owners might be interested in.
My dog got sprayed 4 times in one week. Still, we never caught the skunk! I used all kinds of recipes I found on the internet but the fourth time, I was just so sick of mixing up the stuff so I grabbed the dog shampoo and bathed her. It worked GREAT! It was Dogosuds shampoo. It was the peppermint tea tree variety. And, one wash and the four nights of spray smell was gone! So, I used it on my hands too (because now I smelled a bit sknky too) and it worked on me too. Didn't use it on the house, but I'd bet you could use it in a bucket of water with a mop.
Our two dogs got skunked last night. I immediately bathed them in tea tree oil dog shampoo and they are fine. The house still smells awful, however, so I am going to try the vinegar idea!
Hi, Lynn. We had a deranged (probably rabid) skunk show up this morning. I had no choice but to shoot her. I quickly got her removed from the yard, but the smell was unbearable. It quickly began to stink up the house. I got on Google and found your skunk smell remover concoction. I saturated the ground where the shunk expired, and the results were amazing. The smell began to dissipate immediately and within a few minutes, the smell was all but gone.
Thanks for your help.
my dogs have been sparayed 3 times in the last week every time we go to my inlaws they seem to find a skunk. we make them swim in the ocean first which seems to eliminate some of the odor (the ocean is across from the driveway i wouldnt put them in my car lol) then we bath them in baking soda, berry dog shampoo and vinegear and it seems to take away all the smell. i also was sprayed a few years ago and the only thing that worked on me was the salt water the good old ocean lol
Thanks ever so much for putting this on your website!!! My daughter just called me…it’s 1:30 in the morning and her dog just got into a tangle with a skunk…now he smells horrible and their entire house smells!
Really appreciate the info!! Thanks again!
Jeanne
It”s 4:48 AM and I have just completed my first round of clean up using the baking soda/peroxide/dish detergent. The dog was not to happy as it was cold outside but she stood and took it, once I poured the fist bit of the mixture down her back you could tell it was working. WOW!!!! what a relief. I have sprayed down the garage and dog bed and although I still have some linger, it is no where near as bad as it was. Getting ready to try the coffee ground/cinnamon bake. Hopefully that will take care of the house, live near a coffee plant love that smell in the air. Now to just sit a few minutes and enjoy a cup of coffee I so richly deserve right now…What a night…thanks for the help….
thanks for posting. I will try both the peroxide and vinegar solutions to rid my house of cigarette smell from our contractor. It is unbelievable or maybe I’m just super sensitive these days. My sister called someone who used burnt coffee grounds for skunk smell in the house and it worked.
thank you! we put out several bowls of vinegar and it worked overnight. thanks for the tip.
I am so glad it worked for you.
Is that white ginger or brown
I woke up at 6 am to the most awful smell. I immediately knew it was a skunk. I too live in the country and when I was living with my parents they had skunks living under their porch. Every night we were woken up by the smell. I now live with my husband and our home is on a concrete slab. So you can imagine my surprise when I woke up to the dreadful smell of skunk. For those of you that have never experienced it, it is not the same smell as when you are driving and get hit with the stench. It is so powerful and overwhelming I woke up gagging, grabbed the baby and headed for my moms. I will definitely be trying the vinegar trick. Hope it works and hope I can keep my 12 month old out of it! lol
I was reading in my room when I smelt the most rancid thing I have ever smelt. My 1 year old lab Oliver got sprayed in the eyes by a skunk and ran into the living room and rolled around on the mat trying to get the burning out of his eyes! I had to keep him outside while my mother used the trick with the vinigar. The hole house smells nicer now. Thanks a lot!
I am glad it worked for you!
Well at 2 a.m. after a rancid skunk smelling dog I am so thankful for this blog! The dog is bathed, and smells much better. The vinegar is already working on the house smelling and I will finally be able to sleep! Bless you for sharing this!!!!
Glad it worked for you! Thanks for letting me know.
Heard the dogs going BONKERS last night & then smelled the skunk. I don’t know how they did it, but they killed it and avoided being sprayed. Unfortunately, they decided to present their kill by leaving it in the hallway. Been steaming the carpets and that has helped a ton. Will put out the vinegar tonight to see if that helps finish it off.
Figures this would happen during a freak summer rain when it is hot and humid in Southern California
So sorry about your dogs getting a skunk. At least mine did not bring it inside….I hope the vinegar trick works for you and that you get it all taken care of soon. There is nothing quite like the smell of a skunk…..
I don’t live in the country, I live in town (small one in Shawnee National forest) and our biggest dog has killed 2 skunks in 3 weeks time. She will not leave them alone. It is a rude awakening at 2am. I am going to try the vinegar trick and make the mixture to pour on my dog and try it in the rug shampooer. My question is How do you get the smell out of your nose and throat, does anyone have an idea?…people say they can’t smell it but I still can and the smell has burnt my throat and nose. This is the 3rd time in a year I have to take care of the smell, but I have no idea on how to get it out of me. Yuck!!!!
