How To Keep Animals from Digging Through Your Garbage

Keeping animals out of your garbage sounds pretty easy, but it’s often more difficult than you think. When critters smell a meal, they can get pretty creative.

Raccoons are known for their human-like hands and their ability to work as a team to get to food waste. And if you’ve ever owned a dog, you know how sneaky they can get. But you also need to worry about squirrels, rats, and even bears in some parts of the country.

Luckily, we’ve gathered 11 ways to keep animals from digging through your garbage.

How To Keep Animals from Digging Through Your Garbage

1. Use a Homemade Spray (Easiest)

There are several smells that animals don’t like, and if you coat your garbage bags with them, you should have great success.

To make homemade deterrent sprays, you can mix up and boil peppers (jalapeno, cayenne, and/or habanero) with some water. Spray that stuff on and around your bin, and you’ll be good to go.

You can also do the same with lime, lemon, or grapefruit juice and water (don’t boil it for this one). Whether you use peppers or citrus, they can both keep animals out of your garbage.

If you need something stronger, the Ammonia solution is strong enough to overpower other odors. You can also use vinegar or garlic juice. Simply mix one-part ammonia and one-part water, and your spray is ready.

However, think about your poor trash collectors before you do this. If your bins are collected by an automatic arm that just picks up the bin and dumps the trash in, go for it!

But, if your garbage collection employees have to handle the bags themselves, finding another way is best because this can be a little expensive. 

2. Use Windex

Nearly everyone has Windex in the home. Many people find this an effective deterrent to all sorts of trash-seeking creatures. And it doesn’t have to be the name-brand stuff, either.

Nearly all different brands of window cleaners have identical ingredients, like ammonia, that keep animals away.

You’ll want to give your garbage can a few sprays every time you put a new bag in to keep the magic working.

3. Motion-Sensor Lights

Have you ever been scared by your own automatic lights? I know I have. So imagine how animals will feel if they creep up to your garbage cans in the middle of the night, only to have a bright light turn on and shine all around them. This may not work for bears, but for other animals, it should do the trick. 

4. Upgrade Your Trash Bags

A trash bag is a trash bag, right? Not when you’re trying to keep out tenacious critters.

You can try bags that are specially made to block odors from escaping, to try to keep the smells inside the bag instead of wafting out for all the nearby animals to smell.

You can also try ultra-thick bags, which can help keep the smell inside and make it harder for the animals to break through. 

5. Lock It Down

If you want a simple DIY project, you can install a lock or a latch onto most plastic garbage bins.

All it takes is a drill with an appropriate-sized bit, whatever hardware you decide on, and maybe a few nuts and bolts if you go with a latch.

However, be warned that if your garbage bins are city property, you may be charged for the modifications when or if you turn the bin in.

6. Seal It With A Bungee

For an easier and less involved solution than number 5 above, you can use simple bungee cords to secure your trash bin.

All you have to do is have a couple of places to snag the hooks on either end of the cord, and you’ve got an animal deterrent. However, if you’re dealing with bears this may not be the most effective option. 

7. Wash Your Bin

It couldn’t hurt to wash your bin once in a while. Most modern garbage collection bins are plastic, and they tend to absorb smells easier, making them a target for animals.

If you wash your bin once every month or so and clean it out with some bleach or ammonia, you may see a reduction in pesky animal scavengers. 

8. Purchase Specialty Spray

Sometimes you just have to break out the big guns to keep your trash safe. And specialty animal repellant sprays are just the answer.

You can purchase them for specific animals, or you can get an all-around repellant that should work no matter what critters are creeping on your trash. 

9. Compost or Disposal

Another way to keep your trash safely where it belongs is to limit (or eliminate) the amount of food waste your put inside. After all, food waste is what animals are after.

To do this, you can start yourself a compost system or you can use your disposal for appropriate leftover food scraps.

Obviously, you shouldn’t put bones or the like down your disposal, but limiting the amount of food that winds up in your trash bin is likely to limit future trash attacks. 

10. Create a Trash Bin Enclosure

If you’re dealing with some incredibly persistent and powerful creatures, you may want to consider going all out with a trash bin enclosure. You can either do this yourself if you’re handy like that, or you can purchase a pre-made one.

The main idea behind these is they should allow easy access when you need to deposit a trash bag in your bin, while still being secure enough that animals won’t get to it. This usually involves latches and/or locks installed around the enclosure. 

11. Move Your Bins

I’ve saved the most obvious for last!

But seriously, though, moving your bins could be the easiest option. Most of us have a garage or a shed that we could fit our garbage bins inside with a little bit of rearranging.

It may be a longer walk to deposit your bags in the bin than you’re used to, but after you’ve picked up smelly trash from your lawn a couple of times, that slightly longer walk starts to sound pretty good.

Animals That Eat Garbage & How To Keep Them Away

Animals that eat garbage are those that have figured out how to survive in the urban areas where we humans live.

You might see some scavengers like raccoons, opossums, and skunks, or others like seagulls, crows, rats, mice, squirrels, feral cats, and even bears, who have learned to raid our garbage cans and dumpsters for food.

If you’re tired of cleaning up after these critters or worried about their presence around your home, here are some practical tips to keep them away:

1. Raccoons are notorious for being able to open lids, so try using a locking lid or a bungee cord to secure your garbage can. Make sure there are no gaps or holes for them to access the inside.

2. Opossums can’t resist the smell of garbage, but you can deter them by using a secure lid or placing a heavy object on top of the garbage can prevent them from lifting the lid.

3. Skunks may be cute, but they can cause quite a smell! Keep your garbage cans in a secure location and use a locking lid to prevent skunks from accessing your garbage.

4. Feral cats are typically not friendly and can be a nuisance when it comes to your garbage. Use a tight-fitting lid on your garbage can and store it in a secure location. You can also use a motion-activated sprinkler to scare cats away.

5. Seagulls are known for their scavenging abilities and can be a real problem around garbage cans. Keep your garbage cans indoors or in a secure area with a tight-fitting lid to keep them away.

6. Crows are intelligent birds that are always looking for food, and they can be quite crafty when it comes to getting to your garbage. Use a tightly sealed garbage can, or use netting or wire mesh to cover the top of the can.

7. Rats can carry diseases and are not a welcome sight around your home. Use a tightly sealed garbage can and make sure there are no openings or gaps for rats to enter. Keep the area around the can clean and free of food debris to discourage them from visiting.

8. Mice can squeeze through even the smallest openings, so use a tightly sealed garbage can and ensure there are no openings or gaps for mice to enter.

9. Squirrels may look cute, but they can cause a mess when it comes to your garbage. Use a tightly sealed garbage can, or place a baffle on the pole or tree where your garbage can is located to prevent squirrels from climbing up.

10. Bears can be a real danger around your home. If you live in an area with bears, use a bear-resistant garbage can or store your garbage indoors until trash pickup day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

On your quest to keep animals out of your garbage, it’s important to consider those people that your actions may affect. Spraying anything on your garbage bin could cause problems for your trash handlers.

And although it’s not on the list, putting poison or traps out can be dangerous not only for pesky animals but also for neighborhood dogs and cats.

There are plenty of ways to keep animals out of your garbage safely and without causing potential harm to others. I hope these help!