Freshly cut substrate or newly planted flowers not only attract numerous birds in the garden, but are also a magnet for cats. All too often the four-legged mouse catchers use these places as a welcome invitation to do their big business. Birds in your own garden are also quickly declared prey and many gardening enthusiasts are powerless to oppose this hustle and bustle. With the right tips, however, you can make your own green oasis uninteresting for cats.
Table of Contents
Effective odorous substances
Cats have a keen sense of smell. You can take advantage of this fact and scare off the four-legged balls of fur with distinctive smells.
Verpiss-Dich-Blume
This mint flower is often used as a protective plant in beds and greenhouses. The herbaceous growing plant reaches a height of up to 40 centimeters and is to be rated as inconspicuous from the external appearance. When touched, Plectranthus caninus gives off essential oils, including menthol. The smell is repulsive to many four-legged friends and the animals avoid the planting area.
The Verpiss-Dich-Blume needs a full sun and needs to be watered moderately. Waterlogging should be avoided, but the root ball should not dry out completely. Their protective function to ward off cats is not 100% guaranteed. Most of the time, only a densely planted row of the mint family works to scare off unwelcome garden visitors. The Plectranthus caninus is not winter hardy and has to move to a frost-proof, bright place during the cold season. The ethereal scent of the piss-off flower is barely noticeable for humans.
Peppermint
Many cats’ noses find this aromatic herb and medicinal herb unpleasant. The robust plant thrives well in sunny locations with a humus-rich and slightly calcareous substrate. Combine plants with the same requirements together and protect this garden area effectively from cats. In winter, you should cover the peppermint with a thick layer of twigs.
To multiply the effect, you can rub some leaves of the plant on hot days and place them in the cats’ favorite places. The warmth promotes evaporation and the animals avoid the uncomfortable place. Peppermint is versatile and has been used for many centuries in folk medicine and in your own kitchen.
Lemongrass
The decorative and perennial grass reaches a height of up to 2 meters. The plant prefers a sunny place and high humidity. The essential oils of lemongrass, which include citral and geraniol, for example, have a deterrent effect on cats.
Plant one or more lemon grasses in the garden spots preferred by the animals. However, you must note that the circumference of a plant can reach over 2 meters. Bend a stalk of lemongrass at irregular intervals so that the essential oils can take full effect. The highest concentration of these ingredients is found at the lower end of older shoots. You can also use lemongrass yourself as a spice and to make tea.
Ruta graveolens
The plant known as rue also has a high proportion of essential oils, which many cats avoid. Like the plants already mentioned above, the subshrub needs full sun and warmth in order to develop the full effect of the aromatic scented ingredients. Avoid direct contact as the plant can cause skin irritation when exposed to direct sunlight. Due to the height of 1 meter and the bushy shoots, planting rather than edging beds or in the edge area of the garden is recommended.
Cloves
The essential fragrances of this spice have already proven themselves in many places against the annoying visit of cats. Generously sprinkle a large amount of cloves on the area that you want to protect from the four-legged friends. Whether in front of the cat entrance to your garden or directly in the freshly dug up vegetable patch is completely up to you. Change the cloves at regular intervals so that the ethereal smell remains as long as possible.
Onion and garlic mixture
This method is only advisable for a short time and at a distance from the neighbour’s garden fence. Use a blender to chop up fresh garlic and onions and then distribute them in the area that cats visit most often.
Acoustic deterrent
Special ultrasound devices against the annoying visit of cats are available in specialist shops. These devices send out different and constantly changing signals on a frequency that is inaudible to humans. Not only cats, but also dogs and martens are often sensitive to this type of noise and avoid the sonicated area. However, the use of ultrasound equipment is not always recommended. Because older cats in particular often suffer from hearing problems and hardly notice anything of their acoustic environment. And if you have a four-legged friend yourself, it is inevitably exposed to the unpleasant background noise of the ultrasound.