YES! My dog ran out after a skunk last night and before my BRAIN could kick in, my INSTINCT told me to run after her to stop her. So, of course, we BOTH got sprayed. BUt I did catch her and bring her in the house.
THEN – I was so busy freaking out about having skunk spray IN MY MOUTH that I didn’t catch the fact that my dog was plowing/rolling on EVERY SURFACE IN MY HOUSE…. so, I did the Dawn/Peroxide/Baking Soda on her and on me. ANd it worked beautifully. BUT my house absolutely REEKS. It is also in my nose/throat and is making me crazy.
I will be trying tin bowls of vinegar tonight. But any advice on getting the stench OUT of my head…. that would be quite welcome.
CIndy – how long did it last for you???
I awoke with a headache about 3:30am and let my dog out to do her business Little did I know our neighbor had killed a skunk, and threw it over the fence into our yard again. I didn’t notice right away but after taking something for the headache the smell quickly caught my attention. I hurried to the door to find the dog rubbing on a spot where the dead animal lay. I pulled up this website to find the peroxide mixture which worked on the dog now to get that smell out of my house. It distresses me greatly that my neighbor will kill animals that get in his garden and throw them in our yard in the middle of the night.
Sorry you had the issue with the skunk, but I am glad it worked.
Sorry you are having to deal with that and a neighbor like that. I’d put the dead animal on his door step if he threw it in my yard. He knows exactly what he is doing when he does it, maybe after a few times he’ll knock it off. You don’t need your dog possibly eating part of an animal or getting sick from a rabid animal being tossed in your yard.
Any advice on how to get their face/nose to smell better? Can’t seem to get my pup to sit still long enough to use the peroxide on her nose. Plus I don’t want to get it in her eyes or mouth. Thanks!!
Thank you so much for the tips, my 2 dogs got sprayed by a skunk last night and my husband immediately brought them inside the house !!!! Temperature here is in the 90’s and have the air conditioning on, the dogs were brought in downstairs to the basement, my husband gave them like 4 baths, I don’t know if they still smell or not since the smell is already all over my house and all I can smell for the last 24 hours is skunk. I mopped the whole house with soaps and different things and clorox and like I said all I can still smell is skunk, burned candles and incense and still skunk…thank you, I will place dishes filled with vinegar immediately all over my house. Thank you
I do not live in the country but believe me, here in Boston we live with Turkeys, Racoons, Skunks and Coyotes. I live in Roxbury and there is a lot of undeveloped land which we love but it comes at a price. Earlier this week one of my tenants in my second floor apartment called at 2 AM waking me up about a smell which he thought was burning plastic! I also had been awakened by it but thought it was something that went by on the street out front as I had a window open drawing in nice cool and dry air that night. It is not unusual for us to get strange smells in city. Well we scrambled all three floors and the basement to find the source and I did not find it until we ruled out a fire and my dog kept wanting to go out to the small back yard of hers. Well, she usually has to be almost dragged to get her to go outside as she prefers to be inside with me. With flashlight in hand and following her agitation, I found a skunk, Small size, I believe stuck behind her doghouse where they could not get to each other. But the must have been in some contact because I continue to smell ever so faintly, skunk. Ugh. I hate that smell. I will try your remedies for sure.
Our dog just got sprayed tonight! It happened before so we had the soap/hydrogen per./baking soda formula, but the smell didn’t get in the house last time. Thanks SO MUCH for your post!! We have little bowls of vinegar all over the house now and we are going to sleep, hoping for the best :))))
Glad I could help. I hope it works for you.
We live in a small town & early this morning I let my long haired yorkie out to “potty”. He returned immediately & had been sprayed. It is terrible. We have taken him to the groomers & they said they would probably have to bathe him several times & keep him most of the day. Now my house smells like skunk spray. Im off to the store to get vinegar to set bowls out. I hope that takes the stink out & i hope he comes home smelling better than when he left. This has ruined my entire day, maybe even week if I dont get this smell out
I am so sorry. I know what that is like. I hope the vinegar works for you.
Hello Lynn,
Thank you for your post! OMGoodness! Tonight, in the middle of my wonderful slumber, I heard my lab bolt in through the screen door (she made her own doggie door, months ago). Sadie was foaming at the mouth and wiping her weeping eyes on me. Sadie smelled like SKUNK! My husband immediately took her in the shower and washed shampooed with special dog shampoo. Sadie smells good, so I don’t think she was doused with skunk spray. My house on the other hand, SMELLED from Sadie wiping her face everywhere. After cleaning all areas, the house still smelled my husband and Sadie were sound asleep. In a panic I turned to the Internet and found your post regarding vinegar, old fashioned vinegar. Thankfully, I have the Costco supply of vinegar and now have placed it around my house. My house smells so much better! Even after an hour. Thank you for your post. I now remember my aunt telling me that vinegar takes the smell out of everything.
