Keep Flies Out of an Outdoor Trash Can With a Toilet Deodorizer Cake
Drop a hanging toilet rim deodorizer cake into the bottom of an outdoor trash can. The same strong scent that's meant to mask bathroom odor keeps flies from landing and laying eggs in the bag for days at a stretch.
trash can smells in summer, flies swarming garbage bin, maggots in outdoor trash can, keep flies out of garbage, outdoor bin fly control
The Problem
An outdoor trash can left closed in warm weather is enough time for flies to find the seam, lay eggs in the food scraps, and hatch maggots — often within days. Emptying and scrubbing the can deals with an infestation after the fact, but does nothing to stop the next one from starting the moment the lid closes again.
The Technique
- Buy a standard hanging toilet rim deodorizer cake — the kind sold at any dollar store for keeping a toilet bowl smelling clean.
- Drop it into the bottom of the trash can, under or beside the liner bag, or hang it from the cake's built-in clip against the inside wall above the bag.
- Leave it in place. One cake kept flies and maggots out of a bin of regular household and food-scrap trash for at least four days of testing before it needed checking again.
- Replace it once the scent has faded — that's the point at which it stops working.
Safety note: Toilet deodorizer cakes are made to be handled with bare hands but not eaten or chewed — keep them away from pets and small children who might get into an open trash can, and don't let one sit where runoff could wash into a garden bed or storm drain.