I'm not a skunk expert, but I believe you could get skunked trying to move the momma in a live trap.

Skunks are generally more nocturnal. Your grandkids would probably be inside when she decides to venture out for food. If they do happen to see her tell them she could be rabid and explain the horrors of rabies treatment. That should keep them from trying to get close to her. Find the stinkiest thing you can and tell them that's what they will smell like if they make her mad.

I personally would leave them alone and as soon as they start following momma, I would close up the entrance. They eat a lot of rodents and help keep them in check.

But that's me,
Ramona

Here is a link that might be useful: MY BLOG

Ramona is right--trying to trap and move the momma is going to get you perfumed! Leave her alone, let her raise her babies, and after they are mature enough to leave at night with momma in the lead, put down some rodent repellent (we got ours at Wal-Mart, Ro-pel is the name, I believe). You may have to make more than one application, but it works. We no longer have skunks nesting under our workshop (thank heavens!).
Your grandchildren need to learn to respect wildlife, and this is a perfect place to start!

Skunks are safe to live trap. Throw towels or blankets over the trap before moving it to keep the skunk calm in the dark. Put the trap into your car trunk. move it away and release. You will be fine.

You might try putting some wet dog poop when they live to smoke them out. It seems to work for groundhogs. Although the ground hogs dig another hole nearby. but they leave the old hole. Might work for skunks.

I have trapped skunks without a problem.

Do not shoot the skunk or it will spray.

Let us know how it works out.

Actually, using a live trap is do-able. Skunks are nocturnal so set your live trap and when momma takes the bait have a blanket or covering of some sort available. Get as close to the trap as possible and throw the blanket over the trap. You can now load the skunk up for transport to the woods (or elsewhere), get the babies and off you go. When you get to your destination, set the trap on the ground and open the trap door without removing the blanket, pull the blanket off and run. (the babies should have been released first so that momma will go to them) Ask me how I know and I will show you a picture of my mini bull dog and sylvester the cat caught the first night we set the trap.

Forgot to mention -- release them some distance from the vehicle and run in that direction.

OK, you can stop laughing now.....

You could try rigging up strong lights under your porch. They will move to the darkest spot (even further under the house).

If you just mess with them they will probably move on, they like to be left alone. I wouldn't touch them, but just making noise and acting like you want to get the babies should convince mama to move the nest.

Babies can still spray and they can bite and transmit rabies so I wouldn't touch them.

Thanks for all your advice. The skunks are gone, and we hope they don't come back.

Jan

Glad your problem is resolved, but for anyone else who finds this looking for help, try throwing some mothballs under the deck/porch, as close to the foundation as possible to drive them out, not in. Lights, loud noise, & activity, as mentioned above, should also help. The babies in our skunk family were probably about 6 wks old and were quite easy to catch. My brother duct-taped a 10' extension onto the handle of a fishing net and caught 2 babies with two swipes of the net. We got another in a small live trap. We had planned to relocate the mom to where we took the babies, even though they seemed pretty independent, but once the babies were relocated, it seems the mother left.

For the live trap, we tied a rope to the trap baited with tuna fish, threaded a black garbage bag over the rope, and then pulled the bag on over about 2/3 of the trap. That both made the trap a dark, attactive, hiding place and let us pull the trap into the bag to be certain of not getting sprayed, but even when we released the babies, they never threatened us at all. Just remember to position it so you can see into the bag/trap from a safe distance. Staying calm around the mother greatly reduces the chance of being sprayed, but try explaining that to your dog!

In my younger days we had problems with skunks under our porch every spring. I would catch the mother by waiting for her to leave her nest and catch her by the tail and carry her off behind an outbuilding where there was an underground cement block root-cellar that wasn't use any more and put her in there and blocked the door. Then would craw under the porch to get the kits (baby skunks), they never tried to spray me. They were placed with the mother and cat food soaked in goats milk was give to them and after a few days the opening was unblocked so they could come or go as they pleased. Most of the time the stayed there until they were old enough to live on their own. They are very good scavenger that eat many insects and baby mice. They are very near sighted so if you come upon one be sure to make quiet noised so they know where you are and will retreat away from you. You really have to pester a skunk to get them to spray, and when they do it is more of a squirt. Their range can very, but usually 10 feet.

You might consider getting a strobe light or some other type of decorative light designed to illuminate dance floors and put it under your porch. The action and light might just be enough to discourage a skunk from setting up shop down there, and probably wont bother you nearly as much as a skunk, figure out what time of year they set up shop in your area and run it for a few weeks.