Lol! In chemistry, it is called the Le Chatelier’s principle. If you change a parameter, the equilibrium will shift. My husband gave up on shutting squirrels 
and rabbits 
from our yard to a forest a few miles away. A new pest was always happy to move into the freed up habitat.
3 Likes
Give the ambitious exterminator credit for his entrepreneurship bringing back that same poor skunk nightly😀
Which is why I suggested just fast forward and get a mountain lion.
2 Likes
At the risk of straying too far off-topic on my own OP, I have to say I have enormous respect for squirrels. They are our dog’s most hated enemy.
However, they are extraordinarily intelligent:
Backyard Squirrel Maze 1.0- Ninja Warrior Course
These days, I truly respect these critters!
4 Likes
This one got into Yale having taken advantage of test optional. In the absence of thumbs, filling in the multiple choice card proved impossible.
3 Likes
I just texted that video to the whole family. He does a great job!
1 Like
He has some other ones too! Search “squirrel obstacle course” and a few more sequels pop up.
Thankfully, skunks do not have the same leaping abilities as squirrels!
Our squirrels are not that smart. Pretty much dumb as rocks. They still have not figured out how to eat out of the standard HD-quality, contractor grade bird feeder - the kind that collapses under their weight. They keep jumping on it expecting a different result every time they do it. 
You know: I used to think that. But ours are smart as heck.
There is an elderly lady down the road that leaves unshelled peanuts out for them. It used to infuriate me, and our squirrels are quite huge given the extra food they have. So why would they ever leave? We find peanut shells everywhere, and I used to wonder how they got there. Now, I know.
But that video Iinked to made me realize that these are amazing animals. Their ability to turn and make about any jump successfully is really quite miraculous.
To paraphrase the equilibrium point you made (Good heavens, I hadn’t thought about Le Chatelier since my first-year college!), we have now made peace with the Squirrel family sharing our land and co-existing in peace.
Oh, and by the way, my motion-detecting ultrasonic light-flashing devices just arrived. The anti-skunk and squirrel settings are the same, so perhaps the equilibrium might be destroyed with the Squirrels. But, hopefully, it will get rid of the Skunks. Will post an update in the coming days as to whether this is a hit or a flop.
And yes, I am referring to these like I would the Smith family or the Jones family…I tend to overthink these things! 
I guess I’m like Bill Murray in Caddyshack.
2 Likes
Skunks aren’t very agile, so I can just put a brick behind any fence gaps and it does a good job keeping them out. I forgot to put the brick back a month or two ago, and we got invaded by a possum. My dog went psycho…really glad it wasn’t a skunk. But you think the dog would’ve learned his lesson the first time!
1 Like
If nothing else, Darling Dog is very persistent! Good idea. We are completely fenced in, but there are definitely gaps that the Skunks can use. I guess that this is this weekend’s home improvement project.