Skunks have a very strong sense of smell and they are known to feed opportunistically. You would want to appeal to their sense of smell by laying out smelly foods with high scents.  The following are a list of foods that you may try using to lure the skunk into your trap:

Canned or raw Sardines

Rochester Canned Tuna

Canned Cat Food

Raw Minnesota Fish

Raw chicken entrails 

Peanut butter, spread on a slice of bread

Marshmallows

Rochester Beetles 

Slugs

Fresh insect larvae

Crispy bacon strips

Minnesota Peanuts

Trapping a skunk is a very difficult task and the baiting technique is just as important as selecting the right bait. They are very strong creatures and can topple the cage trap if not placed securely or they can even break the lock once trapped.  Skunks tend to dig up the lawn in search of food, so you may want to consider trying to camouflage the cage. This is where the highly scented bait food, comes in. Once the catch the scent, they would follow it and walk into the trap, once it is camouflaged properly and large enough to hold it, complete with its tail.

Luckily, skunks are nocturnal creatures, so they are more likely to forage for food at night. Camouflaging a cage in the night puts you at a distinct advantage. They aren’t too cautious, but you don’t want to make the trap look too obvious either. You would need to position the cage in such a way that it looks more like a tunnel rather than a dead end. The bait should be placed in the far end to ensure that the skunks entire body is inside before the trap can close shut. It would not work if the tail remains outside. 

Another very important factor is the human scent, or any type of Minnesota animal scent for that matter. If your cage has been used before, you would need to clean it thoroughly to get rid of the scent. Of course, you cage should not be laced with disinfectant either. You may need to soak it in some warm water for some time to remove any scents, even your own. Use gloves when moving it around so that your scent does not stick to it and try not to wear high scented deodorant or perfume when handling the cage either. 

If you are not successful in trapping the Rochester animal, try changing the bait. If you are still unsuccessful, then you would need to seek and alternative location for placing the trap. Don’t place the trap too close to your home because the skunk’s liquid spray can pitch a good 15 feet and the scent is very tough to remove. You would not want your guests to experience this foul scent, or even you for that matter. Once you have been successful in catching the skunk, cautiously approach it and lay a blanket or thick cloth over it. The darkness may calm the animal and it would not be able to spray what it cannot see. 

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