Skunks have short, stocky legs and proportionately large feet equipped with well-developed claws that enable them to be very adept at digging. Skunks exhibit a wide variety in coat color: some may be either mostly black or white. Skunks inhabit clearings, pastures, and open lands bordering forests. They establish dens in hollow logs and may climb trees to access hollow limbs.  Skunks eat plants and animals in about equal amounts during fall and winter. They eat considerably more animal matter during spring and summer when insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, and crickets their preferred food, are more available. Skunks dig holes in lawns, golf courses, and gardens to search for insect grubs found in the soil. Damage by skunks to structures tends to be of an olfactory nature rather than affecting the integrity of a structure. Odor can penetrate and linger in cloth furniture, clothing, and carpets but their digging in lawns, golf courses, and gardens to search for insect grubs causes 3- to 4-inch cone-shaped holes or patches of upturned earth.