Securing your trash cans is one of the best DIY steps you can take to prevent a raccoon invasion. While secure trash cans won’t help you get rid of a raccoon that is already in your attic, it might keep you from attracting new raccoons.
Raccoons are smart, so securing your trash cans isn’t as easy as putting a lid on it. You’ll have to take stronger steps if you want to keep the furry bandits at bay.
Buy a Heavier Can
You want a can that the raccoon can’t just knock over. Plus, you want a can with enough capacity to hold even your hairiest trash bags until garbage day. You don’t want bags peeking up or spilling out over the top.
You might also need more trash cans, depending on how much trash your home produces. Every home is different, and the standard one or two cans many households rely on might not be enough for you. If you routinely end up setting a trash bag next to your trash can, you need another one.
Tearing into a loose garbage bag is child’s play for a raccoon. It’s like laying out a buffet for them! Another trash can is always going to be cheaper than raccoon damage.
Grab a Bungee Cord
While you can buy special trash can locks, you don’t have to. A pair of cheap, heavy-duty bungee cords can do the trick.
You can secure them to the handles and across the top to keep the trash can closed.
If you do feel better with a tool specially designed for trash cans, there are tons of securing solutions on the market. Any solution you choose will be a great investment in keeping your home safe.
Keep Them Clean
Raccoons will smell a filthy trash can long before you do. The more food they smell, the harder they’re going to work to get into your cans.
Remember, this is the animal that can defeat thirteen locks on a puzzle box to get to the food inside. A raccoon might figure out a way around your trashcan locks or bungee cords if you give them enough incentive to.
Wash out your trash cans once a week, and make sure they’re free from slime, debris, and food matter.
Make it a Neighborhood Project
If you handle your trash but your neighbors don’t, then there’s still a chance you’ll end up with a raccoon infestation. After all, raccoons are perfectly capable of snacking on your next door neighbor’s trash can while living in your attic.
Talk to your neighbors in person, talk to your homeowner’s association, or post a request to your local neighborhood app. While there are always going to be some people who won’t or can’t comply, each sealed up and cleaned trash can you can get into the neighborhood is one less raccoon food source to worry about.
Schedule Your Free Inspection
Securing your trash won’t help if the raccoons are already in your attic. You’ll need to get them out with help from a certified wildlife removal specialist.
If you’re hearing the sound of heavy footprints in your attic or see suspicious damage around your soffit and fascia, it’s time to call Elite Wildlife Services to schedule your free inspection. We’ll help you evict that raccoon before it does thousands of dollars worth of damage.
