
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/keeping-cats-out-of-the-garden.html
Keeping Cats Out of the Garden

By Cait Johnson, Assistant Producer, Healthy Living Channels
We love our next-door neighbor, but I think she’s trying to tell us something: She put moth balls all along the line between your yards, I guess to keep our kitties out of her garden. But moth balls are toxic!
Here are several easy, safe, and effective ways to deter cats from using your neighbor’s garden as a litter box, but, unlike moth balls, they don’t pose a health hazard to cats or humans. Or, heck, you could do what my boss suggested and try releasing a whole herd of gophers or mice. Then your kitties will be the guests of honor! (Just kidding!)
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 mail order 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.






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20 comments
add your comment »I use mothballs, it works fine for me.
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I disagree with the use of cayenne pepper and mustard for discouraging cats in the garden. If it should get on their paws and they wipe their face it could cause permanent damage to their eyes. Bob newholm.
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All these advices are very good, but what to do when your own cat (a female), invites the neighbor cat for lunch or dinner ? They are so cute, mine, the girl says a very soft meeow and shows him the way. When he sees me, he is hesitating coming in, but with the insistance of his girl friend, he comes and they have lunch together.
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what about dog can used same 4 them
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WHAT ABOUT DOG WOULD WORK WIT DOG
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You can also try using a Pecan Mulch. Basically pecan shells spread as a mulch. This helps for moisture retention & sun protection as general mulches do, but the pecan shells also help to repel cats because they generally will not walk on them.
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Thanks for the info, going to try some of these.
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What if the cats have been using the soil for a litter box for a few months? We have planter boxes that they have been using for quite some time. We are worried now that if we try to plant anything, the soil we have too much ammonia in it for anything to grow. And if it did grow, would it be toxic due to the ammonia in the cat urine? Is the soil salvageable? Or does it have to be replaced? Is there something to neutralize the ammonia? Is it safe for a vegetable garden? Help!
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I put pine cones in my flower beds and the cats seem to stay away. They don't like walking on them.
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I put pine cones in my flower beds and the cats seem to stay away. They don't like walking on them.
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