Written By Lara Wadsworth

Many gardeners are completely deterred from composting due to critter attraction. This is a major problem for many urban, suburban, and rural residents. The reality is that there are animals everywhere, and if you are putting food outside, they will find it! However, there are techniques and supplies that can greatly reduce the number of animals that can access your compost bin. Speaking from personal experience, these few steps can eliminate critter attraction!

Selecting the Right Compost Bin

Starting early in the spring of 2024, I tried to start composting for the first time. I got one of the black plastic boxes with the lid online. However, not long after, we started getting visitors… unwelcome visitors. Raccoons, opossums, skunks, cats, and more furry creatures started frequenting our yard and causing many problems. The raccoons even bent our fence trying to jump over it in the middle of the night. The opossum woke us up at 2 am by sounding it’s mating call in the tree right next to our bedroom window. A neighborhood cat started sleeping in our garage and giving our dog trouble. And one or more skunks sprayed our dog… three times. So, I had to put a pause on my composting efforts.

Obviously, something about the set up was allowing the animals to easily access our kitchen scraps. The plastic container was way too easy to open or chew through. For a while we didn’t compost because I didn’t know what to do differently. While researching some information about soil composition I was reminded of the incredible benefits of compost in the garden. This encouraged me to double down on my composting efforts because of how fantastic compost is for your soil. Through that research, I discovered aluminum composting bins with lids. This was my answer!

Aluminum composting bins are essentially metal trash cans with holes for airflow. I bought one and have been using it ever since. I secured the lid with a bungee cord just in case animals try to break in again. I also have it attached to a stake to prevent toppling over. This seems to be the answer to my composting woes! The lid is secure enough that the pests can’t open it. The stake I have is driven through the handle of one side so that animals can’t push it over and pry it open. We have had no problems with animals since moving to this style of compost bin.

Depending on how much you contribute to your compost bins, it might be a good idea to get 2-3 of these bins. It seems to fill up quickly, but then settles down as it composts. You’ll be surprised how much you can fit in one of those things!

Getting the Right Brown to Green Matter Composting Ratios

Another reason I believe that we were attracting animals was because we didn’t have the ratios correct. Check out our blog about composting to get more in-depth information about this. Suffice it to say that you need a LOT more brown matter than green matter. The green matter is kitchen scraps and similar items. So, every time you put in a handful of kitchen scraps, you must put in about 5-6 scoops full of brown matter. Brown matter is ripped-up cardboard, dried leaves, and similar substances. Having the food items diluted this much not only encourages a proper composting microbiome but also makes it much harder for animals to smell and find the food scraps.

Bury and Wait Before Mixing Fresh Scraps

After you add kitchen scrap to your compost bin, add the majority of the brown matter ontop and then wait before you mix it up. Burying the food like this before mixing the bin gives it time to dilute the smell of the food before putting any of it ontop and easy to access, thus making it harder for animals to find. Every little trick helps!

Mix and Turn Your Compost Pile

My last big tip is to mix up the compost bin regularly (after you wait of course). You can use an auger, a shovel, a pitchfork, or anything similar. The food must be composted quickly to not attract animals but in order to do that, you have to have proper aeration in the compost. Without air, the microbiome will develop the wrong microbe ratios and start rotting instead of composting. Yes, there is a difference! A little tip is that if your compost bin smells bad, something is wrong! A healthy compost heap should smell like soil and not rotting food. This can usually be amended by aeration, adding water, and adding more brown matter.

Easy Step-By-Step Composting Instructions That Keep Animals Out

1. Set up an aluminum compost bin using a 6 ft garden stake. Place the bin where you want it and drive the stake down through the handle. Be sure the stake is sunk at least 12 inches into the ground. Use a mallet for help!

2. Secure the lid. Take the bungee cord, loop it around the handle, and hook it through one of the holes in the stake. Then, on the other side, place it in one of the holes in the bin, not on the edge of the lid.

3. Add your kitchen scraps. Open the lid by unhooking one end of the bungee cord, add in 2-3 handfuls of dried leaves or shredded cardboard (brown matter), dump in the kitchen scraps, then add on top 3-4 times as much brown matter as food you added. Re-secure the lid.

4. Wait about 24-72 hours, and then mix up the bin as much as you can.

5. Repeat!

Benefits of Compost in the Home Garden

Compost is the number one best thing that you can add to your soil. It improves every aspect of the soil composition by improving drainage, water retention, and nutrient retention, making it better for plant life. It is worth fighting for! If you are having trouble understanding how to compost, don’t give up! There are many resources out there that can help you.

More Composting Resources:

• How to Make Compost at Home - University of Maryland Extension
• Composting at Home: How to Reduce Your Waste and Make Your Own Fertilizer - Indiana University
• Backyard Composting - Utah State University

Lara Wadsworth, True Leaf Market Writer

I am a native of Southwestern Michigan, where I also reside, and I love all things plants! I got a Bachelor's Degree in Horticulture and found the first work-from-home job I could get. Now, I spend my days writing for TLM, playing with my dog, eating delicious food with my husband, and plotting my next landscape or gardening move. I believe everyone should get down and dirty in the soil now and then. Happy Gardening!