Be Very Careful If You Are Finding Holes Like This In Your Yard In Minnesota + Wisconsin

Every so often I've noticed these little holes randomly showing up in my yard. I live in Superior, Wisconsin, and I recently found out the very hard way what has been causing those holes.

It was about a month ago and my dog was pacing around the house at 2 AM. Her paws hitting the hardwood floor woke me up, and I assumed that she needed to go outside to go to the bathroom. Thinking I was avoiding a pet accident, I lept out of bed and let her out the sliding glass door. As soon as the door opened the dog shot like a bullet out the door.

I tried to wipe the sleep from my eyes and see what she was going after when I heard her yelp and bolt right back into the house through my legs. She was sprayed by a skunk. She was foaming at the mouth and she was coughing and sneezing. The smell was nothing like I'd ever experienced. It was so noxious that it nuked my senses.

Lots of people have been complaining about seeing skunks this year on Facebook. One person in the Twin Ports said they saw 8 skunks in one yard the other day. Look out!

Now, if I had seen this YouTube video before this, I would have probably thought twice about letting her out in the middle of the night. There were clear signs that I had a skunk in our yard, but I didn't know how to identify them.

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The first sign of a skunk in your yard is the little holes that they create while they are looking for food. You likely will never see the skunk doing this, as they are nocturnal creatures that are mostly active at night.

They bury their noses into the ground to look for grubs, and they leave the little holes behind. The grassy area near the holes could start looking yellow.

Another obvious way, according to Helpful DIY (and common sense), is that you have the odor of a skunk outside your home. We all know what that smells like. I can tell you from personal experience that a fresh spray up close and personal smells different because of how concentrated it is. You'll be able to identify it, but you won't believe just how bad it is.

SEE ALSO: Chocolate Sold in Minnesota & Wisconsin Linked to Major Health Problems

If you smell skunk quite often, it could be living under your deck or in a hidden area on your property.

You also may notice that your plants or berries or vegetables have been eaten. That's another way to identify that a skunk may be in your yard.

What do you do with the skunks?

The most effective and easy way to take care of them is to call a pest control company. You can also try to live trap it yourself, but then you have to deal with what to do with the skunk, which may ultimately be killing it.

I'd suggest saving the hassle and hiring a professional. Trust me, you don't want to get sprayed because that stench sticks around for weeks.