How do you keep cats out of flower beds?There is no one perfect and easy solution on how to keep cats out of flower beds. However there are some things you can try keep cats out of flower beds. Some suggestions include physical barriers that can be purchased at garden stores, ultrasonic devices, scent repellants, and motion-activated sprinklers.
One scent repellant is ammonia. Cats and dogs generally do not like the scent of ammonia and it can be a great method for keeping cats out of flower beds. You can fill small jars (such as baby food jars) with diluted ammonia and bury them up to the rim in your flower garden. Bury until the rim is level with the soil. Place them here and there throughout your garden.
Citrus is a good scent repellant. You can toss your orange or grapefruit peels into the flower beds and this can help to repel cats.
Another possible scent repellant is blood meal. Use small amounts on top of your mulch and don't mix into the soil. It stinks but can be an effective deterrent.
A hidden barrier you can us is place a wooden lattice under the soil and plants. Cat's can't dig and scratch though this making it a good barrier.
Motion activated sprinklers work pretty well. Cats don't care for water showers.
A barking dog is a good cat repellent but they may be harder on your garden in other ways than the cat was!
There are also some motion activated ultrasonic devices that emit a sound unpleasant to your pet but undetectable to your ears.
Some people claim ground black pepper or cayenne pepper works to keep cats out of flower beds. Sprinkling ground black pepper or cayenne pepper is easy, doesn't smell and fits in with the rest of your dirt and mulch. You can buy bulk pepper at some discount stores. However, this does not work consistently and can be expensive, as it will need to be re-applied after rain or periodically.
Some gardeners swear by marigolds. They claim that they are an effective cat deterrent. They are pretty so it might be wroth the effort!
To read most recent questions Click here!
Click here to see the full list of Ask Dr. Jon Questions and Answers!