I am sorry about the skunk smell, but am glad to know that the vinegar is working. It is amazing what vinegar can do.
Just found your blog, our dobie just got sprayed this morning, ugh what a smell!!! I called the ER vet to make sure what to do, we had already rinsed his face and eyes. I don’t think the skunk got a full shot at him but wow! Vet said mix the dawn dish soap, peroxide and baking soda and wash him with that. 1st bath done, he smells better. Now I just have to get this smell out of my house, got candles lit everywhere, washing the towels etc that he got against. Now I’m going to try your vinegar recommendation. All I can smell is skunk! Thanks for the info!!
My dog got sprayed last night. Let her out at 1:30am and she beat a trail after something. when she came back she was hacking and trying to rub her face on the ground and on me. i knew right away what it was because she’d been sprayed before. i sent her to the basement and ran off to Walmart and bought some peroxide/baking soda/rubber gloves. mixed up a 1 qrt bottle and sprayed her down (she was not happy about that) i rubbed in the solution with the rubber gloves and let her sit with it on for about 1/2 hr. then rinsed her with luke warm water (this she enjoyed) i scrubbed her down with some pet shampoo and repeated. she spent the night in the basement. this morning i let her outside and she smells a lot better. still a hint of skunk on her so will have to hit her up again with the solution and shampoo.
i pinesol’d the basement twice but the smell is still there. so will have to bake some coffee grounds i guess and get the vinegar out. thanks for the tip!
It happened to my dog at 3 am the other night. I bathed him in Skunk-Off dog shampoo twice, and he doesn’t smell too bad. The house smells awful, and I am going to try the vinegar. However, my biggest problem is my hands! They still smell like skunk, even after trying the hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, dawn dish liquid formula. I assume it is from bathing the dog with my bare hands. The palms of my hands still smell! Any ideas? Everyone at work is complaining.
Can you try the vinegar on them? Or maybe tomato juice or sauce on your hands, just don’t leave it on for long or you might have red hands. 🙂 It is the acid that helps the smell so I would try to rub them with some food or something that is vinegar based. I know salt can take the onion and garlic smell out of your hands, but I am not sure if it works for something like this. I hope that helps.
We had this happen 2 days ago…I wanted to cry, then move!! It’s horrible. That skunk you smell on the freeway, that’s skunk perfume compaired to a direct hit. The bummer is it’s in her mouth, I just cant get it out! My sofa is ruined too…:(
This remedy worked! A skunk sprayed my cats the other night on my front porch and I could not get rid of the smell. I poured the mixture on my porch, swept/scrubbed with a broom, and finally hosed it all off the porch. The smell disappeared almost immediately. The only thing left is to catch the cats and spray them! Thank you so much!
I am glad it worked so well for you. Thanks for letting me know
Im in my room all peaceful when my neighbors huge Saint Bernard comes into my yard scaring Flower the skunk who probably would have minded her own business if not for the small horse of a dog terrorizing her. Now I have vinegar and candles everywhere but it’s getting better. I have no pets but several of my neighbors do and all of their pete converge in my yard to fight, tear up my garbage everyday, and now terrorize skunks so they stink up my house. GRRR!!
This is horrendous, our house is awful. I want to cry.Snoopy dog of mine cornering s skunk under our deck.
I’m going to try the vinegar when the stores open and husband will be off in the morning to by special skunk shampoo. I’m so.annoyed. Thank you for the tip.
Mobile typing is a typo nightmare…apologies.
So sorry! I know how it is and I hope it works for you.
A skunk died under the floor of our barn. ALL of our Christmas decorations are stored there and now ALL smell like skunk. Not the fragrance you want your home to be filled with for the holidays. I’m going to use the vinegar bowls in the barn and will spray all of the storage boxes and contents with the hydrogen peroxide recipe and see if the decor are fit to bring in the house. If not, then we’ll be having very sparce decor this year. Thank you for the tips, and happy holidays!!
Can’t wait to try the vinegar…it seems like the skunks got tired of the country and have moved to the city. I think one has taken up residence under my porch – have just tossed some moth balls under there to get rid of it …setting out the vinegar tonight..Thanks
Thanks you for your story we just moved to the country and now not even a week later a skunk got under our house and sprayed
All your answers are great but I have no idea where the skunk is & the smell is all over my porch. I don’t know what to spray & WHERE to spray! When I open my front door it’s right there in my face, when I come back up 2 steps it hits you again. My mailbox is attached on the wall on my porch & my poor mailman hates coming here!!!! LOL HELP!!!!!!
