There are various strategies you can employ to keep cats away from your flower garden, from natural deterrents and structural protection measures, all the way to nonchemical solutions that won’t harm either cats or gardeners alike.
Make it difficult for cats to lounge on the grass or dig in your flower beds by covering the ground with river rocks or using chicken wire or lattice over them – this should stop them from doing any digging!
Use tape
Cats often enjoy snacking on flower beds, but if access becomes difficult they’ll likely move on elsewhere. To deter cats from your flowers use cayenne pepper tape as this deters cats. Tin foil can also be wrapped around plants at their base and tucked under mulch to deter cats effectively.
Other deterrents to cats include hot pepper spray that sends spicy scents towards felines without harming the garden. Gardeners can make their own versions using peppers they grow; commercial products contain waxes to better adhere to soil. Coleus caninus (commonly referred to as Scardey Cat Plant) has also been noted to repel cats and dogs alike.
Use prickly pine cones
There are a few methods available to you for humanely discouraging cats from digging up your flowerbeds and other plants, like pine cones and pebbles, which may discourage cats from coming near. Furthermore, cats seem particularly attracted to lavender, rue, the scaredy cat plant (Scarecrow), pennyroyal and lemon thyme as these scents have the ability to repel cats from coming close – these plants should be interplanted among your flowers so as to provide both an aromatic barrier while keeping cats away from harm’s way!
Cats tend to avoid rough surfaces, so you could try covering your bed with chicken wire to stop cats from digging into it. Cayenne pepper can also help as cats have an aversion for it!
Install an oscillate fence
Cats can cause considerable damage to flower beds by digging up soil, defecating in the garden and attacking flowers. However, there are ways of keeping cats away without hurting them – one is covering your flower bed with mesh cloth that deters cats – making this easy and affordable while still retaining the look of your garden.
Other ways of deterring cats include scents and rough surfaces. You can make flower beds less appealing to cats by covering them with spiky substances such as holly leaves, chicken wire or twigs; alternatively you could plant prickly plants like roses, blackberry bushes or perennial geraniums that make their presence known in order to discourage visitors.
Scarecrows can also help deter cats from entering your flower garden by being visual reminders that this area is off-limits to cats.
Plant shrubs and bushes
One effective strategy to deter cats from gardening beds is planting plants they don’t like – for instance, Coleus canina (commonly known as Scaredy Cat Plant) has a scent thought to resemble that of skunks which many cats find repulsive.
Rose bushes, blackberry bushes and holly are other prickly plants that may ward off cats; however, you must use caution with using shrubs as barriers as they could potentially fall on cats while trying to flee the area.
Other deterrents for cats could include mulching the soil, setting up an outdoor litter box in a garden bed and scattering orange peel – just beware chasing, shouting at or spraying cats with water as this could trigger panic and cause them to damage your plants or fence.
Use scents
If your garden has become home to an aggressive cat, try using safe odor and physical deterrents to keep it at bay. These methods won’t harm either the cat or your plants!
Peppermint and other fragrant herbs may displease cats, so try placing containers of them around your garden as a means of repelling cats. You could also try ultrasonic animal repellers as another effective option.
Plant flowers to naturally repel cats. Coleus canina (commonly known as the skunk plant) has long been considered particularly unpleasant to cats and has proven perennial in most climates; growing quickly. It offers an alternative to catnip that attracts cats without deterring their return for more.