Of Compost and Skunks

"Do you actually use compost? Because in Brattleboro they pick it up." Odd as it may seem, I never exactly know how to answer these sorts of questions that appear to be more comment than question. I was working to the best of my limited ability to construct out of scrap lumber a compost bin, and like the one worker shoveling out a hole with three more leaning on their shovels giving out advice from above, I thought better of offering a response that invited more observations. On the one hand, I have been composting for 29 years and on the other I wasn't building a new bin for compost per say but for the family of skunks that found my all you can eat buffet. So I stopped hammering and told him that there was nothing better for plants and soil than compost.

I began composting plant material out of necessity because in Hinsdale, they don't so much as have soil as they do beach sand as far down as one can dig a hole. Wayne wasn't too keen on paying money for bags of dirt so compost seemed a perfect compromise.  I dug a shallow depression and stacked discarded cinder blocks around it. Occasionally we would find bobcat tracks in the snow nearby; but for the most part the system served our garden well.  When we moved into a neighborhood in Vernon, we decided that we should clean up our act and purchased a designated composting bin. The bin was soon damaged by plastic gnawing critters and so was retired in short order. We replaced the bin with a chain link dog kennel and a section of privacy fence to hide it from view. I don't mind sharing a bit of compost with a passing bunny, squirrel or jay, so this "system" has been in place ever since.

A few things have changed with composting over the years; composting is now mandatory in VT, I have added non recyclable paper to the mix, and skunks have made an appearance. I'm not sure what took them so long, perhaps they were too busy spraying our dogs under the deck to notice the compost or maybe its been a dry difficult summer for food. I turned my compost and put water to it in the morning and by that evening we had four skunks rummaging in and around the fence. Don't get me wrong, I love skunks. I do my best to avoid disturbing their activities and in turn they rid my lawn of grubs and other pests. The problem with having multiple skunks drawn to a compost pile is that skunks carry among other things, rabies and distemper. Luring skunks into close proximity of each other spreads disease more quickly among the population.  The situation needed remediation and social distancing skunks donning masks didn't seem plausible.

Trying to outsmart skunks is easier said than done. I opened my front curtains one morning to find a skunk staring at me from my cherry tree. After a few seconds, the skunk meandered down the trunk head first. My daughter informed me that skunks will climb trees to eat eggs and birds from the nest. Installing a lid is something to consider for my new bin. The skunks within my fence however, had dug under it to gain access. My bin needs to have a floor. As the old saying goes where the head fits the rest follows and skunks are no exception to this rule. Now I'm not about to measure the size of a skunk's head so I have to guess on the gap between boards. Skunks are members of the weasel family. They have sharp claws and chewing teeth so I need to make it resistant to that. Skunks are not terribly picky about their habitat, (they wren't at all concerned with my getting up close and taking their picture for this blog) and they will happily live miles away from a water source. It seems that the location of the bin is not a factor with the exception of the fact that a skunk can spray up to ten feet so the bin must be out of reach our dogs. Finally, skunks are omnivores, they eat practically everything that I compost and then some. I'm still working on a plan to convince skunks that  beetles are better than bread. Since that's not likely to actually work, I am working on building Fort Knox in my driveway. - Norma Manning

Resources:
Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation, Food Scraps
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Safe Composting in Bear Country
Scientific American, Trashing Gardens: Is there a way to use compost without attracting unwanted critters? 

A Striped skunk digging in compost

Skunk digging to get into the compost

A quick warning - Tail up!

Corn cob rests on a skunk that is digging in the compost

My new compost bin, a work in progress