Thanks so much for this post! This morning my dog got strayed by a skunk and ran straight into the house and now the fresh shunk smell in all in the house and on us. I am now sitting at work smelling like skunk as I’m typing this. I read this posting and I have my kids at the house pouring vinegar in bowls and on the dog. Wish me luck
I hope it helps. Sorry you had to deal with it. It can be hard to get that smell out.
Thanks Lynn. My dogs pinned a skunk under our house last night and I got no sleep because of the pungent smell. My throat is sore and my tongue kind of numb from the smell or its chemicals. I opened all my windows and the smell was much more mild (mind you, it’s about 40 degrees outside and raining), Now it’s dark and I had to close the windows. I think the skunk is still under my house and I am not about to crawl under to find out. Have to wait until my hubby gets home tomorrow night. will try this. I was going to put cornmeal out in bowls because I know cornmeal absorbs odors in the frig but vinegar sounds much better. Glad I have a gallon on hand.
Thanks. We live by the beach and I never expected our dog to get sprayed. She got sprayed in the eyes and the smell is awful. I will try the vinegar in bowls.
This literally just happened to my sister’s dog. After I stopped laughing she asked me what to do. Your story not only made my sister’s seem mild…but it made me smile. Let’s hope her house smells better after the vinegar does it’s dirty work. THANK-YOU.
Thank you! Thank you! I’m gonna set out vinegar bowls tonight. My dog didn’t sprayed, but the skunk let out the spray as it run from my dog. We had just let the dog out and the front door was open, the house has smelled for a week now, lightly. I will let you know what happens.
Thank you so much for your post. I was looking on web for something to get rid of skunk odor in my house. My dog went outside last night and we heard a terrible commotion. My son went out one door and my husband the other,you quessed it a skunk. My dog didn’t get sprayed but the house did some how. Just to let you know we live in the city. So glad you posted this.
This morning, my dog wanted a new playmate… Needless to say, that black & white animal wasnt a cat. Me & everyone else & the house just smells horrible!! I will try these ideas. Hopefully they work like you say!! Heres to wishing me luck!
I scrolled through comments but didn’t find it – re: the vinegar, is it the Apple Cider or White Vinegar?
Thanks!
Christine
I use whatever I have on hand. Both seem to work fine.
Thanks Lynn! Daughter’s dog got sprayed and in the house last night; picked the laundry room to roll around in. Clean clothes are now not so clean. She has a lot of work to do and try to get it out of carpeting too. Will be trying it all.
Just found this thread…WONDERFUL…Nice to know I’m not alone in the world of smelly skunk houses. I have no dogs, just an indoor cat, who is peeved like me that he has to smell skunk! Hmph! lol… Something must have gotten sprayed right outside my house…perhaps the dog across the street maybe or one of the few stray cats that wander about ( Hmm..maybe I should hid the rocking chair cushions so it’s not so inviting on my porch? lol )
There are indeed a few skunks and raccoons around the neighborhood..every once in a while you see them..but not that much spraying going on… it has never smelled this bad..ever!
OMG my WHOLE house smells..I have no insulation so it came on in..ugh..horrible. I have two fans sucking out all day and nada..since yesterday. It smells like I got sprayed and brought it in…I was walking around the neighborhood like a lunatic smelling the air..the rocking chairs..trying to figure out just “where” it was orginating from so I knew if I was getting “residual” odor which I could deal with or if it sprayed in my yard….I didn’t see any skunks around last night or today…but the smell seemed EXTREMELY close!
Going to try your vinegar bowl method tonight! ( just gotta lock the cat up..lol )
Thanks sooo much for such a great blog! It’s rather comforting to hear others are gong through the same thing…I’m just glad your blog isn’t in “smell-o-vision”..haha..I don’t need anymore skunk perfumery! lolol..UGHHHHH
this just happened to us last night. the solution worked great.
Hi Lynn! I live in the country too, and have had pets sprayed by skunks. Next time, I will try your remedy for them. However, a skunk sprayed at something in the grass outside the house. The smell came into the house ( in the middle of the night ), and it was so strong it woke me up. My eyes started to water, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I have put containers of vinegar all around the house, and hope it takes this horrible smell! If it does, I will be eternally grateful! Susie
Thank you for your post. I live in the city bit right next to a creek my dog loves killing skunks and usually she just gets sprayed but today she caught it under our house and now the entire place smells of skunk. I will be trying out the vinegar THANK YOU FOR THE POST!!
Thank You so much for your posts! I have put out the bowls of vinegar and I believe it is working. Next is the dog. Thank you again!
Lynn, I’ve been reading your cooking posts for years but just now when I sat down to google how to get rid of skunk smell, I was shocked to see your site listed. Thank you so much for this helpful tip – in addition to all the good recipes I’ve fed my family of 8 over the years. My terrier got trapped in our pond culvert yesterday by a skunk and it sprayed him twice. We had to hose down the culvert to make the skunk upset enough for the terrier to get out. It was a mess! Will try the vinegar tonight and the dog spray tomorrow.
