With the onset of summer, many people move to their summer cottages and, of course, take their pets with them. In the heat, no cat wants to sit in a stuffy apartment, but here there is freedom, green grass and sunshine. And everything would be fine, but the fluffy beauties and handsome men begin to walk throughout the entire dacha village and go to the toilet where they like. What if your neighbor has not one, but five cats, and all of them have taken a liking to the children’s tent that is located on your property? The “fragrance” marks eat into it so much that soon it will be impossible to play in it. A separate discussion is about the piles in the garden beds. All this causes understandable dissatisfaction and a completely logical question: “How to keep cats away from the site?”
Trouble in the garden
Try talking to the animal owners first, if you have any. If there are stray animals walking on your property, notify the special service. They will take the cats to the distribution cattery. But let's assume the first option. Since it is advisable to discourage cats from the area for good, tell the owners about the “hooliganism” in your garden and what measures you are ready to take if “guests” continue to come to you.
Of course, the owners will be surprised that their little furries are causing you any trouble. Therefore, make a photo report in advance:
- Cats constantly mark the territory they consider theirs. If your neighbor's garden falls under this definition, then he has reason to worry. Males use not only urine for marking, but also a special secretion that, when it gets on plants, simply burns them. Of course, no one will be happy with a damaged flowerbed, the design of which had to be worked on all spring.
- Cats love to sharpen their claws on tree trunks, which causes them harm. This is especially true for young plantings.
- Cat litter in garden beds is extremely unpleasant. Moreover, this applies to the spring period, when these creatures simply dig up young seedlings when digging holes. And in summer the situation is no better. Who would like to dig up carrots that the neighbor's cat had diligently removed?
- The predatory creature will also hunt in your garden. The objects are not so much mice as birds, which many summer residents, by the way, attract to their garden plots. In addition, well-fed cats have a habit of leaving their torn prey on the paths. Unaesthetic...
- All cats love to bask in the sun, sometimes choosing a flowerbed or bed for this. What happens as a result is known to everyone.
Use aroma oils
Not only flower smells repel cats, but also other strong aromas. If you don’t have the opportunity to turn your garden into a flowerbed or lavender doesn’t take root in your area, try treating the edges of the plantings and your cat’s favorite places with diluted aromatic oils. Citrus, cinnamon, lavender, mint, rosemary - all these smells can send a cat to hell.
You can also use professional sprays containing the urine of large predators (foxes, coyotes) - this will also repel cats.
Attractive corner
Tell the owners of rowdy pets how to keep their cats away from their neighbor's property. To do this, you need to attract them to some corner of your garden. This can be done by installing trays (if they are toilet trained) or creating a special “cat” corner. There is a plant called catnip, or catnip. Very attractive, it blooms almost throughout the entire summer period and will decorate the site. Cats will be happy to visit this corner, sleep there and chew leaves. And if you pour sand there, then the toilet will be in one place, and not throughout the entire area.
By the way, if the owner has not responded to your requests, and the neighbor’s cat continues to periodically come to visit, then you can arrange such a corner on your site. At least the cats will only visit it, forgetting about the rest of the territory. Of course, there are no guarantees, but most animals really like the smell of this plant.
Windmill
Cats have excellent hearing, so they will not like the sound of a windmill. You can make your own repellent device using a 2-liter plastic bottle. They retreat 8-10 cm from the neck, then make 3 vertical cuts, not reaching a couple of cm to the bottom of the container.
Using scissors, make cuts above and below the vertical ones. You get 3 cuts in the shape of a printed letter C. The plastic is bent along the lines of the cuts, you get 3 blades. The windmill is secured to reinforcement installed vertically in the ground. A wooden stick will also work.
To prevent the device from being blown away by the wind, a stone or other heavy object is placed at the bottom of the bottle. Even with a slight breeze, the device will rotate, producing a sound that irritates animals. If this device is made of foil and placed above the beds, then cats will not visit this garden.
Natural cat repeller
If the reception is unsuccessful, then you should think about how to protect your area from furry invaders. And again plants come to the rescue. There are certain smells that representatives of the mustachioed stripes do not like and try to avoid. If eucalyptus, lemongrass and lavender are planted in the garden, they will not get into the garden. Moreover, the plants will perform two functions at once: they will decorate the area and work perfectly as a “scarecrow”.
The best in this class are wormwood and coleus. The only point: coleus is very heat-loving, so you will have to bring it home for the winter. These plants are planted around the perimeter of the site. Tobacco will be another useful plant, but in order for it to have the desired effect, you will need to dry the leaves and scatter them around.
