John the Exterminator spots raccoons from very far away and can hear an instrument played in another room, so in Dumpster Gang stealth means using the level itself — walls, vents, bushes and hiding boxes — and staying quiet.

Dumpster Gang stealth starts with what John notices

His detection range is very long. Players note that he keeps spotting you from far away, and that he can hear a trumpet played in another room, so distance alone is not cover.

Making noise is the usual mistake. Playing an instrument to pull John away only works when he is not busy with a running machine, so an instrument used at the wrong moment pulls him straight to you instead of away from you.

The hiding places in the demo

The demo's stealth tools are the level itself:

  • Walls you can climb, which put you above his sight line.
  • Vents you can crawl through, which lead to spaces he cannot follow you into.
  • Bushes and other hiding spots around the maps.
  • Hiding boxes such as the laundry basket and the crate. You can carry them around and hide inside them. The pick up and throw guide covers how picking one up and putting it down works.

Hiding in a box leaves a trail

While you are inside a box you leave no footprints. The catch is that the box has to be put down to use it, so you cannot finish a mission without leaving some trail behind you.

Treat the box as a short-term hiding spot rather than a place to sit out the whole mission, and pick a different one each time you need it.

Are there Exterminator traps?

There is no catalogue of John's traps to work from. The demo does not label them, and nothing has been published about how many he sets, where they are placed, or what they do. The developers have only said that John gains more tools and more tricks in the later missions.

The one trap named in player reports is the rat trap lying on the ground in the demo levels, and players report that John can step on it without triggering any effect — a bug the developers have logged. So there is nothing to read off the floor and nothing to dodge yet. If John does get his hands on you anyway, the escape guide covers getting loose.