Yes, this is an old post that actually gets quite a bit of google search traffic. I am a food blogger with a skunk post, who would have guessed. lol I hope this helps for you and that you can get rid of the smell. Thanks for reading!
Our dog got a hold of a skunk tonight. The stench was unbearable. We used the hydrogen peroxide formula and it worked wonderfully. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I am glad it helped!
my dog Cooper tangled with his first skunk last nite or should I say 3am this morning. I used the peroxide, baking soda, dish soap trick after having first tried a tomato bath, slathering him head to toe in tooth paste as someone recommended, and even Dawn. none of these really worked except the peroxide combonation which was a god send–his fur is skunk free and really soft. I am trying the vinegar in our living room in a bowl to try to get rid of the skunk smell that he tracked in and we cant seem to locate—-mystery skunk smell is enough to drive you batty. im keeping my fingers crossed that it works, I tried febreeze, heating citris fruit, sceted candles…. Cooper loves cats and usually escorts ours in at nite–I fully believe that he thought this was a cat till it sprayed him, and I have a feeling it probably wont b the last time 🙂
My small 4 yr old dog had his first-ever skunking this morning….EARLY.
Apparently dogs just have to go through this to understand “no no….skunk” lol.
I will try your recipe for shampoo etc. I used Listerine once on another dog when
I had nothing else. But it smelled too!
It’s still too cold outdoors this morning for a shampooed wet puppy to dry off.
I’ll be back for an official review later on….THANKS in the meantime.
Omg, my dog did just that! Probably thinking his toy was moving (why do they make them to resemble shunks, foxes, squirrels….) But yeah, dead skunk…stinky dog and house! So I’m trying the vinegar right now and doing the solution tomorrow. Thanks for the info…
i have tried the baking soda and peroxide tonight actually it worked well except my dogs ears and face i believe the skunk sprayed her in the eyes as well as they are red and watery. but sadly we dont have enough peroxide left for me and my boyfriend who was also sprayed with our dog. i put out vinegar but all i have is apple cider vinegar will this still work? and sadly i have to start my new job tomorrow smelling like this what a first impression
The apple cider vinegar should work also. I am glad the baking soda peroxide worked for you.
Works AWESOME…
Did both treatments, Dog one worked Great&quick..(Just not fun @ 1AM…)
Second, amazing..!
Thank you for the tip. I live in the city and had a skunk walk into my trail or late one night. My cat normally chases any thing that comes onto the property, however she froze solid as did I. I spoke calmly and softly to the skunck hoping it would not spray. It did turn around with its backside facing me but it left on its own accord and not spraying me or the cat who was still frozen in place. I am allergic to all types of tomatoes and I was hoping to find another solution it it should happen to. I did laugh through the story and I am glade you found relief
Thank you
Mona
thanks! I live in the more city area than suberban life (about 10 minuets from downtown Pittsburgh) and we have been in indated with skunks! I guess I should be happy our dog lasted about a month without being a victum of the skunk spray but I was still really unhappy last night when I got a call at 9:00 pm last night while visiting my grandmother that we need tomatoe juice. My husband found the recipe also for that mixture you made but we only have enough for one use so we have to get more of it all today. I just saw the bowl trick and am so greatful that it worked for you because it gives me hope! I almost cried this morning when the alarm went off and I was hit yet again with the stench of skunk.
I will say my goodness am I glad that we only have one dog instead of three and that she didnt kill it all over the yard though! Thanks for the hope!
Autumn
Thank heaven for your blog Lynn! My husband, not the dog, got sprayed a little this morning letting one out of a trap. He didn’t roll around on the carpet but he did come in and plunk down in his office chair and when I returned from my walk and opened the front door I knew I’d be looking for advice. So I sprayed him down with the peroxide solution and have set out many bowls of vinegar. It all seems to be working great. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Our dog got sprayed in the face by a skunk five days ago. I was so glad to have a big bottle of Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor Remover at home! We put her in the bath tub right away and applied it (we might try to do the wash outside next time, but the skunk might still have been around so we didn’t want to be out there). The bottle just says to apply it and wait a few minutes, but what it really should say is apply it to DRY coat and wait at least (!) 10 minutes for it to dry – we got her fur wet first, which is not a good thing. Overall, it seemed to work on her body, but it was hard to treat her face since we didn’t want any solution to get into her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Her head still smells pretty bad, even after two bath treatments, shampoo, vinegar washcloth around her face, and almost a week after the incident. How do you successfully get rid of skunk odor in a dog’s face without the solution getting into their eyes? Is it even possible after a direct spray in the face? How long will her face stink?! I’m pretty upset and reading that it may take months or even a year for it to go away is killing me. Had plans to take her to doggie daycare when we go away for a day, but I bet nobody wants to take her now. 🙁
Our house smells terrible, and itseems to be something like a skunk sprayed our dog. she got it everywhere! The hydrogen peroxide formula… can we use that on clothes or will it taje the color out? This whole thing is a mess. Also, how long should we leave vinegar out? We are hoping this will all work extremely fast because the kids can’t go to school smelling like nasty old skunk!
