Pepe Le Pew attacks the tomatoes

Perhaps your pet was once sprayed by a skunk. What could be worse, you ask? I’ll tell you what could be worse, my friend! The skunk could have sprayed your only Sun Gold cherry tomato plant!

I don’t know exactly what went on in my yard one night last week, but in the foray among the wild animals out there a skunk sprayed my treasured Sun Gold plant. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it’s true. And let me just add that the garden beauty was loaded with delectable golden gems, juicy and tender, sweet and divine. Loads of green tomatoes hung in delicious looking clusters, as well.

They were a promising sight. Now they’re ruined. Totally. Thanks to Pepe Le Pew and company.

Oh, I know, I know. It’s just a poor skunk, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Don’t demonize the critter, you may say. Why don’t you wash the scent off the luscious fruits, you ask? Let me tell you, it can’t be done. Every household cleaning agent short of Lysol was experimented with, and nothing worked. That scent clings!

I have an ax to grind with this creature, and if it weren’t for this animal’s nasty and appalling scent glands, I might be making more serious threats.

A bit of research revealed that the chemical compound skunks spray is a sulfur substance that may accurately be sprayed in a fanlike pattern up to 15 feet away. The compound is sprayed from two small openings near – as you know – the animal’s rear end.

The critters store up the substance and are equipped to cast five or six full-powered sprays, if needed. It’s said that skunks seldom use their self-defense skills without good cause and warning. According to one wildlife biologist, a skunk will usually first fluff up its fur, shake its tail and stamp the ground with its front feet. It may growl, stand on its hind legs and spit to scare off the offender. Then, if those techniques fail, a skunk will lift its tail and spray.

In the wild, these black and white animals tend to take refuge in and raise their young in shallow burrows, hollow logs or brush piles. Occasionally, generally in more densely populated areas, they will make their den beneath buildings, decks, house basements, crawl spaces or woodpiles.

Skunks are nocturnal scavengers, so who knows what they’re up to while we sleep. They grub around the lawn for insect larvae – the plump white grubs and shiny cutworms that live under the first few inches of sod. Both grubs and skunks may do a lot of damage to a lawn, so if their presence is a problem that affects you, consider starting a nontoxic insect-control program to discourage skunks from digging for grubs. A biological control – nematodes do the trick – may eradicate or at least minimize the problem.

The compost pile can also attract skunks to the yard. Turning the pile regularly is essential to discourage them from intruding, particularly if tantalizing eggshells and fruit rinds and peels have been disposed there.

Even if you don’t have a compost pile or a grub population in your yard, you may run – pray, not literally – into skunks. They are opportunistic omnivores that dine on rodents, mice, lizards, frogs, birds, eggs, garbage, acorns and fallen fruit. They’ll also eat earthworms, spiders and, to their credit, supposedly their diet consists largely of insects that are considered harmful to humans.

That said, I’m not sure why a skunk found its way into my yard. It could be that, relatively speaking, my yard is in the middle of the woods and there’s no choice but to coexist with critters such as these. So, I’ll take the advice you’d undoubtedly give, and – pleasantly and peacefully as possible – resign myself to this fate.

Pardon me while I go fetch a clothespin for my nose. It’s time to pick tomatoes.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 512 North Ridge Road, Montville 04941 or e-mail dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.