Tailgate Trash bag and wildlife?

[LostWolf]

What do people do with their tailgate trash bag with trash in it over night in areas with bears and other curious wildlife? I just got my BROG tailgate bag and plan to use one of them for our trash on our trip but wasn't sure what to do with it overnight if we are in bear or raccoon country.

 

[Road]

I camp backcountry a lot, I mean for months at a time, and just never put food waste or smelly anything in my spare tire bag. I keep it for recyclables, other trash, and kindling etc, but nothing that would attract critters.

After awhile you learn how to minimize food waste from meal prep and after meals, and to keep it in a zip lock or simply in a small trash bag inside your vehicle over night or if away from camp. I like the biodegradable bags you can get your groceries in at some stores, but Walmart and big chain grocery store bags work, too. After leaving food waste in a bag locked in my trailer one night and having coons chew the hell out of the thick rubber gasket on my tonneau cover at the tailgate, I've never left it anywhere but in my vehicle at night.

I hang the bag on my rear door handle opposite my fridge and have made it a habit to put all organic waste in there as I create it, from coffee grounds, to cut off vegetable ends, to meat trimmings, etc. If you have it longer than you can get to a good place to dump it, squeeze all the air out, tie up the top and put it in another bag and tie that, too. I've never had a problem with it that way, odor, critters, or otherwise.

And DON'T throw orange peels, apple cores, potato peelings or any other food scraps into the woods or desert thinking animals will eat it. It is not their natural food, messes with their digestive systems, and attracts them to areas they would not go otherwise. Raccoons, bear, and coyotes have become nuisance animals in some places from careless campers throwing food waste around camp. Takes a hell of a long time, too, for things like orange peels to decompose.

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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

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[J.W.]

Tie a stick about 2-3 feet long to a rope. Throw the rope over a tree limb. Put the “arms” of the bag over the stick and hoist it into a tree. Only had a bear go after the bag once and that was our fault for having lasagna in there without checking that it was sealed up tight.

That bear was next level John Wick on a mission.

 

[LostWolf]

Thanks for the input Road and J.W. Those are both along the lines of what we have always done in the past. With the new tire bags I wanted to see what everyone else was doing.

Thanks again.

 

[Road]

Thanks for the input Road and J.W. Those are both along the lines of what we have always done in the past. With the new tire bags I wanted to see what everyone else was doing.

Thanks again.

No problem, @LostWolf - it really just boils down to being aware of your camp environment, doesn't it, and knowing what kind of animals might be attracted to anything you have.

You don't always have a tree limb if in a desert environment, and may not always want to store stuff in your vehicle overnight, but there's always a way to keep it from attracting animals directly to camp. I've learned from having guests that even having scented stuff like commercial toothpastes, anti-perspirants, soaps and scented wipes in a tent or vehicle with open windows can attract some animals.

I've had raccoons pull up bags of food from a branch and had both raccoons and squirrels get into my van through open doors or window.

Another thing I'm sure you already know, but worth mentioning for those new to camping, is to keep a clean camp to begin with. Leaving food out, even boxed or bagged, often results in animals being drawn in whether away from camp or not. I was walking back to camp one time and saw a squirrel happily running down the trail with a whole graham cracker in his mouth. Cracked me up. Then I realized when I got back to camp it was my box of graham crackers he'd raided. Another time a raccoon got onto my counter in the dark behind us while we sitting at the fire just feet away, and made off with a whole bag of Tostitos. We could hear him rustling the bag and munching away in the dark.

Neither of these animals would have been attracted to camp if I'd been more careful about leaving stuff out.

Now when I'm done making a meal or getting a snack, everything gets put away.

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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

I try to have a separate trash bag for smellables so that get's strung up or put into the animal-safe dumpster depending where I'm camping. I prefer the latter so I don't have to deal with it but that's not always the case. I try to minimize my waste so in all honesty I could stick my smellables in my RTIC cooler or inside a case in the rig. I don't have problems with bears where I frequent, but the other critters are a problem.

