Raccoon Out Of Garbage – Humane Wildlife Removal

How to deter raccoons from your garbage cans

Raccoons typically go hunting for food at night when everyone is asleep. They work hard to find food that can include anything from fruits, nuts, and insects to animals such as turtles and rabbits. While you are asleep, they may come by looking for their next meal and find your trash bin instead. Unless you have a garbage bin that keeps raccoons out, they will find their way in.

What Should a Trash Can Look Like that Deters Raccoons?

If you have had a raccoon in your trash bin, they will most likely pry open the lid and tear into all the bags, sorting through each package or box in order to eat any ruminants of food leftovers. By the time they are done, the trash can is tipped over and your trash is scattered out and around the trash cans. This is not only embarrassing but it is also nasty to go back and pick up garbage that has been left out for days.

1) Trash Can Lid

It’s not the color of the trash can that attracts a raccoon but the smell. It’s important that the trash can has a removable lid. If the lid doesn’t stay put or is easily knocked off, you can add tubing around the edge in order to create a new seal around the lid. When the lid is sealed, it becomes too heavy for the raccoon to open and they will eventually move on.

2) Weigh Down the Lid

You can also set a heavy object on top of the trash can lid to prevent it from being opened. You can set something such as a rock or a large piece of wood. Unfortunately, the wood and rock can be knocked off of the lid and the raccoon can eventually gain entry to the inside of the trash can if they try hard enough. If you have family members that have to take the trash out from time to time, they may not want to do that if there is something on top that they have to remove.

3) Ammonia

You can make a spray solution out of ammonia to spray around the outside of the trash can. Either soak some cloth and throw it into the bottom of the trash can or you can put the ammonia into a spray bottle and coat your trash cans by spraying them all around. If you choose to use ammonia, you will need to spray the trash bin down at least once a week. Raccoons hate the smell of ammonia and that’s why it keeps them out of your garbage can, however, rain and other weather conditions can weaken the smell of the ammonia to the point that the raccoon finds it safe to get into the trash again.
It may take the raccoon some time to understand that getting into your trash is going to be time-consuming and lack results, so they eventually move on. If they don’t, you may need to call a specialist to come out and assist you in the removal of this black-eyed bandit.