TIL my backyard compost bin became a raccoon hotel last week

I set up a nice little compost pile in my backyard in Portland, figuring I'd be all eco-friendly and reduce food waste. Woke up at 3 AM to what sounded like a tiny party, and when I looked out, three raccoons had tipped the whole thing over and were wrestling with my coffee grounds and banana peels. Has anyone else had their big green dreams ruined by hungry critters, or do you have a raccoon-proof bin that actually works?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel55229d ago

Hold up, I'm gonna play the other side here. Burying scraps just makes the raccoons dig harder and they actually prefer that fresh hidden stuff. The bungee cord trick? Those little bandits figured mine out in about ten minutes, they just popped the lid off the hinge side. Honestly, letting the raccoons win is kind of the point, they are native wildlife doing what they do. You're better off just buying a sealed tumbler that spins, or accepting that outdoor composting attracts critters (that's nature, not a problem). Maybe try a worm bin indoors if you really can't share your coffee grounds with the locals.

elizabeth43829d ago

Did you try burying the food scraps under a layer of browns like leaves or cardboard? I started doing that and lining my bin with hardware cloth, plus a bungee cord lock, and the raccoons finally gave up.