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This is a touchy time of year since these critters are usually giving birth to their babies.

I would be inclined to try and trap it again and dispose of it but that would leave babies under the deck that would die and continue to stink up the place.

Any thoughts would be appreciated........

As a side note, considering the effort it gave to re-excavate the entrance hole, it's quite likely that it does have babies under the deck.......

“As a side note, considering the effort it gave to re-excavate the entrance hole, it’s quite likely that it does have babies under the deck....... “

I hate to say this, but it’s time to call in a professional. (If you were Hillary Clinton and the skunk knew something, it would have a fatal accident. So, not THAT kind of professional.) Since you aren’t Hillary Clinton, I’m assuming, Google “Pest Control.” They will likely have a camera they can snake in for a look. The last thing you want is a dead litter of skunk pups under your deck. If you think their natural stink is bad, wait until they are dead.

You need a Great Horned Owl, they eat skunks and the smell doesn’t bother them.

Since there aren’t owls for sale maybe playing recorded GHO calls all the time would turn off the skunk on your place.

Or borrow a large boa constrictor. lol

The usual method of disposing of a trapped skunk is to cover the trap with a tarp and then drop the trap, skunk and all, into a 55 gallon drum of water. Hired trappers of course don’t do this in front of customers but take it off to do at home so the customers still have a feel good feeling about the Have-a-Heart trap. Moving skunks around to release is kind of risky since they can carry disease to new animal populations.

You could try to locate the den entrance and flood it... she might move the kids out. Then fold some wire fencing into an “L” profile and stake all around the deck with the lower bent part out about 16 inches or more. This is because animals that dig are often not quite bright enough to start digging 16 inches out but instead push their noses up against the vertical part and try to dig there. They can’t get through because they never back up away from the fence to get their nose under the flap sticking out.

There is poultry wire made with a bottom flap for just this purpose but it is harder to find.