From exposed pumpkin flesh to cluttered doorsteps, a rubbish removal expert shares the checks to make when decorating your home this October, including what could happen if someone trips.
Householders decorating their doorsteps and gardens with pumpkins this October are being urged to think about what their displays could attract, and whether visitors can safely reach the front door.
Pumpkins can provide food for rats, while decorations placed on steps or spilling onto pathways can create avoidable trip hazards. The Royal Horticultural Society confirms that rats feed on pumpkins and squash, including harvested produce.
Miroslav Radov, a waste removal expert, and founder of Rainbow Rubbish Removals, says a few checks when setting up an autumn display can help prevent problems later.
“People think about how their pumpkins look from the street, but it is also worth checking what is happening underneath them and how much space they leave for someone approaching the door.
You can enjoy an autumn display without leaving loose pumpkin flesh around the garden or making visitors squeeze past decorations. The key is to keep checking it throughout October.”
1. Clear up the carving scraps straight away
Pumpkin seeds and flesh scattered across a patio or left beside an outdoor bin provide accessible food. Rats do not need to wait until a pumpkin is rotten to eat it.
The RHS recommends reducing accessible food sources and keeping bins sealed to discourage rats.
Miroslav says:
“When you finish carving, clear up the scraps as part of the job. Leaving a bowl of seeds outside or putting the leftovers in an open bag beside the bin gives animals easy access.
Check around the display too. Pieces can fall out when you move a carved pumpkin, particularly as it starts to soften.”
2. Check the base, not just the face
A pumpkin can still look presentable from the front while deteriorating underneath. Check regularly for soft patches, mould, leaking liquid or a collapsing base, and remove pumpkins that are breaking down.
Miroslav says:
“Don’t decide that a pumpkin has to stay outside until Halloween just because you bought it for October. If it is becoming soft, leaking or falling apart, it is time to remove it.
Lift it carefully and check the surface underneath. Clearing up early is much easier than dealing with a pumpkin that has collapsed across your doorstep.”
3. Leave a clear route to the door
Image by Chixpix
Keep pumpkins, baskets and decorative props out of walking routes. Avoid arrangements that narrow steps, hide their edges or require visitors to step over something.
Displays should be stable, with nothing positioned where it could roll or fall onto a path. Keep lighting cables away from walking routes and remove wet leaves or spilled pumpkin flesh promptly.
Miroslav says:
“Walk from your gate to your front door as though you are arriving for the first time, then check the route again after dark.
Think about a delivery driver carrying a parcel, someone using a walking aid or a child concentrating on the decorations. They all need a clear route without having to work out where to put their feet.”
4. What happens if a visitor or passer-by trips?
A fall does not automatically make a householder liable. However, a display that creates an avoidable hazard could lead to a compensation claim if a failure to take reasonable care causes an injury.
In England and Wales, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 requires those controlling premises to take reasonable care for the safety of visitors who are invited or permitted to enter. The Act also recognises that children may be less careful than adults. This makes the positioning of decorations particularly relevant when welcoming trick-or-treaters.
A passer-by on the public pavement is a different situation from a visitor on a private path. However, creating a hazard outside your boundary can also carry liability risks. Council guidance warns that residents may be personally liable if someone trips and is injured by a cable across a pavement. Applying that principle to seasonal displays, decorations and lighting leads should be kept off the public walking route.
Home insurance may include cover for occupiers’ or personal liability, but households should check their policy’s terms, limits and exclusions rather than assume any accident will be covered. Allianz, for example, identifies a visitor tripping over a loose rug as a situation its contents liability cover can address, subject to its policy terms.
5. Plan where the pumpkin will go when it needs removing
Remove candles, lights and other decorations before disposing of a pumpkin. Check your council’s instructions for food-waste collections, or compost suitable pumpkin material at home.
Manage compost carefully: Pendle Borough Council advises burying food scraps within the compost and stopping food additions if rats are present.
Avoid taking unwanted pumpkins to woodland. The Woodland Trust warns that dumped pumpkins can attract rats and damage woodland ecosystems.
Miroslav adds:
“The display needs looking after for as long as it is outside. Keep the area clean, leave room for people to pass and have a plan for removing pumpkins as soon as they deteriorate.”
Feature image by olia danilevich from Pexels