I don’t think the peroxoide will work on the clothes. I think it will mess up the color. I found the vinegar to help with in a few hours.
Our 2 Boxers were sprayed by Pepe Le Pew just this morning, and my husband (bless his heart) let them both into the house to wreak havoc with every fabric surface you can imagine! I didn’t realize this until I opened my bedroom door to come downstairs many hours later, & the smell knocked me out of my fuzzy slippers! The dogs immediately went into the tub, with an initial scrubdown of apple cider vinegar (<only kind on hand) on DRY fur, to get off as much of the skunk oil as possible. Then, since there are 2 dogs I made a mixture using a full large bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide, a full box of baking soda, & 2 full cups of Era laundry soap and really applied it liberally – EXCEPT to their faces, for fear of injuring their eyes. Their faces seem to be where their ONLY remaining stench is coming from… but it's rather substantial! Then I used Febreeze on fabrics until my supply ran dry, and set out a combination of scented candles, fragrance warming pots, incense, & vinegar! BUT again, even with all that the stink is still pretty bad (so far)! No yummy recipes for the hubby tonight! – He can have a pizza delivered to his NEW home out back in the doghouse !!
Thank you for this! Our dog was sprayed last night.. and I had no idea what I was going to do!
Thank you so much for this advice. I am going now to buy a lot vinegar. I had a bout last night with my cat and a skunk, except they fought under my house right under my bedroom closet. Needless to say I will be doing laundry for a while because all clothes smell like that lovely creature. Please pray for me, my cat didn’t win the fight and the skunk is still around. Thank you again for the tips. Loser of a skunk fight………
Dear Lynn.
Well, it works!!!
My little Westie, Ollie got skunked really badly.
My house, my car, my clothes… Everything!
It was really bad!
I wish I had found your remedy earlier, I tried everything.
But your vinegar idea worked!
Thank you so much!
Dyan and Ollie
Hey do u have to throw food away if skunk smell got in your house
If your dog was sprayed by a skunk and came in the house smelling like it is it bad if the smell got in the house does it mean u have to throw food away
Thank you!!!!!! Woke up this morning to a very similar situation but the skunk is still hiding in the garage! I’ll let someone else take care of that but now I know how to get the 3 dogs washed up and the house smelling better. Great info, thank you again for posting
Well, apparently this is not just a country problem! I live in Chicago and tonight at midnight my golden retriever got sprayed in our backyard. I let the dog back into the house before I knew what had happened, and he ran around rubbing and rolling on various flat surfaces. Needless to say the entire house was completely overtaken by skunk smell in seconds. I was so, so so grateful to find this post! I didn’t have much peroxide or baking soda, but I was able to mix up a small amount and I used it on the dog. Then I wiped down all my wood floors with vinegar and set out bowls of vinegar. The skunk smell is still overpowering, but I’m hoping the vinegar will help at least a bit over night. Feeling very self-conscious about my entire family setting off for work and school tomorrow smelling strongly of skunk, but I guess we’ll just do what we can and try to keep a sense of humor about the whole thing. I have to say, finding these other posts made me feel a lot less sorry for myself while I was scrubbing the floors with vinegar at 1 a.m., so thank you everyone!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE!! One of my dogs got hit CLOSE up! Two thick yellow streaks on her snout and neck. I used natures miracle and dog shampoo which removed the yellow but the horrific stench remained UNTIL I found your website! This is a miracle of chemistry! Thank you, thank you thank you for posting this!!
I am forever grateful!
My 125 lb German Shepherd got skunked last night @ midnight, at which time I had NOTHING to clean him with, plus we live in the country and there’s no quick running to Walmart. Luckily, my other GSD kept her distance & didn’t get sprayed. So, I’ll be going home tonight to try this concoction & pray it works as well as him as it has others!! I’ll also be trying the vinegar bowls & coffee/cinnamon bake! I’ll try anything at this point. I’m dreading walking back into that house, it was HORRID when I left this morning. The stench made its way into my boots which I didn’t discover till I was already at work, so now my office smells like skunk! Not to mention it’s permanently planted in my nose. I’m sure I’ll be up till midnight bathing & spraying the house! Poor guy is probably hating his life at the moment. Thanks so much for this post!!
