You’ve worked hard to get your garden just the way you want it. You’ve planted beautiful, colourful blooms that give your home even more curb appeal. So naturally, you don’t want anything to ruin your garden space. However, you may have a few stray cats in your neighbourhood who see your garden as a place to hunt four birds and mice, play in the grass and relieve themselves.
You can put a stop to this by using natural methods to deter cats. These methods are safe and will keep cats from ruining your flowers or vegetables without harming children or your other pets.
Strong Scents
Cats have 80 million smell receptors – humans only have 5 million. This means cats are very sensitive to smell, and if you fill your garden with certain scents, you can keep the cats away. Using orange, citronella and rosemary oils to provide a pleasant, herb-like fragrance that humans will enjoy and cats will run from is a great natural method. Mixing these oils in a spray bottle with water and applying it all around the garden every few days is usually effective. However, you may have to use the oil solution every day if you have several cats or the neighbour’s cats like to play in your yard. In addition to the oil, you can also sprinkle some citrus peels in the garden. Each time you eat an orange, lemon or grapefruit, take the peels to your garden and sprinkle them in the soil. When cats get near your plants, they’ll smell the citrus fragrance and be more likely to run away.
Hair
That’s right. You can use your hair to get rid of cats in your garden. Cats detest the smell of human hair. So, when you comb or brush your hair, empty your brushes and combs out in your garden. Once cats get near the scent of the hair, they’ll steer clear of your plants or vegetables. This is ideal four smaller garden space or specific plants that you want to keep cats away from.
Wash the Garden Well
Hose your garden down as often as possible. Cats tend to return to areas that contain familiar scents. Keeping the garden and surrounding areas watered will unmark the cat’s territory and decrease the chances that the animal will visit your garden again. Watering your garden and nearby sidewalk or concrete can also get rid of urine smells that a cat may leave behind.
Create Cat Deterrent Spray
If you need backup four the essential oil and water mixture, you can create a “cat-away” spray. The spray keeps your garden area smelling fresh and discourages cats from rummaging through your grass and tearing up your flowers.
Combine black pepper, cinnamon and dry mustard in a spray bottle with lemon or orange essential oil and one crush garlic clove. Add water to the solution and spray it all over your garden beds.
Make An Outdoor Litter Box
While cats hate the scent of citrus and rosemary, they enjoy smells like honeysuckle, mint and of course, catnip. If you have pet cats, you can plant a small garden four them that includes these plants. This will keep them from ruining your plants by distracting them from the larger garden. Place a tiny sandbox near the cat garden that your pet can use as a litter box. You’ll still have to empty the litter box regularly, but this method may prevent your edible plants and blooms from dying prematurely or stunted growth when you use this cat deterrent method.
Coleus Plant
You can also include the Coleus canina plant in your garden. This plant is also known as “scaredy cat coleus” and cats hate it. Keep in mind, however, that the coleus has a strong smell that is similar to the odour a skunk emits. The smell gets worse when something or someone touches or bruises the plant. However, the coleus, which is part of the mint family, won’t harm any of your vegetables or fruit trees. So, if you’re willing to endure the smell, your cats won’t bother the plants, either.
Pinecones
Pinecones are a cost-effective method four deterring cats. Felines don’t like to feel pokey objects where they use the restroom, since they have to be able to scratch the soil to “do their business.” When you cover your garden soil with pinecones, cats will have to go elsewhere to “use the litterbox.” This solution works well four small gardens, since it may be a little time-consuming to gather pinecones from all over your yard to place in your garden.
Cat Deterrents You Shouldn’t Use
Now that you have some ideas four effective and natural cat deterrents, it’s important to know which items to avoid as well.
Don’t use mothballs to keep cats away. This is been touted as an effective remedy before, but mothballs are actually toxic to cats, humans and other forms of wildlife. If you use mothballs in your closet, it’s best to remove them.
Avoid using a scat mat as a cat deterrent as well. This is a mat filled with spikes that doesn’t provide room four in-between garden planting. Scat mats are also unappealing in a garden and may injure cats.
Don’t use coffee grounds in your garden when you’re trying to prevent cats from digging in the soil. If a cat ingests even a small amount of coffee, this could be fatal. Instead put coffee grounds in your compost pile.
Stay away from plastic forks as well. Plastic silverware is not eco-friendly and when the plastic is warmed by the sun, it can be toxic to the soil, which can become a health hazard to your cat, your plants, and ultimately your family.
You can also use a cat scarer to make sure cats don’t ruin your garden. There are some cat scarers that produce a high-frequency sound. Humans aren’t able to detect it, but the sound is a deterrent four cats. The scarer can also keep rodents and foxes from ruining your garden. While this device is effective, you may find that the scarer has an effect on your pet as well as stray cats. If you’d rather not expose your furry family members to high-frequency sounds, you can use a water sprayer. Cats don’t care four water, and when they get a spray, they’ll scurry away from your garden plants without ruining them. You can also use a jelly-like crystal solution with a scent that is offensive to cat. This solution can also work on some dog breeds that like to forage through grass and garden plants.
Using these deterrent methods as well as natural substances can increase the chances that your lawn and garden stays intact and your plants will thrive without the interruption of feline invaders.