Tips and Tricks to Keep Pests Out of Your Trash
We’ve all seen the videos of wild animals like bears and raccoons ransacking trash cans and dumpsters in waste disposal areas of parks and housing complexes. While this might seem endearing from an outside perspective, when animals and pests become a problem on your own property, it won’t be very amusing, especially for those supplying your residential trash collection services. Avoid issues like bee stings, tipped over trash cans, and other annoyances by securing your trash cans and keeping them clean.
Problem Pests
Several different insect and animal species can cause trouble around your trash cans. Depending on where you live, some of these problem species are probably more prevalent than others. Let’s take a look at common pests that can put your trash, and sometimes even your family, at risk:
Ants
Flies
Wasps
Cockroaches
Rats
Raccoons
Mice
Birds
Opossums
Bears
Animals like bears and rabid raccoons can be dangerous to humans and household pets, so you definitely don’t want to encounter one when taking out your trash at night. Other pests, like insects and vermin, are annoying at best and painful or poisonous at worst. If you notice that these common, trash-loving pests take a particular liking to your garbage bins, there are some tips and tricks to get them under control or eradicate them entirely.
8 Tactics to Keep Critters Out of Your Trash Cans
No one wants to deal with the annoyances of overturned or infested trash cans and roll-off dumpsters. Don’t let pests and other animals take advantage of your wide-open waste disposal area. Instead, follow these tips and tricks and institute some changes to take control of your trash.
1. Use Heavy-Duty Trash Bags
First and foremost, it’s crucial to keep your waste wrapped tightly within the confines of a trash bag. Heavy-duty trash bags act as a barrier between invading pests or animals and your garbage. If you leave behind a lot of food waste, it’s especially important to minimize pests’ opportunities to access your waste disposal area using thicker, tear-resistant trash bags.
2. Wash Out Food Waste Containers
Garbage is typically gross, and leaks or spillage of sugary soft drinks and other substances can instantly attract a plethora of pests. Cleaning out your garbage cans or dumpsters with a hose and soapy water or even bleach is an effective way to discourage any infestations or visits from uninvited animal guests.
It’s essential to wash out your used bottles and cans to keep your residential recycling bins clean and clear of pests as well.
3. Construct a Trash Enclosure
Leaving your bins out in the open makes it easy for animals and insects to access your waste. Trash can enclosures are popular in areas where bears are common and raccoons run rampant. You can build a garbage bin enclosure using wood, metal, or plastic. Buying garbage bin enclosures from a store or online supplier is another option.
If you can’t afford an enclosure or don’t want to build on yourself, you can also strap trash cans to a tree or pole in your yard to deter animals like opossums and raccoons from knocking them over.
4. Repair Holes or Replace Damaged Bins
Cracks and holes in garbage cans give small insects an entryway to your waste. Patch up holes and cracks using an epoxy or fiberglass reinforcement tape easily found at local hardware stores. If the damage to your garbage cans is too extensive, replace them entirely to avoid further infestations.
5. Install Motion-Activated Lights
One great tip to take advantage of is installing motion-activated lights. Nocturnal animals are known to tamper with trash cans, and when they inevitably visit your waste disposal area, motion sensor lights help scare them away.
An additional bonus of installing a motion-activated lighting system is improved safety on your property. The bright lights will deter animals from getting in your garbage, but it will also provide safety lighting for nights that you come home late.
6. Secure Trash Can and Dumpster Lids
Obviously, one of the easiest ways for an animal to enter your trash can or dumpster is through an open lid. Utilize clips, bungee cords, or self-securing tops to encourage animals and other pests to leave your garbage alone. It’s important to note that a secure lid will not stop every pest, as smaller insects and bugs can still penetrate any cracks and crevices impacting your garbage can.
7. Keep Trash Cans Away From Your House
Most people find insects and vermin incredibly gross, so, unsurprisingly, you’d want to keep these disease-carrying creatures away from the interior of your home. Moving garbage cans to an area away from your house helps minimize the chances of an infestation within your home. While this tip doesn’t necessarily stop pests from infiltrating your trash, it is an effective way to keep them away from your house’s structure.
8. Spray Ammonia
Our list’s final trick to help deter animals and pests from tampering with your trash is to spray an ammonia solution on the affected area. Ammonia is an effective method for killing insects like cockroaches. The solution will also ward off rats, raccoons, opossums, and other small animals with its pungent smell.
Ammonia is irritating to humans and pets, so it’s crucial to keep this solution outside only. Make a mixture of one part ammonia and one part water to spray inside your trash cans. After a thorough application of the ammonia solution, pests and animals should be less likely to rummage through your trash bins or form an infestation.
Conclusion
Dealing with problematic pest infestations in your garbage is often annoying and sometimes even dangerous. Avoid bee stings, bug bites, and the general creepy crawlies in your trash cans by implementing the aforementioned tips and tricks. Each suggestion for stopping animals and other pests from ransacking your garbage is sufficient on its own. However, when these solutions are used in conjunction with one another, you can effectively create an almost impenetrable waste disposal system on your property.