stupid first world problems you're dealing with

  On 3/13/2021 at 9:27 PM, ignatius said:

there's a skunk living under my shed in the back yard. i've not seen him. they're nocturnal. he's sprayed something back there numerous times and when he does i can smell it strongly in the house. this skunk is king of musk. i see the hole he's dug to go under the shed.  the other night whatever he sprayed he really unloaded and i had to go outside in front my house for a minute because wtf. even w/all windows closed and sitting the basement it was almost overwhelming. 

 

so, i looked on line how to get rid of them. and seems like if you just annoy them repeatedly by blocking the hole they use to access wherever they are that they eventually leave.  so now i'm playing this game w/the skunk where during the day i throw a brick and pile up some much and dirt at the hole. then the next day he's cleared it out and i block it again. they're strong little animals. previously there was a border under the shed w/a cross hatched wooden thing that was probably rotting a little but still in place. one day i went out there and it looked like tiny hulk had ripped it apart and discarded the bits all over the yard. 

 

so, now i'm dropping 2 bricks there every day. i don't want to put a big block or anything there because i don't want to trap the bugger in there and have him die or something. i don't want to harm the stinky fucker.. just get him to move. hopefully skunks aren't like the homeless tweekers of the animal kingdom and they'll take the hint and find a new den.

 

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Skunks are among the stupidest pests in the world.  They will stick to the same schedule every day regardless of how many times they get interrupted.  When I've had skunks I've just gone out at twilight every day with a .22 rifle until I happen to see it, then shoot it.  They're slow as fuck and very visible so it isn't hard once you know where it is.  I'd shoot it multiple times though, since they're tough little creatures.  I've also heard of people hunting them successfully with a spear.  This may be preferable since you don't have to reload a spear and it can penetrate brush more effectively.

  On 3/13/2021 at 10:04 PM, drillkicker said:

Skunks are among the stupidest pests in the world.  They will stick to the same schedule every day regardless of how many times they get interrupted.  When I've had skunks I've just gone out at twilight every day with a .22 rifle until I happen to see it, then shoot it.  They're slow as fuck and very visible so it isn't hard once you know where it is.  I'd shoot it multiple times though, since they're tough little creatures.  I've also heard of people hunting them successfully with a spear.  This may be preferable since you don't have to reload a spear and it can penetrate brush more effectively.

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i'm not gonna kill it if i'm not gonna eat it. and i'm not gonna eat it. i'm OK w/skunk being there except that the once or twice a month spray is a big stink. i really don't mind it living under the shed. there's squirrels, raccoons, probably rats, cats, lot's of birds, and this skunk all in and around the really big old deodar cedar tree.. which is an ecosystem in itself. i'm happy to let them all roam freely so long as they're not being assholes. that's when i make little changes to annoy them until they change their behavior. i've no interest in harming any of them.  there's also my squatch standing guard... 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLPtU-chkn_/

  On 3/13/2021 at 10:22 PM, ignatius said:

 

i'm not gonna kill it if i'm not gonna eat it. and i'm not gonna eat it. i'm OK w/skunk being there except that the once or twice a month spray is a big stink. i really don't mind it living under the shed. there's squirrels, raccoons, probably rats, cats, lot's of birds, and this skunk all in and around the really big old deodar cedar tree.. which is an ecosystem in itself. i'm happy to let them all roam freely so long as they're not being assholes. that's when i make little changes to annoy them until they change their behavior. i've no interest in harming any of them.  there's also my squatch standing guard... 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLPtU-chkn_/

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OK, as long as you don't have pets and you're alright with the smell.  Skunks are viscous predators and kill their prey in pretty much the most painful way possible (eat it from the anus without killing the animal first).  I personally don't like having them around, especially when they kill chickens, so I would opt to kill the skunk.

  On 3/13/2021 at 10:52 PM, drillkicker said:

OK, as long as you don't have pets and you're alright with the smell.  Skunks are viscous predators and kill their prey in pretty much the most painful way possible (eat it from the anus without killing the animal first).  I personally don't like having them around, especially when they kill chickens, so I would opt to kill the skunk.

that sounds awful. i think there are other predators that eat the ass as well.  no pets currently to worry about  

if i had chickens etc i'd have them secured in a nice chicken run/coop. did read about skunks killing smaller farm animals. if i was on a farm and smaller animals i'd probably take a different tact w/the skunks.. and any potential predators. 