 

[DoggMan1163]

Along the way I always tried to keep stuff put up so wild life cant get to it I've had a black bear destroy one of my trucks because of me leaving food items in side now every thing goes into heavy duty plastic cases that lock bread and chips are stored in Tupperware containers and trash is either hanging high in a tree or disposed of in a dumpster away from camp I had a raccoon try and steal my dogs food found the can about 600 feet from where I had it he never could get it open but that didn't stop him from trying

 

[LostWolf]

Oh, those are great stories. Reminds me of one of our first trips "car camping." We were visiting my grandpa at his cabin and we left the windows open on the truck. We had just gotten back from the store so we had some food in the cab of the truck. When we went to leave we heard a noise coming from the cab of the truck. It being dark we couldn't see until I opened the driver's door and out runs a raccoon. We check the food supplies and the little bugger had eaten all of my cookies. Didn't touch my wife's cookies or anything else, just my cookies.

I believe it was that same trip, we had made bacon for breakfast. I being as smart as I was as a newly graduated kid poured the bacon grease in the fire pit. We had gone about our day and had a campfire that night before going to bed. After going to bed we heard a critter messing around the aluminum canoe. I stuck my head out to look with my flashlight and all I saw was about a hundred set of eys and all different levels surrounding our camp. It reminded me of a Scooby-Doo cartoon with all the eyes in the woods. My wife (girlfriend at the time) asked what it was so she looked and died laughing. The raccoon army had shown up to teach us about pouring bacon grease into the fire pit. We haven't taken bacon camping since.

 

[Road]

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Ran across this article again in my bookmarks from BearSmart.com with some good tips on food, food waste, and storage of other attractants when Camping In Bear Country.

I'd like to find what others are using for odor-proof bags for storage. I see suggestions for PVC float bags and such to use for food waste. For me, the ideal odor-concealing setup for food waste would be a good reusable odor-proof zip-lock large enough to hold a typical walmart sized bag with food scraps. Then reuse the odor-proof zip lock over and over after you dispose the inner bag properly. I'm starting to use Eco Hippo bags that some stores use now to bag groceries for my camp food waste, in lieu of the more typical plastic bags. They use a d2W technology, are recyclable, and compost well.

I'm using these 2.6 gal biodegradable, 100% compostable bags from UNNI. They have a mess of different sizes. They are BPI certified, too, meaning they've been tested by an independent non-profit to "biocompostable."

Put my food and other smelly waste in these and in the van overnight, then if in bear country, place that bag in an odor-free zip-lock. Otherwise I have good luck simply rolling and tying the top until I can dispose of it properly.


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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[scoyoc]

I started using a 5 gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal lid, referred to as The Yucky Bucket, for all organic, meat, or oily waste, and a second trash bag for the non-smelly trash and recyclables. We started using The Yucky Bucket when the kids were in diapers and it stuck. In beast country I but it in the truck for the night.

 

[Road]

I started using a 5 gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal lid, referred to as The Yucky Bucket, for all organic, meat, or oily waste, and a second trash bag for the non-smelly trash and recyclables. We started using The Yucky Bucket when the kids were in diapers and it stuck. In beast country I but it in the truck for the night.

Good idea. I had a Gamma Seal lid yearrrs ago and have no idea what may have happened to it. Likely loaned out and never returned.

I keep a slop bucket with tight, sealing, lid for those places and times I know I'll have fouled liquid waste; usually when I have others cooking/washing in my camp kitchen or have a crowd.

Lots of ways to keep odors from food waste and smelly stuff at a minimum. The less your camp smells appealing, the less likely you'll have a problem. A lot easier when solo camping.

 

[Jim SoG]

I camp backcountry a lot, I mean for months at a time,

And DON'T throw orange peels, apple cores, potato peelings or any other food scraps into the woods or desert thinking animals will eat it. It is not their natural food, messes with their digestive systems, and attracts them to areas they would not go otherwise. Raccoons, bear, and coyotes have become nuisance animals in some places from careless campers throwing food waste around camp. Takes a hell of a long time, too, for things like orange peels to decompose.

"I camp backcountry a lot, I mean for months at a time,"
Wow I want to get to that point in my life, I do believe you are my hero sir!

"And DON'T throw orange peels, apple cores, potato peelings or any other food scraps into the woods or desert thinking animals will eat it. It is not their natural food, messes with their digestive systems, and attracts them to areas they would not go otherwise. Raccoons, bear, and coyotes have become nuisance animals in some places from careless campers throwing food waste around camp. Takes a hell of a long time, too, for things like orange peels to decompose."
I never ever thought about that, never done it but never thought about it either and I could have easily seen myself doing it, thank you for making me think!

Jim

 

[Boostpowered]

If its not plastic, metal or some other noxious material id burn it in the campfire before going to bed, ive never seen a critter rustle through ash for food. If your area is dry and you cant have fires then my advise is useless.