Keep cats out of flower gardens is no easy task, but it is crucially important. Cat urine can kill plants and vegetables while their droppings contain parasites harmful to human health if left alone in gardens. There are various strategies available for deterring cats from digging and roaming about in your garden.
1. Use a Motion-Trigger Sprinkler
Use of a motion-triggered sprinkler is a quick, cost-effective solution to keep cats away from your flower garden. When they enter, this device will emit an intense spray of water which should deter their return.
Though it won’t keep all of your flowers free from feline waste, mulch will help to keep your flowers clean. Fencing, chicken wire and lattice may make garden beds less attractive to felines.
Rue, lemon grass, thyme, basil, citronella and lavender plants contain strong scents which may deter cats. You could also try scattering ground black pepper or cayenne pepper around to deter cats; other smelly deterrents such as coffee grounds, vinegar or pipe tobacco may be equally effective when used regularly.
2. Place Carpet Runners or CatScat Mats
There are several effective solutions available to you for physically blocking or sealing off locations where your cats tend to dig or loiter, including placing prickly barriers such as pine cones, sticks with dull points or chicken wire firmly into the soil and covering it over with soil; or you could create an enclosure using chicken wire and lattice fencing material as cat-proof barriers.
Plants with strong scents may help deter cats, such as lavender, geraniums, rue, rosemary, basil and lemon thyme, roses with thorns. Other plants with unpleasant odors include orange and banana peels, cayenne pepper and pipe tobacco.
Considering trapping and spaying/neutering neighborhood feral cats that visit your garden is one way to combat nuisance behaviors like fighting, spraying and breeding. There may also be low-cost community trap-neuter-release programs available.
3. Spray Plants with Hot Pepper Spray
Cats have the ability to wreak havoc on flower gardens by digging in the dirt and turning it into their litter box, as well as spread diseases like histoplasmosis, leptospirosis and ringworm.
Keep cats away from your garden with homemade or commercial pepper spray that is safe for plants and pollinators, or by scattering citrus peels (fresh or dried), coffee grounds, used tea leaves, prickly pine cones or Coleus canina plants around it to deter cats.
If you can’t rehome a feral cat in your neighborhood, spaying and neutering it may help decrease unwanted behaviors like fighting, spraying, yowling and producing multiple litters of kittens. Low-cost trap-neuter-return programs offered through local shelters and animal organizations offer this solution that is both humane and effective at dealing with problem cats.
4. Install Feline Netting
After dedicating so much time and energy to cultivating a beautiful garden, the last thing you want is for it to be damaged by cats. Cat poop damages not only your plants but also degrades soil quality and introduces parasites.
Brooke Edmunds suggests using black bird netting or chicken wire to cover areas in which cats may dig, in order to thwart their digging activities. Either choice may prove difficult for cats to dig through.
As another way to keep cats at bay, try planting repellent plants such as Russian sage, lavender, citronella and geraniums in your garden. In addition, dense woody shrubs or other tall vegetation should make it more difficult for cats to lounge around the garden.
5. Don’t Feed Cats
Even if you do not own a cat as a pet, feral or stray cats in your neighborhood may frequent your garden. Their cool soil and lush grass provide them with an ideal natural playground, while flower beds become their go-to place to lounge, hunt or satisfy nature’s callings.
Cat urine, feces and saliva can wreak havoc on plants by stripping away nutrients they need for survival and contributing to their death. Furthermore, ammonia in their waste may pose an even greater threat.
Mulch can deter cats from using your flower garden as a litter box by making it harder for them to bury waste. Carpet runner mats or CatScat mats with long plastic spikes designed to bother cats without hurting them are another effective deterrent, or you could simply hang cotton balls lightly soaked in citronella (but peppermint, tea tree and eucalyptus oils work just as well) oil near plants you wish to protect.