Editing Skunk (section)

==== Mitigation ====
Skunks are common in suburban areas, and domestic dogs are often sprayed by skunks. There are many misconceptions about the removal of skunk odor, including the pervasive idea that [[tomato juice]] will neutralize the odor. These household remedies are ineffective, and only appear to work due to [[olfactory fatigue]].<ref>[http://scienceline.org/2006/07/ask-cosier-skunk/ Is it true that tomato sauce will get rid of the smell of a skunk?]. Scienceline. Retrieved on 5 April 2012.</ref> In 1993,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Forbes |first1=JE |title=The tip of the month |journal=The Probe |date=March 1995 |issue=152 |page=2 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/17218498.pdf |publisher=National Animal Damage Control Association |location=Hopland, CA |language=en}}</ref> The American chemist Paul Krebaum has developed a formula that chemically neutralizes skunk spray by changing the odor-causing [[thiol]]s into odorless acids,<ref>{{cite web |title=Removing Skunk Odor |url=https://wildlife.unl.edu/pdfs/removing-skunk-odor.pdf |access-date=21 January 2024 |website=University of Nebraska–Lincoln |publisher=UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources}}</ref>  which is endorsed by the [[The Humane Society of the United States|Humane Society of the United States]] for sprayed dogs.<ref>{{cite web |title=What to do when a skunk sprays your dog |url=http://www.humanesociety.org/resources/de-skunking-your-dog |publisher=[[The Humane Society of the United States]]}}</ref> It involves [[hydrogen peroxide]], [[sodium bicarbonate|baking soda]], and [[dish soap|liquid dish soap]].

Skunk spray is composed mainly of three low-molecular-weight thiol compounds, (''E'')-2-butene-1-thiol, 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, and 2-quinolinemethanethiol, as well as [[acetate]] [[thioester]]s of these.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Journal of Chemical Ecology |volume=1 |issue=4 |year=1978 |title=Some Chemical Constituents of the Scent of the Striped Skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') |author1=Andersen K. K. |author2=Bernstein D. T. |doi=10.1007/BF00988589 |pages=493–499|s2cid=9451251 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |volume=55 |issue=3 |year=1978 |title=1-Butanethiol and the Striped Skunk |author1=Andersen K. K. |author2=Bernstein D. T. |doi=10.1021/ed055p159|pages=159–160|bibcode=1978JChEd..55..159A }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Tetrahedron |volume=38 |issue=13 |year=1982 |title=Chemical Constituents of the Defensive Secretion of the Striped Skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') |author1=Andersen K. K. |author2=Bernstein D. T. |author3=Caret R. L. |author4=Romanczyk L. J. Jr. |doi=10.1016/0040-4020(82)80046-X |pages=1965–1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F.  | year = 1990 | title = New Components in Defensive Secretion of the Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis | journal = J. Chemical Ecology | volume = 16 | issue = 6 | pages = 2057–2065 | doi=10.1007/BF01020516| pmid = 24264006 | bibcode = 1990JCEco..16.2057W }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Journal of Chemical Ecology |volume=28 |issue=9 |year=2002 |title=Volatile Components in Defensive Spray of the Hooded Skunk, ''Mephitis macroura'' |author1=Wood W. F. |author2=Sollers B. G. |author3=Dragoo G. A. |author4=Dragoo J. W. |doi=10.1023/A:1020573404341 |pages=1865–70 |pmid=12449512|bibcode=2002JCEco..28.1865W |s2cid=19217201 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://users.humboldt.edu/wfwood/chemofskunkspray.html |title=Chemistry of Skunk Spray |access-date=27 July 2010 |author=Wood, William F. |publisher=Dept. of Chemistry, [[Humboldt State University]]}}</ref> These compounds are detectable by the human nose at concentrations of only 11.3 parts per billion.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s00897990286a |journal=Chem. Educator |volume=4 |issue=2 |year=1999 |title=The History of Skunk Defensive Secretion Research |author=Wood, William F.  |pages=44–50 |s2cid=94181805 |url=http://chemeducator.org/sbibs/s0004002/spapers/420044ww.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030902091556/http://chemeducator.org/sbibs/s0004002/spapers/420044ww.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1084/jem.1.2.323 |last= Aldrich |first=T.B. |title= A chemical study of the secretion of the anal glands of ''mephitis mephitica'' (common skunk), with remarks on the physiological properties of this secretion |journal= J. Exp. Med. |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages= 323–340 |year=1896 |pmid= 19866801 |pmc= 2117909}}</ref>

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