How do we get skunks or opossums out from under our HOA's decks, stoops and sheds?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 29, 2026

How an HOA board gets skunks and opossums out from under decks, stoops and sheds: timing around kits, buried wire, one-way doors, state trapping rules, rabies.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Wait until the animal is gone, then close the gap so nothing else moves in. For most decks, stoops and sheds that means a flour test or a one-way door to confirm the den is empty, followed by quarter-inch hardware cloth buried along the base. Trapping is the fallback, not the first call, and it comes with state rules on what happens to the animal afterward. Timing decides most of this. Skunks den under structures to raise young in spring, and sealing a mother out leaves kits to die under the boards. The board's part is to decide whose structure it is, set the season for the work, hire someone who knows the state rules, and keep owners from improvising with mothballs and traps. Rules vary by state, by city and by your governing documents. This guide is general education, not legal advice.

Decide whose deck it is

Before anyone buys wire, pull the maintenance chart. A clubhouse deck, pool equipment shed or entry stoop on common property is the association's job. A townhome deck or a condo patio may be a limited common element, an owner's responsibility, or split between the two depending on the declaration. Florida condominium law puts maintenance of the common elements on the association, except limited common elements the declaration assigns to the unit owner (Fla. Stat. 718.113(1)). Texas and Colorado communities follow the declaration. If an owner deck is the owner's job, the board can still line up one contractor for a cluster of homes, each owner paying for their own unit.

Figure out what is under there, and when

UC IPM, the University of California's pest management program, lists the signs. Barking dogs at night are often first. A faint skunk odor can hang around even when nothing has sprayed. Skunks also dig cone-shaped pits 3 to 5 inches across in turf while hunting insects, which looks a lot like armadillo damage, so check our guide on stopping armadillos digging up HOA common areas if the holes are the main complaint. The calendar matters more than the species. UC IPM says striped skunks breed in February and March, carry for about 9 weeks, and have litters of 4 to 6 kits. The kits start following the mother on her nightly rounds after 2 to 3 months. Opossums run on a different schedule: UC IPM describes mating seasons in January and February and again in June and July, with young riding in the pouch for about 8 weeks and weaned around 14 weeks. A rough working rule for a skunk den is this. From late winter through early summer, assume kits are present and plan around them. Once the family is seen moving out together at night, the den is close to empty. Opossum young spend their first 8 weeks or so in the pouch, so a mother leaving the den in that window takes them along. After that, confirm the den is empty the same way you would for a skunk.

Confirm the den is empty, then seal it

UC IPM gives two ways to confirm an animal has left. The flour test. Smooth a layer of flour about 1/8 inch thick across the entrance and check it soon after dark. Tracks leading out mean the animal has gone out for the night. Close the opening then, while it is away. The one-way door. Cut a piece of 1/2-inch mesh hardware cloth larger than the opening, hinge it at the top and leave the other three sides loose. The animal pushes out and cannot push back in. Leave it in place for several nights before sealing. Once the den is empty, close every opening under the deck, stoop or shed with 1/4-inch mesh hardware cloth. UC IPM says to bury the wire at least 6 inches where the animals can dig. Bend the bottom few inches of the wire outward into an L under the soil, so an animal digging at the base hits mesh instead of dirt. Decorative lattice alone does not count as a barrier. UC IPM says kits too young to walk may have to be removed by other means. If the one-way door goes up and you still hear young under the boards, stop and call the contractor back. Do not seal over them.

Trapping rules in Texas, Florida and Colorado

Texas. Skunks and opossums are both fur-bearing animals under Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 71.001. Section 71.004(a) lets a landowner or the landowner's agent take a fur-bearing animal causing depredation on that land. Texas Parks and Wildlife says landowners and their agents may take nuisance fur-bearers without a hunting or trapping license, but the animals may not be kept, and relocating them requires authorization from the department and the property owner. Plan on the trapper euthanizing a trapped skunk rather than driving it to a park. Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission lets property owners, or someone they authorize, take nuisance wildlife with live traps. Traps must be checked at least once every 24 hours. A captured animal may be released on the same contiguous property, or on a site of at least 40 contiguous acres in the same county with the written permission of that landowner. Anything not released must be euthanized humanely within 24 hours. A county rabies alert or quarantine can block transport altogether. Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says any person may kill skunks when necessary to protect life or property, and that state health laws do not permit relocating skunks. Opossums may be taken without a permit by the landowner or an agent on private property with damage. Live traps must be checked at least once a day. Relocating an opossum needs a CPW relocation permit. In practice: hire a licensed wildlife control operator for anything involving a trap, and write the disposition of each animal into the contract.

Rabies and the skunk that acts wrong

The smell is the smaller risk. The Texas Department of State Health Services counted 151 rabid skunks in 2022, 38 percent of all positive animals that year and second only to bats. Bats and skunks are the main rabies reservoirs in Texas, and DSHS reports a peak in April, with skunks the leading rabid species that month. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says rabies is rare but that bats and skunks are the most commonly infected animals in the state. Give owners a short rule: a skunk wandering around in daylight, staggering, or walking up to people is a call to animal control, not to the board. CPW lists strange behavior, lack of fear of people, difficulty walking and aggression as warning signs and asks that sick or strange wildlife be reported to CPW and local animal control. Anyone bitten or scratched should see a doctor the same day, and the incident should go to the local health department.

Remove what draws them in

Exclusion lasts longer when the space under the deck stops being worth the effort. UC IPM names the usual draws for opossums: pet food left out overnight, fallen fruit, garbage cans without tight lids, food scraps in compost and vegetable gardens. Skunks come for grubs, insects and the same food. Have the landscape crew clear brush piles next to common buildings, and check that the clubhouse and pool trash cans close. Skip the home remedies. UC IPM says commercial skunk repellents are not very effective, and it warns that strong-smelling repellents should not go under an occupied building because fumes can get inside. Mothballs under a townhome deck put pesticide fumes into someone's living room.

Owner notice and a contract checklist

A notice you can adapt: 'A skunk has been denning under [location]. The association has hired [company] to confirm the animal has left and to seal the openings with buried wire mesh. Please do not set traps, use mothballs or block the opening yourself. Sealing an animal in or its young out makes the problem worse. If you see a skunk out in daylight, acting sick or approaching people, keep pets inside and call [animal control number]. If you or a pet is bitten or scratched, see a doctor or vet right away.' For the contract, ask for: An inspection that names the species and whether young are likely present. The confirmation method (flour test, one-way door or camera) and how many nights it runs. The exclusion spec: 1/4-inch hardware cloth, buried depth, and how the mesh attaches to the deck frame or slab. Trap checks on the state's schedule, and the disposition of each animal under your state's rules. A return visit if the animal gets back in within a set period, and a certificate of insurance naming the association. A motion you can adapt: 'Move to hire [company] to exclude skunks and opossums from [structures] at [price], with den confirmation before sealing, 1/4-inch buried mesh, and trapping only as needed under state rules.'

Mistakes boards make

Sealing in May. A Saturday volunteer with a roll of wire can trap a litter under the clubhouse deck. Schedule the work for after the young are moving. Trapping first. Trapping one skunk leaves the den open for the next one. Exclusion is what ends the calls. Relocating. Driving a skunk to the edge of town is not allowed in Colorado, and Texas and Florida attach conditions to it. Let the contractor handle disposition in writing. Treating every deck separately. Animals move to the next open gap, so do a whole building or row at once. Ignoring a daytime skunk. That is a public health call, and it belongs to animal control the same day. Our guide on getting squirrels and raccoons out of HOA attics covers the same timing and contract approach for the animals that go up instead of under.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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