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10 Ways To Keep Kitty From Using Your Garden As A Litterbox
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4. Shake-Away
This is a commercial product scented like the urine of predators that cats naturally fear, such as foxes, coyotes, and bobcats. This is a granular formula that you simply sprinkle around your garden. This is completely organic and natural, which makes it safe for pets and small children. It won’t hurt your plants either.
5. Essential Oils
Cats have about 80 million scent receptors, while we have only five million. This means that cats can be very particular about certain scents. They do not seem to like rosemary, citronella, orange, and tea tree oil. Many people report success by mixing about 10 drops of the essential oil of their choice in one cup of water and spraying it around the problem area. This will need to be reapplied after it rains or about every two weeks, so it might cost you a few bucks if the kitty is persistent or if it rains quite a bit in your area. This is another organic solution, however, that won’t harm pets, children, or your plants.
6. Plastic Garden Fencing
No, we don’t mean build a fence around your garden — kitty will probably just climb over it anyway. Instead, use plastic garden fencing, such as trellis or a trellis, and put it in the problem areas. The great thing about using plastic here is that it won’t rust, it won’t splinter, and it won’t fade. You can cut it to fit around your existing plants! If you don’t like the look of plastic fencing, cover it with just enough dirt or mulch so you don’t see it. Once kitty goes to dig, he will find this barrier and quickly go somewhere else to do his dirty work. Yes, you could simply use chicken wire, but this will rust quickly, and its sharp edges can be dangerous.
SEE ALSO: 10 Outrageously Smart Gardening Tips (#5 is Really Clever!)
7. Motion-Activated Sprinkler
This is our favorite. Using infrared technology, motion-activated sprinklers sense heat and movement up to about 35 feet away. Once something steps in range, the sprinkler releases a burst of water, along with a loud noise, that will scare away cats, dogs, deer — probably even burglars! These sprinklers work 24/7, rain or shine, so they are a great option. Most will cover about 1900 square feet, so most people will only need one or two, unless they live on a farm! Perhaps the only drawback to this option is that the noise can be annoying at night (but hopefully kitty gets the picture and doesn’t come back more than once!). Also, if you forget to shut it off, you might find out just how effectively this device can drench you! Like kitty, however, you will probably only forget once!
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