Critters in the garden: cats and dogs

July 19, 2024 Caroline Fu 316 Views dogs, garden critters

Cats can make a habit of using your garden as a litter box, leaving unpleasant surprises when you are digging in the soil. Bylaws that keep them penned up in houses, however, are probably short-sighted if you are concerned about other critters such as rabbits, voles, moles, and mice. Cats do help keep these populations in check.

Spreading coffee grounds, vinegar, pinecones, or citrus peels in the garden is said to discourage cats from using it as a latrine. If you don’t mind the smell of garlic, you can crush garlic cloves and scatter them around the garden or make a garlic spray by boiling garlic in water and then spraying the solution.

To discourage cats in the garden, plant certain plants that both cats and dogs find particularly obnoxious, like Coleus canina, cayenne pepper, rosemary, lavender, peppermint, and common rue.

Using natural deterrents can be an effective way to keep dogs and cats away from your garden. You can also mix a few drops of essential oil (eucalyptus, citronella, and peppermint) with water and spray it around the garden, but be cautious with concentrations to avoid harming plants.

If this isn’t enough or if you have a particularly determined cat in the neighborhood, try adding something prickly or sharp to the soil. A surefire solution is to cover the garden with chicken wire hidden under a thin layer of soil. You can cut openings to provide access for plants.

If this seems a bit too drastic, dogs can be discouraged from using your shrubs as their bathroom by putting out a bit of food (bread, anything). They will eat the food and refrain from making this feeding station their bathroom. Dogs also avoid rue. They like comfort, so if they are using a sunny garden bed as a resting place, add something sharp or prickly to the garden: rose cuttings are one suggestion.

You can also invest in a motion-activated water sprinkler. It works on both cats and dogs!