How to Bear Proof a Garbage Can
When shopping for a garbage can for the cabin, I was looking for something stout but still easy to move around on rough terrain. I found this 32-gallon can by Toter and it fit the bill. Initially, I used a 2″ spring clamp to secure the lid. I knew it wouldn’t hold up against bigger animals but I figured it may at least stop a squirrelly chipmunk or deter a raccoon. It didn’t take long for the clamp to get misplaced. For quite sometime after, the can was unsecured but nothing was bothering it until one late night in mid-June. About 4am, I was up putting my youngest son back to bed (after he tried to convince me it was already morning) when I glanced at my phone. There was a series of notifications from the security camera that monitors the cabin driveway. Sure enough, I pulled up the footage to find a black bear rummaging through the garbage can, in perfect view of the camera. We haven’t seen a bear in person there before. They are looking for easy food sources but if there are signs of people around they generally stay away.
Black bear left us a gift
The mess wasn’t terrible but we didn’t want Guten Cabin to become a regular feeding stop for the local bear community. Something had to be done. The first option would be to purchase a new bear-proof garbage. I wasn’t eager to do that. The can we had was in great condition and wasn’t cheap.
I searched a few articles and watched a couple YouTube videos on ways to bear proof a garbage can. I bought the materials and had a solid bear-proofing plan for my next trip. When I arrived, I realized that none of the tutorials I found matched the style can I had. It is not an uncommon style, so hopefully someone else may find this useful. With that, I (un-technically) present to you…
The Official Guten Cabin Guide to Bear Proofing A Trash Can.
Tools needed:
- Drill
- 3/8″ drill bit
- Wrenches (or an adjustable wrench)
- Large screwdriver (bit doesn’t matter)
- Clamps or a second set of hands
- A hand saw or circular saw or sawzall, etc..
Materials needed (I purchased all the fasteners from Plain Hardware for under $15):
- 3/8″ x 6″ eyebolt – quantity 2
- 3/8″ washers – quantity 4 (you could use fender washers)
- 3/8″ nylon lock nut. Standard thread. – quantity 4
- 3/4″ trigger snap – quantity 2
- 5/16″ threaded quick link – quantity 4
- One cedar fencing plank. Scrap plywood could also work.
Time Needed: 20 Minutes
Step 1: Install the quick links and snaps. On my can lid there is a lip edge on top that I believe is there to make it easy to open. I drilled directly through the edge of that material. You want the hole close enough to the edge that you can loop the quick links through, but not too close or it may rip out when Gentle Ben shows up. About 3/4″ back from the edge should do.
Connect one trigger snap to two quick links and connect this linkage to the can through your newly drilled hole. Be sure to tighten down the nuts on the quick links so they don’t open up too easily. Repeat this on the other front corner of the can lid.
Step 2: Cut two sections of plank. First piece should be slightly shorter than the width of the upper front of the can. Second piece should be the width of the same spot on the can but on the inside.
Sandwich the can in between the two pieces inside and out. Clamp them together or have your helper hold them in place. Let the trigger snap hang down in front of the boards. Place the threaded end of the eye bolt through the middle of the opening of the snap trigger and push it to the board. Mark the spot where the threaded-end lands on the board. With the boards clamped together drill all the way through the front plank, the plastic of the can and the inside plank. The purpose of these boards is to reinforce the plastic. I thought about just going with fender washers direct on the plastic but I was worried those could rip through if pulled hard enough. It also makes the eyebolt sturdy and solid-feeling.
Can interior with eyebolt
Step 3: Thread and tighten a nut all the way down to where the unthreaded shank meets the thread and put a flat washer on it. Insert the threaded eye all the way through and put a flat washer and nut on the inside. Repeat this process on the other side. The goal is for the trigger snap to naturally align with where the loop end of the eyebolt sits when fastened. To tighten up the inside nut, put the screwdriver through the eyebolt loop so that you can easily have leverage to anchor it while you tighten the inside.
Step 4: Remove your clamps and hopefully your trigger snaps align and easily fasten to the eyebolt. Bears are very intelligent animals so we took one extra precaution to dissuade them from pursuing our can and wrote them a clear message that they are not welcome.
Prologue: A few weeks after I completed this project, we were back at the cabin. I was very bummed when we arrived because after all that work, our garbage can was gone without a trace. My only guess was that I did such an amazing job bear-proofing the garbage can that someone decided they had to have it for themselves. The next day I was in the yard with the kids and we found it laying in the brush near the edge of the property, apparently dragged down to there. Aside from some light scratch marks on the lid (and extra-ripe garbage smell emanating), it was no worse for wear. The bear proofing worked (the signage had not) and we haven’t had any trash messes since.
Nothing to see here bear. Lumber on.
Linda
That’lll show them bears. Unless they take the whole darn can??? Ingenious my friend!!