How do I keep the neighborhood cats out of my flower beds?

Pepper





Works everytime.

How do I keep the neighborhood cats out of my flower beds?
Try cocoa mulch.
Reply:1. There are many herbs that cats don’t like to be around, including lavender, rue, geranium, absinthe, and lemon-thyme. Also, a German professional gardener, Dieter Stegmaier of Essingen, has created a hybrid so repulsive to cats, they stay a yard away from it. It smells like schnapps to us, and is actually a pretty and hardy plant with blue flowers that bloom throughout most of the summer. Its Latin name is Coleus canin. You can order it through various mailorder services in Germany, for example here: here.


2. This mixture is easy to make and can be used anywhere you want to repel cats (or groundhogs, for that matter):





2 parts cayenne pepper


3 parts dry mustard


5 parts flour





Simply mix together and sprinkle.





3. Use large flat river stones in your garden beds to make the soil less diggable, and so less attractive to cats. Besides, river stones are pretty. You can also use them in houseplant pots to keep the furry little darlings out of those.





4. Cats don’t like tea leaves, so empty your used ones onto the garden soil.





5. You could also try using a sprinkler that is activated by a motion-sensor. All it takes is a time or two of getting dowsed with water to deter any cat. It can work for intruders, too.
Reply:I sprinkle ground Cayenne pepper around. It seems to work, though it does have to be refreshed every once in a while.
Reply:A friend has placed chicken wire flat on the ground over her flower beds. I would suggest a very thin layer of mulch on top to make it less unsightly.


You could try large chunks of bark (not the medium or fine bark chips), they would be rather uncomfortable for most cats to walk on.


Cats generally hate the smell of tea tree oil (an essential oil). You could try diluting it into a spray bottle %26amp; spraying it around the area, or soaking something like cotton balls in it %26amp; placing those around the flower beds. You would have to respray/refresh these on a regular basis. I used to use it to keep my cats from clawing certain areas of my rugs (very diluted solution).


You may want to think twice about using cayenne pepper as it could get into any creatures eyes. Squirrels have been known to scratch their eyes out trying to remove the offending "object" - very cruel.
Reply:I've heard ammonia, too.
Reply:I've heard moth balls work pretty well, they also keep snakes out.