Need suggestions

[Fro65]

Well, it had been a great weekend until a few hours ago. Long story short, I spent the last two days dismantling a motocross track I have had out in my field for over 30 years.

I was ripping up the berms and jumps with my backhoe and then using the loader to move the dirt to my fencerows. Trying to recoup about six acres of crop land. Anyhow, I backed up to one of the larger jumps to start tearing it down and noticed a large groundhog burrow spilling over the side. Thought I would have some fun so I lined up with the burrow and took about a two foot deep swipe through it with the hoe.

Did you know skunk burrows look just like groundhog burrows? Yep, out she came locked and loaded. Got me and the tractor pretty good. Wife was not happy as I approached the house.

Burned my clothes and took a shower with a homebrew lye solution...this took care of me but does anyone know what I can use to deskunk my tractor without damaging it?

I have tried solves-it, purple power and simple green. None worked.

You will move to the top of my hero list if you have a solution.

 

[Daren Todd]

I used this recipe on the wood on my back sun room. Had a skunk get into the sunroom through a doggie door. Needless to say it ended badly when I let the dogs out not knowing the skunk was out there.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/de-skunking_dog.html

You can try it in a hidden spot to make sure it doesn't mess with the paint. Then it should be a matter of using a sprayer, soaking the tractor down, letting it sit for a bit, and hose it off.

 

[Brick Axelrod]

There is a groundhog laughing its ass off right now. I found this, good luck.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/natures-miracle-skunk-odor-remover-32-fl-oz

 

[sheepfarmer]

Tec-Nu is a product for getting poison ivy oils off skin and clothes, and in small print it mentions getting skunk spray off dogs. Had occasion to try it out last summer and it worked pretty well on the dog. It has mineral spirits and propylene glycol among other things in it, so you would have to be careful what tractor parts you wiped off with it. Meijers carries it around here.

 

[Fro65]

Well nothing seems to be working too well.

Daren, your link basically duplicates my recipe that I used on me. It is pretty caustic so I chose not to try it on the tractor.

Brick, I stopped at TSC and picked up some. No better results than the purple power etc.

Sheepfarmer, I researched your mentioned Tecnu product and based on that, tried mineral spirits on the tractor. It did better than the others but was not what I would call successful.

We were supposedly going to get slammed pretty hard with storms from the Florida aftermath. So, I parked the tractor outside to let mother nature try washing it. Wouldn't you know, we got the wind but the rain missed us.

Guess time is my next option.

Thanks all!

 

[sheepfarmer]

I'm not so keen on your putting caustic solutions on your skin and thinking they might be too strong for your tractor!

There is also tomato juice, a tried and true remedy for skunked dogs. It worked for me on a white whippet I had, she turned a little pink though. A housemate's bicycle also got hit by the skunk spray so me and dog were in doghouse (college days). Don't remember if she tried tomato juice on her bike.

 

[kirk1870]

I have learned that ground hogs have multiple burrows. Skunks will use them until the original occupant returns. Thus, skunk burrows look like groung hog burrows.As for helping your your tractor smell better, I am no help, we always use the Recipe.

 

[skeets]

WD 40 is good for everything else,,right

 

[bgk]

Hahahahaha. I’m sorry but that story made my night. I would take a big spray bottle (the fertilizer type) and fill it with a mixture of white vinegar and listerine. Both help with the smell, so why not mix?

 

[bgk]

I'm not so keen on your putting caustic solutions on your skin and thinking they might be too strong for your tractor!



There is also tomato juice, a tried and true remedy for skunked dogs. It worked for me on a white whippet I had, she turned a little pink though. A housemate's bicycle also got hit by the skunk spray so me and dog were in doghouse (college days). Don't remember if she tried tomato juice on her bike.

Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dawn shouldn’t be too harmful to wash oneself with. I’d imagine half of the bed bath and bodyworks stuff our wives use is worse.