Hey now, just because I eat the ass doesn't make me a predator.

Skunks mostly eat insects... 

  On 3/13/2021 at 11:09 PM, luke viia said:

Skunks mostly eat insects... 

yeah.. digging in the dirt.. i think that's what peter gabriel was talking about in that song..  but are known to attack smaller animals and kill them.. either in defense or on the offensive as a predator. 

  On 3/13/2021 at 11:07 PM, Zephyr_Nova said:

Hey now, just because I eat the ass doesn't make me a predator.

LOL

  On 3/13/2021 at 11:05 PM, ignatius said:

 

that sounds awful. i think there are other predators that eat the ass as well.  no pets currently to worry about  

if i had chickens etc i'd have them secured in a nice chicken run/coop. did read about skunks killing smaller farm animals. if i was on a farm and smaller animals i'd probably take a different tact w/the skunks.. and any potential predators. 

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Unless you keep them in an iron vault skunks will always find a way in.  Hungry animals are very persistent.

  On 3/13/2021 at 11:09 PM, luke viia said:

Skunks mostly eat insects... 

Maybe, but a sleeping chicken is a juicy meal, and an easy one.  I've seen a lot of empty chicken carcasses because of that.  I've even seen a chicken that got its head ripped off through the wall of the coop.  Aside from eagles, skunks are the biggest chicken predators we have where I live.

Oh yeah, I grew up in the country, I'm aware of how vulnerable chickens are. I'll never forget my mom screaming when she walked into our coop to find that a weasel had managed to sneak in, rip the head off one of the hens, more or less drink her blood and peace out. The other hens were all backed up as far as they could be, staring in horror at the aftermath.

Yesterday I went into the woods for the first time since last fall and now the entire left half of my face is red and itchy.

  On 3/14/2021 at 1:34 AM, luke viia said:

Oh yeah, I grew up in the country, I'm aware of how vulnerable chickens are. I'll never forget my mom screaming when she walked into our coop to find that a weasel had managed to sneak in, rip the head off one of the hens, more or less drink her blood and peace out. The other hens were all backed up as far as they could be, staring in horror at the aftermath.

Our chickens are fucking callous monsters.  When we get predator kills, the other hens will happily peck at the aftermath and otherwise don't give a shit about it.

Pizza Hut is selling motherfucking KFC popcorn chicken pizza, with gravy dipping sauce. That's the most American thing I've ever seen in Canada.

  On 3/14/2021 at 6:05 AM, Zephyr_Nova said:

Pizza Hut is selling motherfucking KFC popcorn chicken pizza, with gravy dipping sauce. That's the most American thing I've ever seen in Canada.

sorry for your lots. 

  On 3/14/2021 at 7:33 AM, ignatius said:

sorry for your lots. 

finally lots instead of lot's... great job Ignatius... still, i think u meant lost...

  On 3/13/2021 at 9:27 PM, ignatius said:

there's a skunk living under my shed in the back yard. i've not seen him. they're nocturnal. he's sprayed something back there numerous times and when he does i can smell it strongly in the house. this skunk is king of musk. i see the hole he's dug to go under the shed.  the other night whatever he sprayed he really unloaded and i had to go outside in front my house for a minute because wtf. even w/all windows closed and sitting the basement it was almost overwhelming. 

 

so, i looked on line how to get rid of them. and seems like if you just annoy them repeatedly by blocking the hole they use to access wherever they are that they eventually leave.  so now i'm playing this game w/the skunk where during the day i throw a brick and pile up some much and dirt at the hole. then the next day he's cleared it out and i block it again. they're strong little animals. previously there was a border under the shed w/a cross hatched wooden thing that was probably rotting a little but still in place. one day i went out there and it looked like tiny hulk had ripped it apart and discarded the bits all over the yard. 

 

so, now i'm dropping 2 bricks there every day. i don't want to put a big block or anything there because i don't want to trap the bugger in there and have him die or something. i don't want to harm the stinky fucker.. just get him to move. hopefully skunks aren't like the homeless tweekers of the animal kingdom and they'll take the hint and find a new den.

 

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Hah! Awesome post. I rarely visit this thread (thankfully!) and wasn’t expecting to read about a skunk moving in under a shed I guess it’s a curious animal that I’ve only ever seen on tv.

