# Keeping raccoons out of trash cans
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 14, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203 "2010-08-14T00:16:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/1 "2010-08-14T00:16:10Z")
I’m looking for advice for keeping the clever critters out of our cans. These are the large plastic containers provided by the trash collectors. There’s no real accessible spot for a lock.
I’ve been spraying them inside with ammonia, which works sometimes. But not always. This morning at 6:00 a.m. I went to drop a bag in and as I lifted the lid one of the scamps scrambled out and almost gave me a coronary.
I figure I have 2 main options. A weight on the lid, or a deterrent smell inside/outside.
What’s worked for you? Does anything work?
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/2 "2010-08-14T00:18:31Z")
Is there any way to put a bungee cord over the top?
Is it feasible to keep them in your garage?
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### Author:  [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/3 "2010-08-14T00:20:01Z")
Here we spray the outside of garbage cans with bleach to keep the bears away. It works very well, maybe it would work with raccoons.
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/4 "2010-08-14T00:22:17Z")
I think they’d get bored in the garage and start causing more grief.
Oh… you mean the cans! No, not really. They stink bad enough outside in this heat. Yuck.
I could rig some bungee cords but it would be pretty inconvenient to undo them every time I took out the trash. It would have to be a few daisy-chained, over the whole can. There’s nothing really to grab onto.
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/5 "2010-08-14T00:23:36Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#):
>
> Here we spray the outside of garbage cans with bleach to keep the bears away. It works very well, maybe it would work with raccoons.
Question: does bleach linger longer than ammonia, or vice versa? I’m using ammonia now but I think it dissipates fairly quickly.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/6 "2010-08-14T00:24:09Z")
Are these the type of bins with the hinged top and wheels to roll them out to the curb?
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/7 "2010-08-14T00:25:16Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> Are these the type of bins with the hinged top and wheels to roll them out to the curb?
Yes. They have 2 handles, on either front corner of the lid, but nothing on the body of the container to latch to.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/8 "2010-08-14T00:25:20Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> > [@FloatyGimpy](#):
> >
> > Here we spray the outside of garbage cans with bleach to keep the bears away. It works very well, maybe it would work with raccoons.
>
> Question: does bleach linger longer than ammonia, or vice versa? I’m using ammonia now but I think it dissipates fairly quickly.
You could try soaking a couple of paper towels and putting them in a half shut zip lock bag, then tossing the whole thing in the trash. That might cause it to dissipate slower.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/9 "2010-08-14T00:27:10Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> > [@Joey\_P](#):
> >
> > Are these the type of bins with the hinged top and wheels to roll them out to the curb?
>
> Yes. They have 2 handles, on either front corner of the lid, but nothing on the body of the container to latch to.
Mine have a bar in the front for certain types of garbage trucks to grab on to. If there’s something like that on yours you could run a cord from the hinge to the bar.
Otherwise if the top is flat enough it might be easiest just to get a cinder block and keep that on top of it.
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### Author:  [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/10 "2010-08-14T00:27:17Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> > [@FloatyGimpy](#):
> >
> > Here we spray the outside of garbage cans with bleach to keep the bears away. It works very well, maybe it would work with raccoons.
>
> Question: does bleach linger longer than ammonia, or vice versa? I’m using ammonia now but I think it dissipates fairly quickly.
I’m not sure, but we spray the outside rather than the inside, that might make a difference. I live right in the middle of black bear country and everyone sprays the can when they put the garbage out and it’s so rare to hear about a bear getting into garbage that I can’t actually think of ever hearing about it in the 6 years I’ve lived here.
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/11 "2010-08-14T00:31:41Z")
I’ll definitely try spraying outside. That actually makes a lot of sense. Deter them before they try and see what’s inside! :smack:
Our trucks have “arms” that squeeze the can, rather than hook on a bar (but I’ve seen those before.)
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/12 "2010-08-14T00:34:28Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> I’ll definitely try spraying outside. That actually makes a lot of sense. Deter them before they try and see what’s inside! :smack:
>
> Our trucks have “arms” that squeeze the can, rather than hook on a bar (but I’ve seen those before.)
So do ours, but they for some reason they still have the bar on the front.
Ohh, I got it. Get two heavy eye bolts and some nuts and washers. Put an eye bolt on either side and use run a bungee cord over the top. I think that’s what I’d probably do. Just make sure you use a decent sized eye bolt, big washers (inside and outside) and a cord that isn’t too tight so you don’t crack the plastic.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/13 "2010-08-14T02:06:23Z")
You could take my mother’s tactic and feed them past-date leftovers on a regular basis. They only bothered the trash once after she started doing that…probably because the interesting stuff was already where they could get at it.
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### Author:  [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/14 "2010-08-14T03:40:30Z")
Try spraying Pine Sol around the trash can.
Works for bears.
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### Author:  [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2010, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/15 "2010-08-14T07:37:54Z")
Bloody hell! Bears and raccoons getting into the trash? I thought it was bad enough with red back spiders.
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/16 "2010-08-15T12:45:13Z")
I’ve had bears rip the door off our shed a few times. I have since used crushed moth balls spread around the steps to it and that seems to work. So maybe just drop a few moth balls in the garbage can. Easy solution if it would work for you.
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/17 "2010-08-15T14:05:09Z")
> [@enipla](#):
>
> I’ve had bears rip the door off our shed a few times. I have since used crushed moth balls spread around the steps to it and that seems to work. So maybe just drop a few moth balls in the garbage can. Easy solution if it would work for you.
Moth balls might be an easy solution. I’ll see if I can find some at Home Depot.
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### Author:  [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/18 "2010-08-15T19:03:25Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> > [@enipla](#):
> >
> > I’ve had bears rip the door off our shed a few times. I have since used crushed moth balls spread around the steps to it and that seems to work. So maybe just drop a few moth balls in the garbage can. Easy solution if it would work for you.
>
> Moth balls might be an easy solution. I’ll see if I can find some at Home Depot.
We had a problem with a raccoon sort of making a den under the eave of our garage, so (making sure no raccoon was around) I threw in moth balls, and continued to do so for a few months, and that spot (at least) seems raccoon-free now.
BTW, a few weeks ago, I was coming home at night, and saw 4 raccoons marching down the driveway (nowhere near the eaves mentioned above)- they all seemed the same size (quite large!) which I guess would preclude mother-children, so I wondered if raccoons run in packs?
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/19 "2010-08-15T23:38:29Z")
> [@Cicero](#):
>
> Bloody hell! Bears and raccoons getting into the trash? I thought it was bad enough with red back spiders.
Bears are why we no longer try to compost. They were dragging the bin around the yard even when there were only veggie peels in it.
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### Author:  [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-raccoons-out-of-trash-cans/550203/20 "2010-08-16T01:52:42Z")
You’re going about this all wrong.
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> This morning at 6:00 a.m. I went to drop a bag in and as I lifted the lid one of the scamps scrambled out and almost gave me a coronary.
I think _you_ should hide in the trash can. Then when the raccoon comes to get his normal treats you pop out and scare him away! Do this all night for 20 or 30 nights and I’m sure they’ll learn to avoid your trash can :D.
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