Illinois Town In Desperate Need Of Skunk Trappers

If you are a skunk expert, a town in Illinois is looking for all the help they can get.

I remember when I was in high school, there was a serious skunk problem in my home town of Villa Park. A lot of wooded areas were being torn down and replaced with strip malls. That was kicking the skunks out of their homes with nowhere to go.

Then they started wandering around the neighborhoods in town. Driving around at night, the air was filled with skunk smell. If you owned a dog, you had to be extra careful that they didn't meet face to face with one.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to avoid that problem. One night, our dog decided to corner a skunk in our yard. The smell was so strong, it made me feel nauseous. My dog had to spend several days in the garage and had numerous tomato juice baths before she could rejoin the family in the house.

When your nose is attacked like that, you almost don't notice the foul odor after a few hours. I didn't realize that the smell attached itself to my clothes including the jacket I wore every day to school. I walked into my first class reeking like a skunk. Just think about going through that scenario as a teenager. I didn't live that down for months.

So, I definitely feel for these poor people.

According to dailyherald.com,

"Skunks are so abundant in one part of Vernon Hills that the village and park district is offering to reimburse residents a portion of the cost to trap and remove one. There's just so many and we need help."

I can only imagine how bad it must be there. The whole town must smell like a Grateful Dead show.

"Sightings became so common that a neighborhood Facebook page was created just to chart them. More than 120 skunk icons, each representing a sighting."

On my way to work, every once in awhile I catch the aroma of one of those guys, but to have it all the time would drive me crazy. Plus, give me a bad flashback to high school.

Video: Pepe Le Pew

If you're a skunk expert, here's an opportunity to help and make a little extra cash on the side.

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