When it comes to the war against cockatoos and other pesky birds, the struggle is real.
You think you’re being so clever, getting ahead of the game by bringing your bins out the night before collection day.
But the sight that greets you in the morning is one of horror.
Bin bags have been torn open, rubbish strewn across the street, a screechy gang of cockatoos presiding over the whole mess.
Bianca, who knows this scene all too well, was on a morning walk when she spotted a smart hack that would deter furry and feathered vermin alike from getting into the bins.
The hack requires just two 1.25 litre bottles full of water, and a few zip ties.
“On my walk today I came across one of the smartest tricks I’ve seen in a while,” she posted on the Cleaning & Organising Inspiration Australia page.
The photo she shared showed a red wheelie bin with two bottles of water zip tied to the bin lid handles, weighting the lid to stop any unwanted creatures from getting inside.
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Woman’s wheelie bin lid hack goes viral
“The reason for this is to keep birds out of your bins so they don’t create mess. Thought it may be helpful to someone who may be having this problem,” she continued in the caption.
While lots of birds would take advantage of an open wheelie bin, it’s cockatoos that are the real pests.
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Back in 2015, Australian Museum Ecologist Richard Major spotted a cockatoo carefully opening a bin to get at the delicious rubbish inside.
In 2021, a group of international ecologists published a paper on the birds’ behaviour, pointing out that not only could cockatoos open bins, but they could teach other cockatoos how to do it. It’s a hard phenomenon to prove, so scientists gathered photos and video footage from residents all over Sydney.
“We discovered different subcultures,” Richard told Australian Geographic. “There were slight variations in the way different groups were opening bins. Birds within one group would open the bins in a similar fashion, while another group from a separate area would use an entirely different method.
They may be screechy, but they’re also apparently pretty smart.
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Simple cockatoo deterrent goes viral
The comments section was full of people sharing stories of annoying cockatoos, with some users calling a flock of birds around a bin “intimidating” and “scary”.
“Bin day in our town is cocky heaven,” one person said.
“Running to my bins to do this, 100 percent,” said another.
But not everyone was convinced.
“I can see how this works, but seems like a lot of effort to me,” said one person who may live in a cockatoo-free zone.
One person pointed out that while the hack was clever, it also rendered the handles of the bin useless for humans as well as cockatoos.
“Just use alfoil on the handles then you can still use the handles,” they said.
Originally published as ‘This is one of the smartest wheelie bin tricks I’ve ever seen in my life’
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