My garden is pretty small, and as I live in a big city, I'm pretty protective of it. The neighrhood cats seem to think my gravel path and flowerbeds are a litter box. How can I keep them from making this mistake, and is there a way to do without harmful chemicals? I have an herb garden right next to my rose beds, and I'd like to be as green as possible as we use the herbs regularly. Cheers!
2007-09-22 06:52:57 · 8 answers · asked by ajf185 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
i had 2 cats and found they went into my neighbours garden, i bought black pepper and sprinkled it in their garden, my neighbour was very good about it, the other thing to try is orange peel, cats HATE citrus smells and will do anything to avoid them, this worked if the rain washed away the pepper until i replaced it
2007-09-22 07:11:19 · answer #1 · answered by ♠ Merlin ♠ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mothballs and coffee grounds. Yep. My problem was the recidivist squirrel population eating my damn Gerber Daisies. I found that a combination of mothballs and coffee grounds (supplied by the local squirrel-hating coffee house lady) worked wonders. I also discovered that this knockout combo does a dandy job of keeping the neighborhood cats out of the garden. Plus, the coffee grounds seem to be a really good fertilizer. I read that somewhere when I was a kid (probably someone's science project?), but I'd never tried it, and it works. Edit: Replace the mothballs only when you can't smell them any more, and the coffee grounds can be touched up after it rains, and only then when there's a lot washed away. As far as the smell of the mothballs, you don't want to use so many that your garden smells like an old lady's attic, but you do want them to be pungent when you stick your face right up to the plants. Now, the cats in your neighborhood, being of apparently poor character, may decide to be jerks and just develop a taste for coffee, in which case you'll have all the same problems. Only faster.
2016-05-21 00:17:36 · answer #2 · answered by rosario 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While cayenne or any hot spicy powder will work, the best long term thing you can do without having to repeatedly sprinkle your plants is, when you replant, purchase some chicken wire (cheap and available in any harware or home improvement store) and lay it on top of your soil. Anchor it firmly, and plant it between the holes in the wire. The plants will grow fine, and the cats won't use your bed b/c the wire hurts their feet. For now you can cut strips of it and anchor it between the plants (I'd buy some of the cheap tent stakes in the camping section of a dept. store). Or, get some pea sized gravel or landscape rock and line the areas between the plants. It will cut down on the weeds, too.
2007-09-22 08:06:32 · answer #3 · answered by Deedee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I use the cheap Cayanne pepper and also chili powder from the Dollar store. If you have a source, you can also use pinecones. Cats do not like being "uncomfortable" when doing their business. I have also used plastic forks (tines up) stuck into my potted plants soil.
2007-09-22 07:05:37 · answer #4 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
use some of that black ground cover stuff to prevent weeds,kind like a black tarp material,if cats do not have something to bury his business with,he will not do it there.or put out some cat treat around the garden,they say cats won't crap where they eat.GOOD LUCK!
2007-09-22 07:02:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sprinkle pepper in the places they "go" It makes them sneeze, but does not harm them. Redo after rain or watering.
2007-09-22 07:02:18 · answer #6 · answered by tysdad62271 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
spray them with a hose. or get a dog
2007-09-22 07:42:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
use fox urine or ultr sonic devices such as:
2007-09-22 07:03:05 · answer #8 · answered by MARC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