 

[D2Cat]

I'd try the formula that's been around for years that Daren linked you to. Don't know what you're referring to as "caustic", but if you're afraid of the hydrogen peroxide use the other two ingredients as suggested.

The original mixture was developed by a vet. He found out it did not remain stable, so it had no shelf life. He then decided to make it available to everyone, basically as a gift! The hydrogen peroxide was in there to open up the air follicles so the baking soda would get to the oil, and the soap helped to motivate the action.

I'm guessing your tractor has no hair, so the hydrogen peroxide won't help.

Put your tractor is the smallest building/shed you have and rent a de-ionizer from your local rental yard. Turn the do-ionizer on full blast over night. By morning your skunky smell will be gone.

I've used this process to eliminate many odors from excessive cologne to cigar smoke that's saturated automobile interiors!

 

[skeets]

I've used this process to eliminate many odors from excessive cologne to cigar smoke that's saturated automobile interiors!

Has our friend a bit of a checkered past? Maybe you should tell us more about the cologne and cigars,,, And no I wasnt saying anything about Slick Willie

 

[Fro65]

Sheepfarmer, I appreciate your concern. I don't get it anywhere near my eyes.

Kirk1870, I wish I'd known that a week ago.

Skeets, not trying to make the stink slick.

D2Cat, not afraid of any one ingredient of that formula. However, when mixed together, Peroxide and baking soda will produce a form of sodium hydroxide. Particularly hard on aluminum. I liked your deionizer idea...hadn't thought of that. Picked one up this evening from a company we had take care of a flooded basement a few years ago. They thought it would work as well. Tented the tractor and will let it run for a day.

Thanks all!

 

[D2Cat]

Skeets, really not much of an exciting story. Bought a Ford Escape for my niece in KC and she lived in Ft. Collins. It was what she wanted, color, interior, etc. It almost make me sick just driving it to my place, 40 miles. This lady liked "bling" and it was BAD. And those leather seats or headliners were saturated with her favorite.

I simply put the ionizer in the car for one night. Smell gone!

Bought a "95 Chev 1/2 ton diesel. That's where the cigar smell was. Same thing, one night and I still have the truck and never smell any smoke odor.

Had a commercial property that was a pet food store. When that guy moved out the smell was.....I don't how to describe except BAD. Had the floor cleaned by someone I knew did good work and had used many times. Two days after he was finished the odor was better, but far from odorless.

I put an ionizer in that space and let it run for about 3 days. The person in the next business (it was a small strip mall type place) called me and said her place smelled like a rain storm and didn't know what it could be, and could I come and check her place out.

As soon as she told me about the smell of rain I knew what it was. And the smell from pet food, the crickets he sold and what ever else was in there was gone!

What do you think hotels use when they need to remove the smoke smell in a non-smoking room? They work!!

 

[skeets]

Hmmm a likely story, I thought maybe you had some association with some ahhh families ,,you ahh know what I mean

 

[Fro65]

The results are in! I didn't have time to check yesterday so I took my wife over to the barn this morning to smell my tractor. By the way, I can't smell skunks (long story) so I have been having my wife check for stink every time I tried something different. She was starting to get tired of it.

The deionizer worked! The place I got it from called it an ozone generator.
Icing on the cake was that they didn't charge me for its use. Great people.

Thanks for the idea D2cat.

 

[D2Cat]

You're welcome. Glad you're tractor is smelling better!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Excellent news!

 

[bgk]

Nice. Ozone generators do work. It can be harmful if you’re exposed to higher densities of it from I’ve read but in this application no harm. Many guys actually use these in a controlled area for their hunting clothes to eliminate scent.
Some guys even buy one that they hang above their head while hunting (i have my doubts on the effectiveness there).

 

[armylifer]

Fro65, if you can't smell skunk why do you need to deodorize your tractor? The smell would likely keep thieves away and help in identification if they somehow took it anyway.