Maine’s ‘Critter Guy’ Shares the Best Way to Get Rid of Skunk Smell

It's a dog owner's greatest fear.

*Knocks on wood...*

So far, this is not an encounter that my dog has had. Nor do I never want to have it. But chances are, you at least know someone who's had to deal with trying to get the stench of skunk off their dog. Or worse, off of themselves. Or even worse, both. There's a ton of folk remedies and wives tales about how to get rid of the smell, but some even make it worse.

When I see someone like the Critter Guy on Facebook giving the gospel for getting rid of skunk smell, I perk right up to attention. Here's a guy who's been sprayed more than once and has dealt with it more times than you and I will ever have to. His method is a bit more scientific. Let's discuss...

Leave the tomato juice for the Bloody Mary's on Sunday mornings.

First and foremost, the good news is that the things you'll need to get rid of the smell are probably lying around your house right now... And not one of them is tomato juice. Critter Guy says the tomato juice actually only masks the smell and worse, it spreads it around even more.

He says he learned this method from TV's Mythbusters, but says it works like a charm. You just have to be patient and persistent. To get started, you'll need Dawn dishwashing liquid, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. Most folks have all these things right now, and even if you don't, they'll even likely be at the convenience store down the road.

Here's what you do when you've gathered all the ingredients:

First, cover the sprayed area with the Dawn and the baking soda, mixing the two into a paste. When that dries, you scrape it away and check the smell level. If it's still pretty strong, do it again. When you've gotten the smell down to a dull roar, rinse the area with the hydrogen peroxide, as this completes the chemical process for ridding the smell.

Only when the smell stops should you consider using any soap and water. Again, those will only spread the smell around more of your body, and nobody wants that. He says it can linger in your hair a bit longer. But still... anything has to be better than smelling like roadkill, right?

Let's forget about skunks while we get more scared of bugs...