They sometimes eat poultry and eggs, garden vegetables, and fruit. At times they prey on waterfowl and game bird nests and eggs. Skunks can damage lawns when they dig in search of insect larvae or roots. They can also damage beehives as they feed on adult and larval bees. Rabies Rabies is a serious viral disease that infects many types of warm-blooded animals.
Skunks are very susceptible to rabies.
When infected, they can transmit it to other animals by direct contact, usually by biting. Of all wild animals submitted to the Nebraska Department of Health in recent years to be tested for rabies, over 90 percent of the infected ones have been skunks. In any population of skunks, only a small percent may be infected at any given time. When skunks are abundant, there is more opportunity for rabies to be spread among the population and for other animals, such as dogs, cats, livestock or humans, to be bitten or otherwise exposed. When a skunk becomes infected with rabies virus, the disease may not be apparent as rapidly as it is in dogs or some other species.