Many years ago when I was much younger, I would trap fur in the late fall and winter. I trapped coyote, fox, raccoon, beaver, muskrat and mink. I enjoyed trapping, it was another way to extend my time outdoors. It was also a way to supplement my income.

A downside of fox trapping was that you would occasionally catch a skunk. There is just no good way to remove a skunk from a trap, without encountering some skunk smell. Even if you shoot them without their spraying, their muscles will relax and out will come this most unpleasant aroma.

I had a friend, Clark, who also trapped. When Clark was a teenager, his uncle told him that if you picked a skunk up by the tail so that its hind feet was off the ground, it would be not able to spray. He explained that a skunk needed to brace…