If you are fed up with the neighbours’ pesky pussycats leaving their mess in your garden then fear not – there are natural solutions to the problem.
Cats have a strong sense of smell, around 9-16 times as strong as humans’, and will tend to stay away from a garden if there is a scent they do not like. And it turns out that felines dislike citrus, such as oranges, limes and lemons.
Experts at backyardboss.net say this means you can use fruit peeled or even chopped up citrus fruits and put them in the soil where the cats tend to defecate, to deter them. This is also a good way to put your food waste to good use and compost your plants with nutrient high fruit peels.
If you’re worried about your garden looking unclean, you could tuck the peels under plants.
There is another citrus option if you do not like the idea of placing fruit peels around your garden, as experts recommend making a DIY solution of water and essential oils. Citrus oils, along with lavender, cinnamon and peppermint are the ones to choose from, mixing a few drops of the essential oil into water and spraying the soil directly.
Make sure to avoid spraying the foliage of the flowers and plants and also beware that certain oils can be toxic to cats if they inhale or ingest them, so be sure they are diluted.
But if you follow these steps, then your kitty invaders should be deterred from leaving behind any smelly surprises once they get a whiff.
Elsewhere, Pam Farley, a gardener and founder of Brown Thumb Mama, has shared that there is another effective and safe way to keep cats away for good: pine cones. Pam said: “Cats don’t like pokey things in their bathroom, because they need room to scratch the soil. Covering the soil with pine cones doesn’t give them room to ‘do their business’.”
The strong pine scent will greatly irritate their noses and cause discomfort without harming them, making them more likely to avoid an area. Pinecones are also spikey, and the rough texture is unpleasant for cats to walk on, so they are unlikely to make the effort to do their business.
Scatter pinecones along the edges of your garden or in areas where cats tend to frequent. The scent, texture, and crunch of the pinecones will help deter them from entering your property. Cats also do not like unexpected noises.