Dogs and Cats in the Garden

First of all, you can't win - if you want to get rid of cats in the garden, the cat lovers hate you. If you want to control old Rover, the dog lovers hate you. Here are some tips you might find useful. You can both hate me.:-)

Water: Cats don't like it. You can spray them with your own hose or hook up a "scarecrow" a water sprinkler controlled by a motion detector. These are available at garden centres or through mail order catalogues. Effective at getting rid of cats in the garden! Dogs are variable on water - some hate being sprinkled while others will see it as an invitation to romp.

Scarecrow also controls squirrels, mailmen and wayward husbands.

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Electronic sound. Pest control centres advertise and sell these ultrasonic gizmo's that apparently put out a high pitched sound that humans can't hear but dogs and cats in the garden find offensive. (They also sell them for other pests) I have some radio listeners that swear by these things. I've never used them myself. The better ones are controlled by motion detectors so Fido and Socks don't get used to the sound.

Repellants. Never found one that works. In fact, our Old English Sheepdog really likes the lemon scented stuff that is supposed to repel her. She'll lay wherever I put it down. Cats in the garden are indifferent to repellants.

Having said that - some cats find ammonia placed strategically around the garden to be offensive. Put ammonia in jar and sink jar in ground so it doesn't tip over. Refresh after rain. Dogs don't like it either. Often both just avoid the cans rather than avoiding the garden. Can't have everything.;-) More than one person has told me that they whiz up some citrus peel in a blender and pour that around the garden edges with a watering can. Cats avoid this concoction.

Hot cayenne pepper is another highly recommended avoidance tool. Sprinkle this around the garden edges or where the animal enters. This has to be reapplied after a rain or after a few days when it seems to wear off.

Fences: Works for dogs. Cats jump them. Cat lovers often use this as a demonstration of why cats are much more intelligent than dogs. Personally, I will allow as how this may be true - however on the opposite side, dog-lovers are likely more intelligent than catlovers. :-)

Mulch. Cats in the garden do not like cocobean mulch. Experience talking here. Dogs do. They'll eat the fresh stuff sometimes. See above point about intelligence.:-)

Dogs. Dogs in the garden deter cats in the garden.

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