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Skunk Removal in Hattiesburg

Last reviewed September 8, 2026 against MDWFP published rules and federal statute. How we research this site.

Skunks den under porches, decks and sheds, and you usually know about it before you see one.

Hattiesburg specifically

Skunks take the gap under a shed, a deck or a settled outbuilding, and the sandy loam here makes it easy for them to enlarge one. Under a building is worse than under a woodpile: a discharge in a confined space under a floor gets into the structure above it and stays there long after the animal has gone.

Skunks in Forrest County: who does what

Hattiesburg’s animal control is a unit of the police department, and the ordinance it enforces is written around owned animals: running at large, restraint, and the responsibilities of an owner. An animal in your attic has no owner and falls outside that framework entirely. Mississippi handles nuisance wildlife through the state’s permitted operator system instead, which is a private, paid arrangement.

For identifying an animal or damage before anyone is paid to look, the MSU Extension, Forrest County office is at 952 Sullivan Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39401, 601-545-6083 (office page).

What Mississippi law says about skunks

The skunk is one of only six nuisance animals in Mississippi. Landowners and leaseholders may hunt one year-round, day or night, with no weapon restriction on their own land (an agent needs signed, dated written permission), but a live nuisance animal may not be kept, and cage traps must be checked every 36 hours. All Mississippi rules →

Sources: 40 Miss. Code R. §2-7.1, nuisance animals (Cornell LII); MDWFP: nuisance wildlife; City of Hattiesburg, Chapter 118, Animal Incidents and Control. Checked October 2026.

A striped skunk beside a hole dug under deck lattice
Illustrative The fan of loose soil gives a skunk den away before the smell does.

Signs, and why they matter

  • The obvious: a persistent musky smell around a deck or crawlspace
  • Cone-shaped digs in the lawn where they have been hunting grubs
  • A burrow entrance at the edge of a porch, slab or shed
  • Rabies vector
  • Spray contaminating a crawlspace or HVAC intake, which is extremely difficult to remove

How removal works

Careful trapping (skunks spray when startled, so this genuinely is a job for someone who has done it before) followed by burying an exclusion barrier along the structure edge.

Cut-away of a one-way exclusion door fitted over an entry hole A wall in cross-section with the attic on the left and outside on the right. A hinged flap is fitted over the entry hole on the outer face. An animal pushes the flap open from inside and leaves; the flap falls shut behind it, and a stop below prevents it opening inwards, so the animal cannot get back in. INSIDE: ATTIC OR CRAWLSPACE OUTSIDE WALL STOP: IT ONLY SWINGS OUT HINGED AT THE TOP OUT: ONE WAY AND NEVER BACK IN
A one-way door lets the animal leave and not return, which is why sealing the hole is the last step, not the first.

Skunk questions

How much does skunk removal cost in Hattiesburg?

$300 – $550 typical, depending on access and whether young are present. After a long stay in an attic the cleanup is often the bigger bill (attic restoration).

Is there a wrong time of year to deal with skunks?

Worst in spring, when females den to give birth, and again in autumn as they look for somewhere to overwinter.

Request a quote

We read every request and pass it to a licensed wildlife operator covering Hattiesburg where one is available. We are still building our list of operators here, so we cannot promise one is available or say how quickly they will respond.

We are an information and referral service, not a licensed wildlife control operator, and we may be paid for the introduction. You are never charged.

Request a quote from a licensed Mississippi operator

Tell us what is in your house. We read every request and pass it to a licensed wildlife operator covering Hattiesburg where one is available. We are still building our list of operators here, so we cannot promise one is available or say how quickly they will respond.

Request a Quote