Composting and Wildlife

A red fox digging in a compost pile.

Composting is a popular topic right now and we thought we would share our advice on the topic and how it pertains to wildlife.

Compost heaps can be a huge draw for all the critters in your backyard. Our suggestion is not to add meat, bones, dairy, fat or egg shells to your compost. These scraps will invite animals from the size of mice all the way up to raccoons and coyotes. We would recommend putting those scraps in the Green bin.


Timing is everything with your Green bin. Make sure it is emptied weekly and cleaned between fillings. This will reduce the attraction of animals to your bin. Taking your green bin and garbage out to the curb as late as possible before pick up will also reduce the chance of 4-legged and winged beasts getting into it. 


Storing your green bin and garbage is also important. If possible keeping them inside a steel garbage can with a locking lid will prevent animals from chewing in and also knocking it over to get inside.


Back to composting. A proper compost pile will produce heat and will help to keep wildlife out of it. Doing some research on proper composting techniques will be greatly helpful. Steel compost bins in your backyard are great and more animal proof then the normal compost bin but are very expensive. The “tumbling” style composter is not quite as animal proof but another possible way to limit the attractiveness to critters.


Our biggest tip for all this surrounding compost would be to be prepared. Animals of all sorts will be drawn to your backyard. Letting your neighbour know you compost or are planning on it will help them prepare too. Protecting your home from unwanted animal invaders before the problems occur will also help to make your composting adventure a success.


Composting is a great way to reduce waste going to the landfill, and is free fertilizer for your gardens and plants. Our business has our own composting operation which is helping us to also become more environmentally friendly.


Thanks for reading and for more info on how to live with or keep animals out of your home please contact us!