For our non-American viewers, raccoons are lovable little critters that love nothing so much as to break open your garbage, then spill it all over the yard, looking for things to eat.
So, to deter those pesky critters, this line of garbage bags incorporates raccoon repellent - chemicals they don't like the smell or flavor of. At this point, we still need some more research to determine the precise mix, but my guess is that chilli peppers would be a good start.
(Chillis developed their distinctive flavoring to poison the mammals that might feed on them, while still being palatable to birds.)
_________________________________________________ This is actually a group idea from the Halfbakery Picnic, developed jointly by buddha_pest, snarfyguy, Sari (who doesn't have an account), and yours truly.-- DrCurry, Jun 08 2003 Ropel® Garbage Protector http://www.nixalite.com/ropelgar.htm"A contact repellent formulated to adhere to non-porous surfaces such as plastic garbage bags and cans. Animals coming into contact with treated garbage get a vile, bitter taste." [waugsqueke, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004] foxes do much the same in London. accompanied by much screaming in the middle of the night.
you didn't get very far with this concept did you? were you all drunk or something?
I think the only hb idea we came up with, was breeding pub chairs and selling the babies for £50 each - oh how we laughed. you needed to be there really <g>-- po, Jun 08 2003 poor you! chilly person <wraps warm garment around ()> (takes anal temperature) - OUCH! <prescribes aspirin> go to bed - see me in the morning when I am sober.
<who said I was a nurse?>-- po, Jun 08 2003 There are several animal repellent spray products available that you apply to the bags after they've been placed out for collection. (See link for one example.) This seems simpler than impregnating the bags with it.-- waugsqueke, Jun 08 2003 We mentioned Lysol, but I don't know if you can impregnate plastic with this kind of stuff.
If it's something organic that's going to appeal to birds, let's make sure it's not so appealing that we wish we had the raccoons back.-- snarfyguy, Jun 08 2003 Could also be sprayed on after extrusion.-- DrCurry, Jun 09 2003 It is interesting to me that foxes have occupied the raccoon niche in London. I am pretty sure the same red foxes are in the US but I have never heard of them being a city animal. Could foxes be displaced by raccoons out of city habitats where they overlap? Or maybe the London foxes are the start of something new - a city fox, sort of like the first doves who decided hanging around cities was good and started to become pigeons. Either way, I would prefer a city fox over a raccoon. Foxes could definitely catch rats.-- bungston, Jun 09 2003 I get enough of a problem just from the cats who live near my flat, let alone wild animals. I frequently leave in the morning to discover that, in their haste to lick clean my boil-in-the-bag kippers wrapper, they've made a nice little collage of bank statements, personal correspondence and various embarassing items from my rubbish on the front lawn. I don't want to repel them though - I like them too much. Perhaps bags with kippers or chicken attached to the outside might deter them from ripping open the bags.-- sild, Jun 10 2003 random, halfbakery