Good ole Bailey got attacked by a skunk who sprayed her in the face last night. First bit of advice, don’t call your dog into the house after being sprayed. The vinegar, baking soda, and Ajax mix worked well. I’ll start putting out some vinegar throughout the house. Living in the country, I’ve smelled my share of skunks, but I’ve never experienced the horrible odor that this stinker brought to our house. PU. It smelled so potent I started dry-heaving. No wonder skunks travel alone! Good luck to all you others.
my beagle got it in the face last week at 6:30 IN the morning when she came back in she was foaming & coughing
I put her in her crate ( don’t do this put the crate out side first ) but it was too early in the morning I was not even awake yet & had to be to work by 9! so I found the 1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1/4 c baking soda
1 tsp of dawn dish washing liquid ( my dog groomer told me this works the best! )
put her in the tub & soaped her up with it you should leave it on for 10 minutes but I had to be at work so I let it stay on her until 6 that night than gave her another bath of the same stuff the only place that still smelled was her nose which she kept rubbing on the cement step in the basement poor thing nose was red around the edges 🙁 well I am still dealing with the smell in my house will have to try the vinegar should I use plain or apple cider?
Either should work, but I prefer the smell of the apple cider, so if you have that I would probably use it. I hope it helps.
my house has been smelling like skunk for a week. its even soaking into my clothes! im going home and immediately putting vinegar out everywhere! thanks for the advice!!!!
Thanks so much for the story!! It reminded me of my experience with my Old English Sheepdog! Many years ago I had him groomed (LONG hair), because I hadn’t had time due to work hours. When we got home (it was dark) we were going up the steps and a skunk sprayed him! (This was before internet, etc.) The nearest store was many miles away, so I washed him while my boyfriend went for tomato juice, and with gallons of the juice, it took forever for the smell to go away! With I had thought of vinegar!
Anyway, someone hit a skunk outside my house last night and I called VDOT to come get it. That was almost five hours ago…haven’t seen them, don’t expect I will. The vultures have brought it into our yard, and the smell is coming in the house, ugh!!! Our garage is off limits for now, also! So I googled how to get rid of skunk smell and you came up. I will get my husband to put vinegar bowls in the garage (glad I did laundry yesterday!) when he gets home! I’m going to start putting them in the house!
Thanks again!
Viniger does not work
A skunk sprayed our front porch. This concoction worked wonders and the vinegar helped too! Thank you so much!
OMG Thank you, last night I had the unfortunate event of mistaking one of the kids toys against the gate and by the time I realized what it was, I got tagged 4 times. I have just tried the vinegar over the house, I hope to god it works!!!! People were telling me to use vinegar and baking soda with dawn, problem is, from my old grammar school days, I am all too knowing this concoction turns into mt vesuvius. I think thats actually worse than the skunk smell LMAO!!!
My dog got skunked right at our doggie door and she was shocked, ran back into the house. The house smells horrible, I used the hydrogen peroxide mix and washed the dog and she smells fine. I will try you idea of placing bowls of vinegar in the rooms to rid the skunk odor. Also, turn on all ceiling fans and open the windows so the smell doesn’t linger and stay stagnant. I sure hope good old vinegar works.
My dog is outside, sprayed, as I write. Tonight I took a shower, which was interrupted by the stench. We live in the country, and my husband is on his way home with “the concoction” supplies. (he’s stepping up on this one; our son’s nurse is about to leave, which places me on kid duty. Husband also didn’t board up the dog house, which is next to the back porch…which is the rear entrance…which is doused in skunk.
Vinegar has been set out in mason jars for 30 minutes, and I notice a difference in all but the bedroom (couch time tonight!), and I’ll add one other thing: I mixed a spray of tea tree oil and lavender oil with water and sprayed it around the house. It might just be my nose acclimating, but the house is nearly tolerable (aside from the bedroom, now known as the Den of Death.)
Thank you for keeping this page up all these years. I’m buying a shotgun and killing a skunk tomorrow, I know that much.
OMG Sitting up trying to finish an assignment and all the sudden the smell in the house was unbearable, it was a skunk!!! My two large dogs came in and the smell made me sick it was so bad. I had no tomato juice at all in the house so I looked on here and found your post. Thank you so much! The dogs smell great now and the house is getting there. I will remember this and pass it on. I have never seen anything work so good and so fast on skunk spray. Thanks for leaving this post up for so long it is a life saver.
Wipe as much of the skunk gunk off with paper towels before washing your dog. It’s thick and yellow and if you don’t wipe it off you can work it deeper into their coat when bathing them.
Thanks – Am trying it now. I’ll let you know. Thanks for sharing the info!
Lynn,
I have a skunk that keeps spraying the outside of my house, I cant seem to get rid of him! I am going to try the vinegar in bowls as soon as I get home from work. Do you know how to divert the little critter from my property shy of a trap or killing him? Animal control says they will not come out and capture him since it’s his natural habitat. Please help, I am desperate and will try anything at this point.
