OK folks, I have a stinky problem. The skunks have started messing with my foam nucs and my bottom entrance hives....
Get one of those Hava-a-heart live traps. Bait it up with sardines, a mackerel's head or some rotten eggs. Equip yourself with one of those proverbial 10 foot poles, the stronger the better (more on this later). After Mr. or Ms Skunk interns him or her self, and being sure to work from the up wind side, carefully pick up the wire trap using the 10 foot (or longer) pole and gently submerse trap, skunk and all, in a 55 gallon drum of water. Don't you go wimping out on me now, why do you think skunks are called pole cats? :-D Grab yourself a cup o joe and come back after 30 minutes. I guarantee you half an hour under water will wash all the starch out of Misuser or Madam Le Pew.
Skunks are a natural reservoir for the rabies virus. They can carry and transmit rabies without displaying the symptoms themselves. Skunks, both living and dead ones, can transmit rabies to you and to your family so do be careful. A good spraying is not the worst thing a skunk can give you, rabies is.
Skunks are like badgers and wolverines (part of the weasel family) and are therefore opportunistic feeders. If they find an opportunity to feed they will take it. Do keep all pet food, especially cat and dog food out of the reach of skunks. In the late Winter Madam skunk will often times commandeer abandoned ground hog holes and use them for natal dens. Therefore controlling ground hogs (woodchucks) on your land may go a long way towards limiting the severity, duration or frequency of skunk raids on you apiaries. I think I see 4 sights were a skunk has excavacted the dirt in the picture BlueBee submitted. Only one of these sights has any relationship to his hives. I feel skunks don't scrach at the enterance to our hives, in the skunks' little brain he thinks he is digging.