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Protecting Your Trash Cans From Wildlife Invasions

30 December 2020

Marvin Simmons

If you live in a wooded area and you have wildlife present, keeping your trash protected against these creatures is a must in between pickup times. Here are some steps to take to ensure your garbage remains in cans until a pickup service gets to your home to collect it.

Keep Trash Inside Until Pickup Day

If possible, do not bring your garbage cans to the street corner until the day that your waste collection service is scheduled to arrive. If you have a spot where trash cans remain in an enclosed area, they are less prone to break-ins by animals. Keep trash cans in your garage, shed, or a can containment system. Some waste collection services give customers precise time ranges for pickup. Call your service to find out exactly where you are on their route so you can plan to bring cans out for collection right before the truck arrives.

Add A Deterrent To Your Cans

Before you place trash in a can, adding a deterring odor to the container is helpful in keeping animals away from it once it is out by the street for pickup. Many wild animals do not care for the smell of ammonia as it reminds them of the scent of urine. Place a mixture of half ammonia and half water in a spray bottle. Use this to spray the interior of each garbage can and allow the mixture to dry before placing trash inside.

Protect Cans With Locking Lids

A garbage can with a lid that comes off easily is not a good choice for containing trash if there are animals in the area where you live. Instead, opt for lids that have latches that secure the tops over the handles on the sides of the container. These are harder for animals to remove, helping to keep your trash exactly where it belongs until pickup time. If you do not have money to purchase new cans at the moment, temporarily help to keep their lids in place by resting rocks or bricks on top of them on garbage collection day.

Watch How You Collect Your Trash

When you collect trash in your home to place inside of garbage cans, make sure you only place items in garbage bags that are not deemed attractive to animals. Instead of placing food remnants in your trash, add them to a compost pile outdoors. Use more than one garbage bag for trash containment to make it less likely that the contents are smelled by animals outdoors when bags are placed in cans.

For more information, contact a local waste disposal service.

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