Cats make wonderful companions, but they can be detrimental to gardens and flower beds by digging (leaving behind deposits), chewing, and using plants as soft napping spots. With some careful planning and physical deterrents in place, you can keep cats out of your garden and protect the blooms that grow there.
Take natural measures, like citrus peels or essential oils, to deter cats from coming near your garden. This approach is safe for other animals and humans.
Mesh Cloth
Unwanted cats can be a serious menace to gardeners, destroying flowerbeds by digging or chewing up plants and leaving unwelcome deposits behind. Thankfully, there are ways you can protect your flower gardens from cat prowling.
One way is to install mesh cloth in the garden, which prevents cats from entering while simultaneously deterring bugs. Another solution is planting plants such as coleus caninus with strong scents that make it hard for cats to pee nearby.
Other techniques involve the use of objects with strong scents, like citrus peels, scented sachets or essential oils, motion-activated sprinklers that will spray water at cats when they enter an area (these devices only activate when movement is detected), as well as fences or chicken wire that make it difficult for cats to climb over them.
Objects with Strong Scents
From digging up flowerbeds to leaving uninvited deposits, cats can damage your garden in numerous ways. However, there are various safe solutions that can deter them from damaging flowers and plants in your garden.
Cats are attracted to strong scents like citrus peels and vinegar, so spreading these in your garden may deter them. Cats also tend not to like plants with strong fragrances like lavender, roses or sage which also deter cats. Prickly foliage such as sea holly or tropical grevillea can be especially effective at deterring cats from entering.
Cover your flower bed with mesh cloth for easy installation that won’t detract from its overall aesthetics, or create barriers using objects cats dislike such as pine cones, twigs or bundles of holly branches as effective solutions.
Motion-activated sprinklers can help deter cats from entering your garden by dispensing water only when movement is detected, saving valuable water resources in the process. These devices only dispense when necessary and help save you from unnecessary wastage of precious resources.
Scarecrow
Cats can cause irreparable damage to flower beds and gardens, from digging to leaving unwelcome deposits, they can ruin its beauty while making growing anything difficult. There are a number of humane ways to deter cats from your garden: some methods are easy, cheap and nontoxic such as covering soil beds with pine cones or twigs to stop cats digging up your flowers; another is pressing plastic animal repellent called Cat Scat into the soil with flexible spikes that won’t harm cats but discourage digging.
Other methods may include using a scarecrow, attacking their sense of smell with scents they find unpleasant such as citrus, vinegar or garlic odors, planting plants that repel them like Coleus Canina, rue or lavender and spreading coffee grounds around. Training them away takes time but can be accomplished effectively with consistency.
Training
Cats are naturally curious creatures that often find themselves in places they shouldn’t be, such as flower gardens, which could result in damage from digging or scratching post use. However, there are ways you can keep cats out and preserve your blooms! Luckily there are techniques you can employ to keep cats at bay from your garden while safeguarding its blooms.
Some gardeners swear by the effectiveness of hot pepper spray for deterring cats with its aroma and taste, which does not harm plants in the garden. You can purchase this spray at many garden centers without harming any of them in any way.
Other deterrents are more physical. Smelly plants like Coleus Caninus (a type of catnip) or valerian can effectively repel cats; you can plant these around the edges of flower beds to keep cats away.
Orange and lemon peels, mothballs, coffee grounds and pipe tobacco can be sprinkled or planted around your garden to deter cats. In addition, various herbs and flowers – marigolds, Russian sage and lavender as well as citronella, fennel, rue, eucalyptus and mustard plants all serve to repel cats from entering.