As a short-term method to scare off sensitive cats with noise and noise, you can use the string and can trick. All you need is:
- Large quantities of tin cans
- A weatherproof cord.
Connect both components and make sure that the cans touch each other. Hang this object in the places preferred by the cats or place it directly at the point where the mouse catchers enter your garden. At the slightest breeze, the cans should hit each other and drive away the cats with the noise. This trick does not work long-term, as many animals quickly found out that the unusual garden decoration poses no threat to them.
Optical cat fright
Fearful cats can be deterred quickly and permanently by reflective and reflective surfaces. You need:
- Aluminum foil
- Polished pieces of metal
- Small mirrors
- Old CDs
You can distribute these materials anywhere in the garden, hang the reflective objects in bushes and trees.
Special optical cat frightening products are available in stores. The functionality of this defense method is mostly based on a motion sensor and an LED flash light. This method does not always succeed, because some fur-trimmed mouse trappers quickly develop an indifference to this type of device.
Physical defense methods
Cats are creatures of habit and are reluctant to accept change. You can also use this peculiarity of the four-legged friends for yourself.
Prickly plants
The essential oils of plants planted against cats do not always have their effect. Many animals ignore the plants or are even magically attracted to them. Therefore, cultivate plants with thorns in the cats’ favorite places. The following varieties have proven themselves:
- Rosen
- Hagebutten
- Raspberry plants
- Blackberry plants
- Robinia
- Goji-Beere
- Sea buckthorn
The fruits of many of the plants mentioned are suitable for consumption and are therefore also used in the home kitchen.
Rabbit fence What prevents rabbits and poultry from fleeing has also proven effective for cats. Place a continuous area of rabbit fence over the areas where the animals like to paw and frequently. To enhance the look, you can also cover the fence 1 – 2 centimeters with substrate.
Plant fleece Thicker fleece also prevents cats from using their beds and borders as toilets. Cut holes in the foil for your plants and cover these openings with a layer of bark mulch. A positive side effect of this “cat fright” method is the simultaneous suppression of weeds.
Shish kebab sticks
Freshly dug up ground is extremely attractive to cats. As a precaution, stick a large number of kebab skewers two-thirds into the substrate to prevent the animals from scratching and stepping on the area.
Bark mulch
The four-legged friends prefer fine-grained material to bury their remains. Line the affected areas with a thicker layer of coarse bark mulch. A thick layer of pebbles has also proven its worth.
The measures described only make it more difficult for the cats to drop their faeces and urine in the previously preferred places. Pay close attention to your unwelcome visitors so that they don’t simply look for other locations in your garden.
Tips and Tricks
It is often difficult to drive cats out of your own garden effectively and immediately. However, when combined with several methods, you can achieve positive results in the long term:
Creating alternatives
If you do not succeed in making your beds permanently cat-safe, offer the animals another location. For example, prepare a secluded spot with sand that the cats can use as a toilet in the future. Always cover the children’s sandboxes with a lid or a sturdy tarpaulin.
Securing the garden pond
A low water level and dense bank planting keep your four-legged friends from using your garden pond as a hunting ground. If this is not possible, you can also let about 20-30 centimeters of a rabbit fence protrude into the pond from the edge of the bank. Cats find the wobbly material uncomfortable and annoying, which is why you should avoid this area in the future.
Cat-Safe Trees There are a
few simple methods to prevent cats from using trees as climbing frames in their gardens. Wrap the section of thorny plants around the trunk of the tree. Fold a sheet of metal or aluminum around the tree to prevent the cats’ claws from getting hold of it. The rabbit fence – wrapped around the trunk – has also proven its worth. Remove drooping branches from the tree if possible. This also protects unwary birds and their nests.
Conclusion
Stranger cats in your own garden can quickly develop into unwanted visitors. Finding the right deterrent technique is difficult because every cat is individual and reacts differently to smells and noises. With the right combination of deterrent techniques and persistence, however, you can drive away even the most stubborn four-legged friend permanently.