Oh by the way I don’t have any problems to report (apart from a extra few kilos I seem to of acquired). Life at the moment is chill.

Hope you deal with the swiftly

  On 3/13/2021 at 9:27 PM, ignatius said:

he's sprayed something back there numerous times and when he does i can smell it strongly in the house. this skunk is king of musk. 

any chance you could describe the smell for those of us unenlightened?

  On 3/14/2021 at 3:34 PM, Dragon said:

 

any chance you could describe the smell for those of us unenlightened?

Imagine you didn't have plumbing and all your shit piled up on the ground and dried into a brittle cake, then someone piled up all your shitcakes and set them on fire.

one time i was sleeping behind a building & woke up to find a skunk licking my bare heel. didn't know my boy pepe le pew was into foot stuff

  On 3/14/2021 at 5:57 PM, Cryptowen said:

one time i was sleeping behind a building & woke up to find a skunk licking my bare heel. didn't know my boy pepe le pew was into foot stuff

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/03/09/pepe-le-pew/%3foutputType=amp

  On 3/14/2021 at 3:34 PM, Dragon said:

 

any chance you could describe the smell for those of us unenlightened?

you know the red/orange eraser on the end of a number 2 pencil? as a kid did  you ever erase like 5 sentences w/one of those? that sort of musky burning smell that happens as a result.. it's like that but weaponized and sort of a mix of a smokey pungent burnt eraser smell that in large amounts has like a toxic mist vibe and if too close to it it'll crawl into your nose and throat and almost make me gag. it's kind of suffocating. but i've never been sprayed and only experienced it from a distance. 

the first time i smelled a skunk was in southern california.  on the highway.. driving.. there'd be this smell once in a while and once i asked the person w/me in the car "WTF IS THAT SMELL" and she said it's a skunk.. probably got hit by a car crossing the highway. and it would be pretty bad even going 70mph and only smelling it for like 10 seconds. 

  On 3/14/2021 at 1:58 PM, Tim_J said:

finally lots instead of lot's... great job Ignatius... still, i think u meant lost...

nope.. i meant lots. a friend of mine started saying it years ago in response to 1st world type problems.  i think it happened as a typo first then it became a thing. a way to describe a 'champagne problem'.. like "i'd love to have your problems instead of mine". "sounds like one of those champagne problems"

maybe doesn't fit w/the chicken pizza gravy dipping except sarcastically

I just realized that I own way more shit than I could ever hope to bring with me to the city.  I might have to throw away all of my books, most of which I'm very attached to.  I feel completely overwhelmed and I'm starting to panic.  I have to move in two weeks and I own at least five times as much stuff as I can bring with me.

Well, I don't know the solution to your dilemma, but you certainly do not need to throw away your books. Give them away, or sell them, but let them live in the world! 

Yeah I wouldn't go Fahrenheit 451 on old books. Granted I rarely read books myself, but they are basically chronicles of human civilization. They could have unforeseen value millennia or even eons from now to whichever post- or non-human intelligence may discover our ruins and remains long after we're gone.

My latest FWP is that my local Costco stopped carrying Vitamin Water Zero - my favorite lunchtime beverage for some reason. I'm so pissed.

  On 3/14/2021 at 7:56 PM, drillkicker said:

I just realized that I own way more shit than I could ever hope to bring with me to the city.  I might have to throw away all of my books, most of which I'm very attached to.  I feel completely overwhelmed and I'm starting to panic.  I have to move in two weeks and I own at least five times as much stuff as I can bring with me.

Your account info says The Bay, so I don't know if you mean SF or somewhere else but there are plenty of 'neighborhood libraries' where there's a shelf with free books in them. You should just go around and donate them.

  On 3/14/2021 at 10:53 PM, Braintree said:

 

Your account info says The Bay, so I don't know if you mean SF or somewhere else but there are plenty of 'neighborhood libraries' where there's a shelf with free books in them. You should just go around and donate them.

Chesapeake Bay.  It's an area with not much bookspace.  Actually everybody who has books here doesn't have any room for more.  I'm pretty sure the thrift shops just throw them away.  The libraries are closed because of covid.  Most of my books are ones that people I know wouldn't want.  I just have to find space for them somewhere, but it's really inconvenient.