Cats can ruin flowerbeds, making your garden unattractive and hindering you from enjoying it fully. Luckily, there are effective and safe strategies that can keep cats away from your flower garden.
Plant herbs like lavender, rue and pennyroyal to keep cats away. Coleus canina (commonly referred to as the “scaredy cat plant”) is another effective deterrent; simply scatter orange and lemon peels or use cayenne pepper as ways of dissuading cats from entering your garden.
Plant Cat-Repelling Plants
There are certain plants that cats find repulsive due to their smell or texture, so planting these at entry points to flower beds and mixed into borders will prevent cats from digging up your seeds and plants.
Another option for deterring cats is using a cat-repelling mat designed to look like lion dung and mislead them into thinking someone larger has already claimed their territory. Orange/lemon peels, coffee grounds or vinegar may also help deter cats.
Rue (Ruta graveolens) produces essential oils which repel cats, fleas and insects – often used commercially as an insect repellent.
Make the Ground Textured or Rough
Cats love digging up flowerbeds to hide or play. Their soft soil makes this task simple.
To prevent cats from wandering over your garden, make the ground rougher by using fine gravel or pebble mulch instead of traditional soil. Cats do not enjoy walking over such surfaces because it feels uncomfortable on their paws.
Some cats find the smells of orange, lemon and vinegar distasteful, so try spreading these scents around your garden to deter cats. Additionally, there are commercial repellents which spray an unappetizing but unpleasant substance onto plants that repel cats.
Plant Shrubs and Bushes
After spending so much effort cultivating your garden, the last thing you want is for it to be destroyed by stray or feral cats. Many may simply be looking for somewhere peaceful to rest their heads or answer nature’s call; but their visits could damage flowers as well.
Planting shrubs with rough textures is one way to deter cats, as is spreading coarse mulch such as bark or chippings. Others use commercial bitter apple spray on orchids and houseplants they don’t want felines eating; homemade repellents such as orange and lemon peels, cayenne pepper, coffee grounds and pipe tobacco may also work effectively.
Don’t Feed the Cats
Your gorgeous flower garden is not the only thing attracting admiration; neighborhood cats and pets also find joy in it as their personal playground! Stray cats dig and trample through its soil, deposit waste deposits, chew and nap on plants, spread diseases through their waste deposits and leave waste deposits all while spreading diseases through faeces deposits.
Cats may harm themselves by nibbling on toxic flowers and plants such as tulips, cannabis, daffodils and onions, so it’s crucial that any new plants or flowers introduced into your home, including bouquets received as gifts, are safe for cats.
Keep Your Flowerbeds Well-Watered
Your garden is your private property, yet cats can be unwelcome intruders who threaten its inhabitants with destruction. Although you should avoid hurting or killing cats, deterrents that use scent or physical deterrence methods should help deter cats from damaging flowerbeds without hurting plants and foliage.
Watering can also be an issue; evaporation can dry out soil, which attracts cats. Mulching helps retain moisture, but installing a soaker hose that slowly delivers nourishment will keep the soil moist for longer.
Install Fencing or Chicken Wire
Rather than forcefully spraying cats with water, there are other effective solutions for keeping felines away from your garden. Set your sprinkler system to water at times when cats are most likely to visit; cats hate getting wet! This is one way that water works as an effective deterrent against feline visits to flowerbeds.
Plastic fencing or chicken wire can be easily embedded into the ground around your plants to make them uncomfortable for animals to step on – this method is especially helpful when protecting small spaces like urns and window boxes from wandering animals.
Use Catnip
Catnip is an easily cultivated perennial herb found across much of North America. You can use catnip to keep cats away from plants and vegetables you’re trying to protect; its strong aroma repels mosquitoes as well.
Catnip may not last through winter months, but its hardiness in zones 4-8 means you can sow more in spring or fall. Citrus scents may help deter cats; scatter citrus peels such as grapefruit or lemon throughout your raised beds and planting areas to enhance this effect.