Bears Keep Attacking My Garbage Bins, But the Flies Are Even Worse
Cleaning my garbage bins was a small project I kept putting off.
Konoly
Jordan Calhoun Editor in Chief
Experience
Jordan Calhoun is Editor in Chief at Lifehacker and author of Piccolo Is Black: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Pop Culture. He holds a BA in Sociology and Criminal Justice, a BS in Psychology, and an MPA in Public Policy.
September 21, 2026
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Credit: Jordan Calhoun/Lifehacker
Table of Contents
The first time I saw 60 gallons of trash strewn across my lawn, I thought we'd been robbed. I recalled the last time I experienced a break-in: Shortly after college, at my dad's house in Detroit, burglars trashed our house and took the most random assortment of items, including my unopened college diplomas that had just arrived in the mail. But I wasn't in the city anymore; I was in the Catskill Mountains, home to about 2,000 bears.
I learned the hard way that once bears successfully raid your trash bin for food, they'll keep coming back. It highlighted another problem I had been ignoring: My trash bins reeked. I had never cleaned them since closing on our house, which invited a horde of flies, then bears that visited each week. A long-term solution might be bear-proof garbage cans or securing the lids with bungee cords, but I wanted to solve the simplest problem and clean my disgusting garbage bins.
What do you think so far?
My trash bins reeked in a way you can't imagine—or maybe you can, if you're like me and haven't cleaned them. If that's you, here's what I used to clean mine. And while you're here, I hope you follow along with my adventures as a first-time homeowner trying to make my house into the coolest house in the neighborhood. I invite you to follow along on our official Instagram, official YouTube, or my personal Instagram. I took care of the flies and bears, then installed permanent outdoor lights, then I'll build an outdoor fire pit—and that's just the beginning. I hope to see you along the way.
