Animal on the Dumpster - Chicago, IL - Tri-State Disposal

Whether you have a permanent dumpster or a dumpster rental, you might have to worry about animals trying to get into those dumpsters. Here’s what businesses need to know about wild animals and how to keep them away from their dumpsters.

Which businesses have to worry about animals getting into their dumpsters?

Any commercial property that deals with food production will have to worry about wild animals, but they’re not the only ones. Many animals, especially rodents, may find a dumpster attractive when they look for shelter. In some cases, a dumpster that attracts insects can also attract the types of animals that feed off of those insects.

Animals can cause property damage, create messes to deal with, and can be general nuisances. Some animals can even create terrible smells from nesting in or around your dumpsters.

The possibility of animals becoming stuck or trapped in your dumpsters can also present issues. If an animal dies in a dumpster, the smell can saturate the whole area.

Common Animals to Worry About

Some general animals to worry about include smaller mammals, such as skunks, rats, possums, raccoons, squirrels, and others. You may also have a bird problem.

Some animals come with unique problems for commercial property owners. For example, a skunk will bring its smell along with it. Birds that congregate can leave droppings all over the dumpster and immediate area around it. Many smaller animals like to rummage, which can leave the contents of your dumpster strewn all over the place.

Raccoons come up the most often in discussions about annoying dumpster critters. Once a raccoon finds food, they will continue to visit that place, and may even make that spot their home. Raccoons often find it easy to get into dumpsters, but often become stuck in them as well.

What methods can help get animals out of your dumpster?

If you find you have animals trapped in your dumpster, you should do what you can to get them out safely. Don’t panic or cause a fuss when you find some creature stuck or hanging out in your dumpster. That excitement can spook the animal and possibly make it hostile. Instead, you can calmly try to:

Put a branch or piece of cardboard into the dumpster to give the animal a way out.
Add some trash to the dumpster to allow the animal to climb out.
Call animal or wildlife control to come and rescue the animal.

When you give the animal a means of escape, never try to handle the animal yourself and don’t wait around. Some wild animals can carry disease or are aggressive, so your best choice is to leave and come back later to see if the animal has left. Many animals like to wait until the night before they attempt to leave.

What steps can you take to keep animals away?

When you get rid of the trash, especially food items, make sure you place things in tightly closed trash bags or other trash collection items. If you keep the smells of your trash to a minimum, you can help keep away animals, especially the ones that look for food in the garbage.

Don’t leave any trash outside of the dumpster. If you leave debris on the ground, animals may see it and want to explore where they can find more. The cleaner the area surrounding your dumpster, the less it will attract creatures.

Additionally, if your dumpster has a lid, you’ll want to keep it closed. Some businesses will leave dumpster lids open during business or operational hours and close them overnight. Instead, always close all lids and tell personnel to only open them when they plan to dispose of something.

Some dumpsters don’t come with lids, which makes the tip about tightly closing all garbage containing items even more important. You can also use a tarp to cover the dumpster when it’s not in use.

Over-the-counter animal repellents and deterrents can also help, but you must make sure to use these products safely and properly. If there’s a specific animal you want to keep away, then find a safe product for that animal you can use.

You can make a repellent solution yourself with water and ammonia. You can also use just ammonia. Spray the solution around your dumpster and it can help keep unwanted critters from venturing too close.

When you rent a dumpster for your commercial property or business-related activities, look for options that can help with potential animal problems. For example, choose dumpsters with lids when possible.

For larger roll-off dumpsters, make sure you use them for their intended purpose and don’t keep them for longer than necessary. The faster you fill them and have them removed, the less likely you are to have animals trying to climb into them.

Tri-State Disposal offers many industrial and commercial dumpster rental options. Let us know what you need and we’ll help you choose a dumpster of the right size and with the right features for your needs.