A dumpster area draws birds for one reason, and it is not the structure. Gulls, pigeons, starlings and crows work the bins and the ground around them, and the fouling spreads across the enclosure, the wall behind it and the loading area next to it. Because the attraction is the contents rather than a ledge, the methods that work on a beam or a roofline do not do much here.
What does work is making the immediate area unpleasant to sit in and to return to. Flock Free's scent products are built for exactly this environment — the product copy names dumpsters and garbage cans directly — and they suit the partly enclosed space a bin store or dumpster corral provides. Below are the products supported for this application.
Bird Bombs In and Around the Bins
Bird Bombs are absorbent units you soak in Flock Free Bird Repellent and fix in place with zip ties. Flock Free lists garbage cans and dumpsters among their applications. They suit the bin itself, the corral frame and the wall behind it, and they are the method to reach for where there is no surface worth treating. The repellent is sold separately and is listed below.
Flock Free Bird Bombs (5 pcs)
$41.99
Five absorbent bombs. Listed for garbage cans, dumpsters, warehouses and small industrial facilities. Fix with zip ties.
Flock Free Bird Bomb Bundle
$31.99
Bundle option for the same application. Requires Flock Free Bird Repellent, sold separately.
Flock Free Bird Repellent Spray Concentrate, 32oz
$99.00
32 oz concentrate — the repellent the bombs are soaked in. Cannot be shipped to CT, IN, MD, MT, RI, DC or NM.
Scent Products for the Enclosure
A bin store or corral holds scent, which is what makes these products suit it. They release a grape aroma that birds find unpleasant and move away from. Flock Free lists dumpsters among the small enclosed spaces the pucks and dispenser are intended for. For use around children and pets. Use as directed.
Scent Pucks for Bird Control
$22.99
Listed for small enclosed spaces such as dumpsters, retail stores and warehouses. Cannot be shipped to Connecticut or Indiana.
Scent Dispenser
$64.99
Disperses the vapour across a wider area than the pucks alone — for a larger corral or a run of bins. Indoor and outdoor use. Pucks sold separately.
Visual Deterrent
The Seagull Effigy lists dumpsters among its applications and is the one visual product supported for this location. It works alongside the scent products rather than on its own, and needs moving every week or two so birds do not settle to it.
Seagull Effigy
$119.00
Lists dumpsters, parking areas, warehouses and rooftops among its applications. Move it periodically.
Where To Start
Start with Bird Bombs on the bins themselves — that is the closest you can get to the thing actually drawing the birds in — and add the scent products around the enclosure, pucks in a small corral, the dispenser where the area is larger or open on more than one side. Add the effigy once the scent side is running, and keep both on a schedule: consistency does more here than any single application, because the attraction gets replaced every time the bins are filled.
Prices shown as listed at the time of publication.
Related Bird Control Resources
A dumpster area usually sits against a building that has its own problems — see bird control for loading docks for the dock and canopy behind it, warehouses for the building itself, and covered areas for a roofed bin store. Dumpster areas are most often a problem with seagulls, pigeons, starlings and crows. You can also browse the full Bird Control range.