Fill the plantings with cones and the paths with gravel
Cats try to avoid sharp surfaces as their little paws are very sensitive. Cats are not comfortable walking on pine cones or gravel with sharp edges, which means they will certainly avoid the beds. Many inventions with sharp edges have been invented in the world, the purpose of which is to scare away animals, however, one should remember about humanity; less radical methods will be quite sufficient. If you don’t have enough pine cones and gravel, you can fill up the space around the beds or place sharp pebbles individually. Cones and gravel will keep cats away from the plantings and will serve as an excellent decoration for a vegetable garden or flower garden.
You can also use all kinds of branches and sticks, branches of coniferous trees are especially suitable; cats are very careful and will definitely not climb into places where they could harm themselves.
The most effective way to protect your property from stray and neighbor cats is a high fence. It will protect you and prevent uninvited guests from entering.
Spices to help you
We continue to talk about how to ward off cats using available means. To do this, you can take aromatic spices. While the smell of black pepper seems attractive to you, people with mustaches can’t stand it. Therefore, feel free to buy peppercorns, chop them and scatter them along the beds and paths. A very effective product, but the downside is that the smell dissipates and you will have to renew it regularly.
You can experiment on your pet to find out what smell cats don’t like. Today we know that these are cayenne pepper, turmeric and ginger. You can mix them together, pour them into small bowls and place them along the garden. Don't forget to add fresh spices regularly.
Fencing
There is another option for how to get rid of cats on your property. When using the most effective method, you also need to think about safety. The fence will be a reliable barrier. A physical barrier serves as a powerful defense. Cats can jump to a height of about 2.5 m.
But you don’t have to place just such a fence. The main thing is to make changes to its upper edge. Allowed installation:
- inclined element;
- array of tensioned wire;
- smooth, rotating tubes;
- strips with plastic spikes.
Fences are made on the basis of metal mesh, boards, and other materials. It is important that light passes through it. In addition to fences, aromatic products are needed. Citrus peels, aromatic herbs, and rags treated with essential oils are placed on the fence.
Vinegar and ammonia
And to them you can add kerosene, gasoline, crealine and all other strong-smelling liquids. You don’t have to choose which smell cats don’t like from this list. They are all simply unbearable for the delicate sense of smell of delicate creatures. Therefore, we take old rags, moisten them with what is available, and scatter them throughout the area. Of course, this spoils the appearance of the garden, and in the evening it is much more pleasant to inhale the aroma of flowers rather than vinegar. But what can you do... But the cats will remember that your area is too smelly for them, and will avoid it. True, you will have to re-wet the rags every day, otherwise the smell will lose its pungency. But such a remedy won’t break the budget: vinegar is cheap and easy to purchase.
Additional protection
If you have already tried the methods listed above and they did not bring the desired effect, then try other cat repellents. Some gardeners say mustard powder works great. They need to be sprinkled on paths in dry weather. Cats don't like bleach, but it's also harmful to plants. But if there is a rag tent or a swimming pool on the site, you can soap it with bleach so that cats don’t come close.
In addition, some gardeners make their garden inconvenient for cats to move around. To do this, a strip is made along the perimeter of the area, covered with broken stones, which are too sharp for delicate paws. Animals will try to bypass such an obstacle and walk on the soft ground.
Dog on the property
Since it can be difficult to drive cats away from your property, and persistent animals keep coming back every day, it is recommended to get yourself a new pet. The dog will take great pleasure in guarding the boundaries of the territory all day long and giving a pre-arranged signal if the impudent muzzle appears again from behind the fence. Usually it is not even necessary for the dog to chase them. The very presence of the “enemy” on the territory is quite enough.
By the way, a domestic cat can also be a solution to the problem, because it will drive away strangers. It is enough to accustom him to the tray and do not forget to change the filler, and there will always be order in the garden.
What else can you do to scare me away?
A small fencing of the plantings gives a good effect. To do this, you can use a chain-link mesh or a low polycarbonate fence erected around the perimeter. Of course, this solution does not look particularly aesthetically pleasing, but it copes with the problem of intrusions 100%. Not all pets like to jump over obstacles, having no idea what awaits on the other side - in most cases, the animal simply goes around the fenced area and looks for another place to rest.
A good solution would be to use an ultrasonic repeller. In addition to cats, he also repels rats, mice and large rodents, such as hares. Such a device is placed on a tree or pole and directed towards the plantings. Do not be afraid to harm your pet - ultrasound causes discomfort to the animal and forces it to leave the territory, but it is not capable of harming the pet’s health.
Nothing repels cats and cats like ordinary moisture. Even a light cloud of water dust or a thin stream can drive an animal out of the garden for a long time. This is why many people install sprinklers with motion sensors in their garden beds - these are water sprinklers. They connect to a water source and, upon detecting any moving object, immediately shoot water at anyone who encroaches on the restricted area.
