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Raccoons Are Ruining My Life / Trash and pulled off a near impossible feat least night (1 Viewer)

John Bender

Footballguy
I moved from Virginia to Rhode Island a month ago.

I have 2 trash cans, 2 recycling bins. Very clearly the first few nights I lived here, the raccoons could too easily get into the main can for some reason.

It appears they tip it over, reach in and pull out as much crap as possible and throw trash all over my yard.

They even managed to get into one of my trash cans that I put 2 bungee cords across the top of!  I threw that trash can out, the lid was warped, and even with the bungee cords wouldn't close completely. 

I decided to move the trash cans to be up against my house, figured, if they had no way to tip over the can, they had no chance to open it up and get it. I would surround the can by the 2 recycling bins and park parallel to the entire set up so it was really tough to get in there and manipulate a garbage can.

Exhibit A (My car and my house are right up against the garbage can) Not to scale.

It was VERY important this work. Why you might ask? My neighbors house is just a few feet away from me and they are outside every morning way earlier than I. Also, I decided to splurge a little a buy myself a Fleshlight being newly single. Not a flashlight, a Fleshlight and I needed to discard of the packaging into my trash. If my trash were strewn about my neighbors yard their kids would likely find a special treat this morning with a picture of some adult actresses' genital likeness staring right at them.

It didn't work. I knew last night it didn't work because my dog woke up at 2 am barking her head off. The neighbors kids had already caught the bus before I got out there this morning to survey the damage. I'm going to have to move already and I've only been here a month. There was my trash, fleshlight package all over my neighbors side yard.

Exhibit B - I decided to get a little more artistic with the garbage can so you could tell it was a circular can

The laws of physics simply do not exist for these raccoons. They managed to tip over my recycling bin which is not a huge feat. Somehow, push my garbage can with 3 heavy garbage bags in it out from being trapped between my car and house, ostensibly push it over and roll it all the way around my car, to the other side of it. 

This has to be a bear right? Or a human. Are raccoons strong enough and smart enough to pull this off? I have one more night until the trash collectors come. What do I do to keep these perverted rodents out of my trash?!?!?! I'm convinced at this point they could pull off the Lufthansa Heist all over again.

 
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Love these kinds of threads. Killer work with the diagrams. 

Had this problem at em at our old house and again at current house. On the Ring spotlight camera I’ve a few times captured video of an entire raccoon family in the act. It’s impressive. Remember they are born thieves NATURE GAVE THEM A BURGLAR MASK

Good bunjee cords off Amazon solved the problem for me. The garbage cans have little latches or ridges they can hook into, and the cords are on there pretty tight (have almost lost an eye a few times putting them on). 

Godspeed. 

 
One more night until that Fleshlight box is out of my life. I'm going to need to take some extreme measures tonight. Headed over to Home Depot shortly.

I have a weeks worth of food in my fridge and my entire house smells like an actual dump.

 
You had me at the Fleshlight. In for the "weird looks from the neighbor" story that is sure to come.

 
Soak a dozen or so hot dogs in antifreeze for 24 hours.  Put the hot dogs out for them, don't even make them work for it, just toss them out after dark.  Do this for 3-4 days leading up to trash day.  

 
Love these kinds of threads. Killer work with the diagrams. 

Had this problem at em at our old house and again at current house. On the Ring spotlight camera I’ve a few times captured video of an entire raccoon family in the act. It’s impressive. Remember they are born thieves NATURE GAVE THEM A BURGLAR MASK

Good bunjee cords off Amazon solved the problem for me. The garbage cans have little latches or ridges they can hook into, and the cords are on there pretty tight (have almost lost an eye a few times putting them on). 

Godspeed. 
Good info here ^

Fill a couple water balloons with ammonia, spread peanut butter on them and duct tape them to the can.

After the little bastards chew or claw through the balloon and get a face full of ammonia maybe they won't come back

 
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If raccoons get into everyone’s trash and you have to throw away something sensitive, you put it in your neighbor’s trash.  I thought everyone knew this. 

 
They have trash boxes where you put your trash cans in it then lock the box.  You can even make one.  They won't get in that.  Most are wood, some are metal.
This is what my dad ended up doing.  We had a group of young hooligan raccoons terrorizing our garbage when I was growing up.  He built a wood container to put the trash cans in with heavy lid.  He was even clever enough to add a side door so that he wouldn't have to lift out the heavy cans when they were full of garbage.  GB pops, he was definitely smarter than a raccoon that day.

 
I can't help but think of that scene from Bad Boys II where the rats were eating the money.  "It's a stupid problem to have, but a problem nonetheless".  Just get a trashcan with a lock on it OR if that's not in the funds, drill a hole through the lid/body of the can and put a lock on it.  Problem solved.  We have all kinds of critters in Florida, including bears.  

Cans like this are all over the place.

 
Also, I decided to splurge a little a buy myself a Fleshlight being newly single. Not a flashlight, a Fleshlight and I needed to discard of the packaging into my trash. If my trash were strewn about my neighbors yard their kids would likely find a special treat this morning with a picture of some adult actresses' genital likeness staring right at them.
A little surprised this hasn't been asked yet, but uh...which "actress"?

 
Had same problem until I put something heavy on top of lid like a brick, sandbag or cinderblock.

Problem solved - suckers are not that strong

 
Had same problem until I put something heavy on top of lid like a brick, sandbag or cinderblock.

Problem solved - suckers are not that strong
Can still tip over.  I think their first move is to try and rock it over and hope the top comes loose when it falls.  

I've seen people do some crazy stuff around here, but I had real luck once I got a cable harness type system to my fence setup. they really struggle if they can't get the cans to the ground.  An even half-### way of securing the lid like a bungee cord works at that point.  

 
Wouldn't a motion light scare them away? Otherwise just drill two holes 10" apart and get a 6" bungee cord. 

 
Just back from Home Depot, they had no locking lids, but I've rigged a 3 tiered bungee cord system that I'll snap a photo of. Or maybe it's just funnier if I try to diagram it?

Yeah, that's way better. BRB

 
I’ve never purchased a fleshlight- is it that big of an upgrade to old fashioned?

Prob won’t win over any PETA fans with this, but have you considered putting some type of poison in your garbage?

 
Won't the green bungee just slide up the can?
Yeah, that whole thing is gonna whirlybird straight up and wrap itself in the basketball net.

Or put out his neighbors windows ala Clark Griswold's ice spear. 

 
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first i would rent or borrow a power auger then you want to use a 12 inch auger on it and sink a hole down to below frost since you are in rhode island now that is probably 4 to 5 feet deep and you will probably need a buddy to help run that thing so get a two handled model with a relatively strong hp motor and make sure your health insurance is paid up then put in a  sonotube and fill it with concrete you will probably also need to borrow or rent a tow behind mixer for the concrete and you will want to make sure that you get a good mix and no air bubbles or pockets then at the top of those pillars you sink in a few j bolts or as some call them anchor bolts i would go with at least  half inch and from there you attach two plates and then 4x4 posts you will want the green treated to last a few winters before you have to replace everything above grade anyhow you cut those babys to about trash can height so that you can run a rod through the handle loops at the tops of the cans and attach the rod to the posts and lock it in place you will probably need to rent or borrow a power cutoff or miter saw to cut the 4x4s or call a friend that is good with that stuff and that my friend is how you keep racoons out of your garbage and it should only cost you roughly 1000 to 1500 bucks by the time you get through with materials and equipment rental or purchase fees and medical bills take that to the bank brochacho 

 

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