Skunks are omnivorous, feeding primarily upon vegetable matter and insects during the summer and upon smaller mammals in winter. Skunks dig through the sod and feed on the white grubs thereby uprooting the sod and aggravating the damage already begun by the grubs. Skunks may also spray a disagreeable substance on unwary people who disturb them. After a 63-day gestation period during the spring and early summer, four to ten kits are born in a den lined with dry vegetation. Spotted skunks sometimes nest in hollow trees.
Striped skunks live in burrows, under buildings or in almost any dry place.
The kits are weaned in 6 or 7 weeks and breed the following year. Skunks probably live 10 years. Skunks are active at dusk and throughout the night. Skunks sleep throughout the winter except during warm spells when they emerge to forage. Skunks apparently rely on their severely contrasted coloration to warn other animals of the disagreeable discharge which skunks can spray from anal glands.