Other people's cats come through the cat door
If you have pets, then such a door is a real lifesaver. Pets come and go at their own discretion, without causing inconvenience to the owners. And suddenly the latter begin to notice with surprise the unpleasant smell in the room. After observing the territory, they realize that the neighbors’ pets come to them through the small door at the bottom of the main one. At the same time, they eat the “aboriginals” and leave odorous marks. What to do in this case? It happens that pets do not want to chase strangers, and the owners themselves have to take on this. Consider installing modern devices.
Cats in the garden: 10 simple options for keeping them away
What to do if cats damage your plants and become a real problem for your garden?
You can scare away your pet at the slightest attempt to approach the beds, but it’s impossible to keep an eye on him all the time, and patience is not ironclad. There are alternative and fairly inexpensive methods that will help you deal with unruly pets once and for all.
Ultrasound devices
A device for repelling cats from a property today can be found in almost every store for summer residents; it is not expensive or rare. These are ultrasonic devices that produce high-frequency sound. People don't hear it, unlike cats. Most models run on batteries, so it is important to change the battery every few months to keep it in working condition. There are not many reviews about the device, since it did not manage to gain popularity in our country. But, compared to the listed methods, the device is resistant to bad weather conditions. Its effectiveness does not decrease after rain, it does not erode.
Repellent plants
A strong-smelling hedge frightens uninvited guests. You need to plant a couple of bushes around the perimeter. One plant can also fulfill its purpose - scaring animals away from the site.
A couple of sage bushes are enough for 4 acres. This plant is especially effective after rain. Sage is aromatic, and the aroma increases in humid weather. It is enough to plant several bushes, spraying them periodically, to forget about the problem with cats forever.
These animals also cannot tolerate:
- lavender;
- rue;
- flea mint.
Add-ons can be multi-functional. Basil found between tomatoes can act against cutworm caterpillars. Some crops repel other insects that harm the garden.
Effective help
In some regions it is not possible to obtain an ultrasound device. All that remains is to try all the listed methods in the hope that one of them will be effective. If the situation gets out of control, and the neighbor’s pets don’t want to leave you alone, you need to use something that scares cats away from your summer cottage with a 100% guarantee. Today there are a huge number of products on the market that are marketed as cat repellents. Some are designed for indoor use, others for outdoor use.
There are two main forms of these products: granules and aerosol. The second one shows itself best if you need to solve the problem of cat litter in the apartment. The spray is sprayed in places chosen as a toilet. In other words, you will have to spray everything except the tray. This form is not very convenient for a garden, although some walk around the perimeter every day and cultivate bushes and hedges. But it would be better to use granular formulations. They create a longer lasting effect and are easier to use. Simply scatter the granules around the perimeter of the garden and beds, as well as in places that cats have already eyed as a toilet.
Remove bird feeders from your garden
A possible reason your pet may love your garden beds is that your plantings are an excellent hunting ground. Cats will often hide in bushes or low-growing plants, stalking birds, and then jump out of their hiding place, running right through your seedlings. No feeders - no hunting, which means there is no point in jumping around the beds. The birds and beds will remain safe and sound, and the cat will have to look for other entertainment.
The best brands
Some drugs are complex, that is, they are designed to repel dogs and other animals. Each manufacturer uses different ingredients. Most often these are essential oils and plant products, such as hot pepper. More expensive brands contain predator urine pheromones. Instincts tell cats that it is best to leave the area where a stronger animal lives. Popular and reliable brands include Shake-Away, Critter Ridder and Keep Off. When choosing a product from one of these manufacturers, you can be sure that the result will definitely be good.
Last resort
If all else fails, the owners of the site begin hunting for furry pets. Some watch them at the scene of the crime, others lure them with treats. After that, they give them a beating and send them back to their station. It’s not very humane, but usually after 2-3 “explanatory conversations” the cunning creature understands that retribution cannot be avoided, which means it’s better not to come here again. Of course, hunting a cat in the garden is a long and rather complicated job, so we recommend using one of the methods listed above. Proven repellent sprays from leading manufacturers will provide guaranteed results. But if it’s a pity to spend money on them (and they are not cheap), you can try traditional methods of fighting the invaders of the territory.
Remove cat tags
Cats mark their territory all the time - it's nature, and you can't get away from it, but there is an option on how to outsmart the furry pests. Places where cats rub or mark territory should be treated with unpleasant odors. Iodine, vinegar, and lemon juice are perfect for these purposes. If cats don’t find their marks in their usual place, they will stop leaving them there, which means there will be no more uninvited guests near your plantings.
