Whether they're yours or someone else's, cats can cause trouble in your garden. They will dig up plants, leave sediment in flower beds, and even eat some of your favorite exhibits. What's more, they will enter your vegetable patch or herb garden, leaving feces containing parasites and pathogens, which is quite dangerous for humans.
Whatever your reason for wanting to stop them, there are a few things you can do to prevent them from entering your borders. Here are 11 friendly and simple steps you can take to try to stop cats from causing damage or injury they may cause in your garden.
How to keep a cat away from the flower bed?
1. Use a sharp covering
Mulch film is the material placed on flower beds and soil, surrounding plants. It improves humidity and enables you to manage the health of the soil. It also prevents weeds, and if you opt for a sharp mulch, it can stop the arrival of cats.
Cats have soft paws and prefer to walk on soil and grass because it is softer and does not cause any pain. You shouldn't add anything that will cause real harm, but consider pine cones or other sharp natural deterrents. Stones or even eggshells can make a difference, or you can use holly cuttings from the garden.
2. Add small branches
Small pieces of wood can be nailed to the ground, separated by a few inches, exposing an inch above. These pieces of wood act similarly to sharp mulch in that they make cats uncomfortable while walking on the bed and are not practical. You may need to experiment to get them to the right distance, but the goal is to make it difficult, or even impossible, for cats to turn around comfortably.
3. Lay the wire mesh
Lay a wire mesh one inch under the surface of the soil. This should be deep enough that it won't be seen, but close enough to the surface that the cat will want to avoid walking over it. Wire mesh can also allow plants to grow through, and if you have trees or large shrubs, you should be able to cut holes of the right size to let them grow through.
4. Add lavender
There are many smells that cats don't like. Lavender is such an odor that it is easily released from lavender plants, and it also has the advantage of looking beautiful. Plant lavender in a slightly exposed area. This ensures that it is blown by the wind, and when this happens, the smell of lavender wafts through the garden. Other plants that cats don't like include lemon thyme and rue.
5. Use citrus peel
The taste of citrus peel is strong, and most cats don't like the sour taste of citrus. There are always exceptions, especially when it comes to cats, and there are bound to be some people who like to hunt for this smell, but add oranges and lemon peels around the boundaries of the garden to stop the arrival of cats. You don't have to do anything special, just throw the ring in the soil.
6. Coffee grounds
Cats also don't like the taste of coffee. If you have your own coffee machine or grinder, save the coffee grounds you make. Or, talk to your local coffee shop and ask if you can get a bag of leftover coffee grounds. They'll usually be willing to let you have them unless they've been approached by another fanatical gardener to deal with the cat problem. Again, you don't need to do anything, just lay the ground on the soil.
7. Add cat repellent
You can buy insect repellent. These things may include ingredients like lavender and citrus, but they may also include hormones that smell like predator urine, and cats other than the bravest cats don't come to the garden. Make sure the spray is non-toxic and won't harm your plants.
8. Wash off the smell of the cat
If your neighbor's cat uses your garden as a meeting place or as a toilet, you can wash off evidence of their visit. Take out the water gun and wash the place where the cat is easy to gather. Cleaning the scent effectively erases their demands on favorite places, and if they're lucky, they'll go somewhere else to find another.
9. Spray water
Cats don't like to be sprayed by water, and we don't recommend hitting them with a water cannon or water sprayer, but you can set up a sport-activated sprinkler that rings when something approaches your flower bed.
10. Use sound
Visiting cats are also attracted to loud or sudden sounds. Use wind chimes and a motion activator that detects the cat and plays a sound. These should stop the cat from coming over again.
conclusion
Cats can be a nuisance, especially when they dig up your garden and leave poop while hunting songbirds. The steps above can help prevent your cat from becoming a nuisance in your life, but remember that cats are independent and unique. One cat may hate the smell of lavender, while another cat may like it. Experiment and find the method that works best for your situation and your garden.