The smell of a skunk is unmistakably pungent. And if you spend a fair amount of time hunting, you or your dog are likely to run into one sooner or later. If you set traps for predators, you’re even more likely to find a skunk, usually plugging up a coyote set. Luckily, sets remade after a skunk catch are predator magnets. But winding up on the business end of an agitated or surprised skunk will leave you, your dog and your gear smelling like Pepé Le Pew. Don’t head for the grocery store and fill a cart with tomato juice. Instead, the ingredients for the recipe below should be kept on hand or in your vehicle for easy use. 

1 quart 3 percent hydrogen peroxide

1/4 cup baking soda

1 or 2 teaspoons liquid dish soap

This recipe can be scaled up for especially stinky jobs. The concoction can be mixed in a bucket to dunk smaller items that need to be de-skunked, such as a skunk pelt headed for a taxidermist or tannery, or a sponge or rag for wiping down pets or people. Spray bottles work well for a broader application, and the 1- to 2-gallon hand pump weed sprayers work great for spraying down a large area.

The skunk odor removal spray loses effectiveness soon after being mixed, so don’t bother putting together a batch ahead of time. Unlike tomato juice that simply masks the smell, this recipe neutralizes the sulfur compounds in skunk spray that we find so repulsive. 

This recipe does have the potential to bleach clothes or hair. If your clothes are sprayed, you may be better off tossing them. But if your expensive hunting clothes get skunked, you can try a regular wash cycle with some added ammonia (make sure you don’t use any bleach) should do the trick without affecting the camo pattern. Also, be careful not to get this recipe in your mouth or eyes.