Sincerely,
Shannon
I really need this information. I will try it tonight, I will contact you later to let you know the results.
Thanks
Omg! I just had a skunk spray in my 560 sq. ft place! It’s in my clothes, rugs, blowedryer…. Everything STINKS!!!!! Help!
I hope this works as a skunk sprayed under our house at 3:30 am and everything reeks. Our daughter got sent home from middle school because she smelled so bad & my 4th grade son got hazed for being stinky as well. I sure hope I can get it out!
It’s not just a country problem. I live in the heart of a city and my dogs got sprayed this morning and we’ve been trying all day to get the smell out of our house. We’ve washed them in vinegar(vets idea) and dawn soap and seems to have worked for them. All day we have been washing everything in vinegar and water and seems to be working. Now we just need it out of the rest of our house!
Thanks. It worked. Also, we learned that if you boil a pot of vinegar it helps tremendously in addition to the bowls of vinegar.
I am glad it helped! And thanks for the tip on the vinegar!
What a lifesaver this was this morning! 2 of our dogs got sprayed at 5am, and what a terrible smell to wake up to! We bathed them immediately – the little one came stink free pretty easy, but her big brother.. not so much. I wanted to puke, the smell was so god awful between him and the house!
I googled “getting rid of skunk smell” and came across your blog. Thankfully, I had everything on hand and mixed up a batch! Within 20min, both doga are pretty much stink free! (Its a little hard to get the big guy’s muzzle, but the rest of him smells good!) I have the vinegar set up and am waiting… hoping.
Thank you thank you thank you! Im looking forward to perusing the rest of your blog. 🙂
I woke up to a awfull smell an went to check on my dog tht stayed out side the night befor an wen i opened the door the smell of the skunk was so stong i just shut the door back an looked out the window an to my suprise my dog had killed this thing an had it torn in to pieces an scattered right in front of my front door but i am going to try ur suggestions an see if it will help ..
I had to comment on your skunk post. My camp smell(ed) so bad because of an under deck skunk invasion. Inside and out. I placed bowls of vinegar in each room. Sprayed the above mentioned mix on decks and around the foundation. Thanks! We are now breathing freely. Great post!
I am glad it helped!
So glad I found this blog. My Aussie Shepherd got sprayed at 3:30 am this morning when I let him out of the laundry room. At first I thought he was sprayed by a cat — I didn’t recognize the smell as skunk. I grabbed him and showered him right away (in the laundry room) so he could open his eyes. But then the stench permeated the whole house! And he still smelled awful. I found your site and rushed out to buy the ingredients. Worked wonders on him. Now he and the laundry room smell great. Rest of the house is getting there….vinegar bowls everywhere & some boiling on the stove.
Thank you so much for this post!
When things settle down I look forward to exploring the rest of your blog.
I am glad it worked for you!
Stupid question but white vinegar? And how much? Our two dogs got sprayed last night and we used your mixture on them (worked beautifully) but our house is obnoxious smelling!
Many blessings and thanks to you & your mom for the skunk odor advice. Our dog Hershey came face to face with a very small skunk when I let her out our front door instead of the back door to do her business in the pouring rain. Well this little skunk & Hershey came face to face & I’m hollering “No Hershey, No!” They sniffed each other & the skunk went to a amall hole by our front porch. You would have thought they were friends saying good morning. It never raised its tail to spray but guess that’s not really needed. The smell was everywhere at our entrance & near our garage door. Thankfully I found your story & was able to take advantage.
God bless you both for your advice!
I am glad it helped!
BLess your heart!
And thank you for this wonderful post.
We have frequent sprayings in our neighborhood. Our dog got a small bit on her, and we didn’t notice it right away due to the strong odor coming in from the outside. We went to bed and it wasn’t until the next evening after work that we realized she was the source of the stench. And in the meantime it was transferred to several places in the house. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get rid of. Immediate action seems to be key (we’ve learned the hard way). Tried a vinegar and water wipe down, then the peroxide/baking soda/dawn mix (over and over), and it didn’t work to get rid of the smell on the dog. Got Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor remover, and that got rid of most of it. But her cheek still smells.
There was a bit on my daughter’s mattress, and spraying with vinegar, opening the window, and letting the sun shine on the mattress removed it (at least so far). For the items that could be laundered, I used Arm & Hammer fresh scent detergent, added baking soda, and added Nature’s Miracle Skunk Remover to the laundry. For now that has seemed to work, but I worry it will come back.
The biggest issue is our leather sofa, which totally reeks. I have tried dish soap wipe down, vinegar wipe down, and a baking soda paste wipe down, along with a bowl of vinegar near the sofa. It still reeks 2 days later, and seems to have gotten even stronger. Any suggestions to remove from leather?