Unwanted cats can be an issue when they start digging up flowerbeds or leaving waste behind in your garden. There are a number of strategies you can employ to deter them.
First, identify what draws the insects into your garden. That means identifying what causes them to come through your doors in the first place.
Sprinklers
Motion-activated sprinklers are an efficient and safe solution to keeping cats away from your flower garden. When activated by movement, these sprinklers spray cold stream of water on any cat that enters their area.
Cats don’t like getting wet, making this an effective deterrent against cats destroying plants or damaging landscapes. While it will take them time to realize this is their best solution, gardeners who worry about cats destroying plants or damaging the landscape should find this to be helpful solution.
An alternative way of keeping cats away from flower beds is changing the texture of your soil. Many people opt to add sharp mulch or other materials that make walking on them difficult for a cat.
Electric Fence
Low-voltage electric fences can be effective tools in keeping cats out of flower gardens by surprising and repelling them with an electric shock that sends shockwaves through. This will serve to repel cats while simultaneously providing shock therapy that drives away any cats that might wander too close to flowerbeds.
Electric fencing can be purchased from any hardware store or DIYed. Installation must occur around your garden with four inches being raised off of the ground for proper functioning.
Scat mats can also help deter cats from accessing your garden, by using plastic mats armed with spikes that make walking over them uncomfortable for cats.
Oscillate Fencing
Oscillate fencing is an easy yet effective way to keep cats out of flower gardens, by installing roll bars (known as paddles) onto existing fences.
When cats attempt to leap over a fence, the spin of its bar prevents any form of traction that they could gain and leads them back down safely to earth.
This type of fence system can be an extremely effective way to keep pet cats indoors while simultaneously keeping roaming cats out of gardens.
Under-tree mesh should be buried to a depth of at least 10cms (4in). If cats like to climb trees, an alternative strategy would be burying it to protect the lowest branches from being scaled by cats.
Cat-attracting Plants
If you love the look of gardens but find them to be damaged by pets, cat-friendly flowers may provide a solution to keep their furry friend at bay from digging or scratching up your favorite blooms. With various sizes, colors and textures to choose from, cat-friendly plants make for easy integration into any planting scheme.
Nepeta (catnip) offers cats an irresistibly delightful scent that makes it hard for them to resist it. Its leaves and stems contain nepetalactone, an active compound which has been shown to cause psychosexual reactions in about 80 percent of cats when exposed.
Nepeta flowers not only attract cats, but are also one of the best flowers to deter skunks, raccoons and other animals that might try to dig up or devour your plants. Furthermore, its hardiness allows it to be grown in containers in your yard for maximum effect.
Water
One effective, natural way of keeping cats out of your flower garden is to use water. You can accomplish this with either a water gun or motion-activated sprinklers.
If you want to add an extra deterrent against cats, try planting something uncomfortable for them to step on such as prickly holly leaves, pine cones or short sticks in the soil to make walking on unpleasant for them.
Plants that don’t attract cats include lavender (Lavandula), rue (Ruta graveolens), geraniums, absinthe (Artemisia absinthium), rosemary and marigolds – not only will these help deter cats, but they will also create beautiful aesthetics in your garden and attract pollinators that benefit both parties!