Published: October 14, 2008 02:57 pm      

Why did the skunk cross the road? Lookin’ for love

‘Fall shuffle’ may be causing demise of many

Like Christmas shopping and Halloween trick or treating, skunk activity is a seasonal event.

Agricultural Extension agents say that striped variety polecats venture out in search of mates in February and March.

They often look for love in all the wrong places — the other side of the road.

In the excitement of crossing it, they neglect to look both ways. In our excitement, we don’t see them until it’s too late.

Collisions ensue, followed by intense nausea, and vultures fly in from Erath County to tidy up the mess.

None of which explains the plethora of dead skunks in the middle of the road this fall. It’s not mating season. It’s not even time to court.

But it is time for something called the “fall shuffle,” Johnson County Extension agent Chris Schneider said. The fall shuffle, it appears, has become the dance of death.

“Striped skunks have litters of four to six,” Schneider explained. “They’re born between May and June. Young skunks stay with the mother till fall. Then they begin to disburse in search of their own territory and winter dens. That’s called the fall shuffle.

“It’s a pretty good possibility that those are the dead skunks we’re seeing on the road.”

Hood County Extension agent Marty Vahlenkamp, a skunk and feral hog expert, tends to agree.

“I trapped two skunks the other day in my barn [in Tolar],” he said. “They weren’t full grown. They may have been young skunks looking for a winter den.”

Mrs. Skunk obviously isn’t teaching Baby Skunk how to avoid early expiration.

“With the number of vehicles and roads in Johnson County, roaming skunks are at risk,” Schneider said. “They may need a little training in traffic etiquette.”

And that’s too bad, Schneider said, because the skunk is not an altogether odious critter.

“Skunks should not be destroyed. They’re beneficial to landowners. They eat large numbers of insects and feed on mice and rats, sometimes on moles.”

Schneider said he’s received a number of complaints about critters in general in rural and formerly rural Johnson County.

“Skunks and armadillos are prevalent. I’ve heard of some raccoons. I get an occasional call about bats and coyotes.”

Critters were here before people.

“Sometimes we forget that,” Schneider said. “I know a lot of the newer neighborhoods outside Cleburne and Burleson have wildlife interaction. The animals are looking for alternative sources of food and water.

“There are a few things those folks can do to discourage the animals from coming in. They can clear debris, mow vegetation, remove the dog food and cat food dishes from the back porch.

“There are remedies like mothballs, but the remedies aren’t always consistent. If you’re getting mice and snakes, I recommend rat glue traps. You can nail down the glue traps to make sure they don’t go anywhere.”

Glue traps don’t work against the nastiest critter of them all, the feral hog.

“I had reports of feral hogs tearing up tee boxes and fairways at The Retreat last week,” Schneider said. “The people out there are already on top of it. They’re building traps from cattle panels and bringing in hunters.”

It is said that there are two types of land in North Central Texas — land with feral hogs and land that will have feral hogs.

“They’re a pretty big problem across the southern portion of the United States,” Schneider said.