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. Skunks can also be controlled by trapping.