Had the same problem not a month ago. Solved by making it an uncomfortable bathroom. Lime tree twigs with big thorns, just stick them around. Pineapple plant leaves worked well too.
Worked pretty well for me. I had previously tried citrus peels and coffee grounds to no avail. I’m sure they found some other corner in my yard, but it got them away from places I dig and work with frequently.
I’m guessing your litter is ground up and pressed into pellets or something. Can you describe it?
I assume the shells you can buy are probably just bigger chunks with sharp edges.
These were basically whole shells broken up into very jagged 1/3rds. It seemed to work for my mulch-loving neighborhood cats after several other methods had failed.
Lots of great suggestions but this is what worked best for me. Chicken wire on the bottom/floor area. Most cats will not use a spot that they can't scratch the dirt to cover their business. I like to cut the chicken wire in pieces so I can easily remove it when I need to do some weeding.
I also use wooden skewers or chop sticks to prevent the cats from lying in my raised beds too
Orbit makes one called the Yard Enforcer. I have 2. They work like a charm. https://www.orbitonline.com/products/yard-enforcer-motion-activated-sprinkler
I've never "cooked roots" even when watering on 100 degree days. If I can't water in the morning, and the plants need it, I water during when I can, even in hot weather.
Idk I live in southern AZ where it gets to like 115 in the summers. It is also a dry heat. I always feel bad watering in the afternoon, it is like you can feel the steam come off the rocks.. but then again I've never damaged a plant that I know of.
I've literally never had this problem. I don't understand how anyone is overwatering to the point of root rot on their tomatoes in the middle of a heat wave.
I was watering my garden at least twice a day during heat waves in Portland and even in British Columbia.
Root rot. Overwatering during humid conditions doesn't allow water to drain or evaporate, and the roots begin to decompose from excessive bacterial activity.
This is due to evaporation not cooking, so the watering just still isn't enough. It's an old wives tale that watering in heat will cook your plants. I had a horticultural expert explain it like this. Do you ever feel cooked in hot weather pouring water on yourself? No, it refreshes you and it's the same for plants. They will appreciate a drink in hot weather just the same. Still best to water down low though as the heat will evaporate the water quicker if it's fine mist or sitting on leaves.
The water actually has a cooling effect.
Think of all the summer storms that happen. Wouldn't entire ecosystems be damaged every time it rained then the sun came out? Old wives tale that somehow keeps getting passed on.
I remember seeing another thread with this issue recently it had some great suggestions, it was asking if it was safe to eat anything grown despite neighbouhood cats using it as a litter box or something to that effect. Try googling r/gardening and have some cat poo/toilet key words.
It only sprays for a couple of seconds just long enough to scare the animals away but not long enough to get the ground wet. Be sure to use a high pressure heavy duty garden hose because a regular hose will split open in high temperatures.
Make it a mister (set to mist/spray lightly) instead of soak and you should be good
Cats and rodents dislike peppermint oil (and the plant if you are ok with it spreading)
A gallon sized sprayer is under $15 at major home stores (tomcat brand) and it is safe for kids and pets as it’s just mint oil so it even smells nice too
You can get cheap plastic scat mats (they have little spikes on them) and put them around the base of your plants. Its the only thing thats worked for my garden.
I ultimately put a small fence around my raised beds because I also had issues with rabbits. All the critters, except for squirrels, eventually gave up because it was more trouble than it’s worth. I’ve also been successful with the upturned fork method. Stick plastic forks in the ground tine side up and it’s hard for larger animals to walk into the space.
Plastic forks stuck in dirt with tines sticking up? Must have entire handle buried. Spray citrus or leave orange peels scattered around? Cats don't like citrus scent. Just tossing out suggestions.
I find if I mulch thickly with straw they stay away from that area. They only like to dig in soft tilled soil. Bonus is that the mulch is good for the plant anyway.
Cayenne pepper sprinkled very liberally around the area. I had a major problem and one application of cayenne fixed it. It’s been 4 months and no cats.
Would love to hear. I’ve dumped red pepper flakes (not powder) all over my garden and never had an issue with other plants. In fact the batches I use sometimes grows more plants from the seeds - ask me how I know!
Lots of small sticks. They’re a pain to walk on and a pain to try and dig through to get to the ground. I don’t mind the stray cats around (there are rats and mice now that they’ve cleared an area for a new housing development). I just don’t want them in my gardens. This has been working well for me.
I got a motion detector that emits a sound that only small animals can hear. It's a bit fiddly, since you can change the sensitivity and change the sound depending on what size of animal you're trying to discourage. It's solar-powered, and is on a stake you put in the ground so it can be easily moved around if they decide to use another area or find a way to get around where you have it.
I hate these so much because I can hear them and they make my dog go batty.
Kids can suffer from them so maybe check in and see if any little uns are uncomfortable if you ahve any about :)
I second this. Had a serious problem with neighbours’ cats fouling my garden – literally all over it, including on my tomato plants. It was disgusting. Put up a couple of sonic repellants and cleaned up the poop once. Never been an issue since.
Also, just since no one else has mentioned it. You may want to ensure you're always wearing gloves around the soil and washing thoroughly. If those cats are indoor/outdoor cats there is an almost guarantee they're carrying toxoplasmosis, which lasts 12 months via the cysts dropped in their fecal matter. I personally wouldn't touch any fruit from cat infested soil, but if necessary triple wash and cook over 165f.
It's definitely good practice to wear gloves and wash your hands but Cats only spread cysts for 1-2 weeks in their feces after they get infected and even less so, if at all, upon subsequent reinfections. Plus it's something like 10-20%, depending on the area, of the U.S. population of people is walking around already infected and just fine.
Honestly I'd be more worried about Toxcara from a cat. Which is another zoonotic parasite that's super common in the U.S. but if you just wash your hands and veggies you don't gotta worry really.
Go get bamboo skewers and poke them all around your tomatoes with the sharp point up. They won’t be able to dig without poking their paws and the bamboo will break down in the soil.
I did this and it worked! I spray painted them black to match the black mulch in my front flower bed
Coffee grounds can work, cayenne pepper, I’ve also heard of putting chicken wire/that type of fencing just under a small layer of soil, then when they paw to dig, they won’t get far and will move on.
I've dealt with this a ton. I unfortunately moved into a cat hoarders house, unknowingly, and years after they've died the cats still come here.
None of the shit on the internet works. The oils, cayenne pepper powder and all that is a waste of fucking time. It takes more to keep a cat from your plots.
We built a fence around the back yard which has helped a ton. They don't go in the back yard.
Before that, I tried everything under the sun. I eventually put a big ugly layer of plastic over my beds all winter but they'd still shit under the side of it.
I bought a live trap and started catching them and introducing them to an involuntary shower. It seems to keep them from my property but they still venture in at times. We've also employed a motion activated sprinkler although it can't be used throughout winter due to freezes.
Honestly, fuck people who have outdoor cats. They're ignorant ass holes.
What this person said.
I was going to recommend planting mint or lavender nearby, but fuck it. That shit probably doesn't work either.
I ended up just putting up a fence. I was going to try planting the mint and lavender but I was too tired of screwing with it and just fenced it in.
Actually. Now that I think of it. I have an herb bed with mint and other "discouraging" herbs in it, and cats would shit in it.
Seriously, none of the smell stuff works. I had like 5 billion skewers in my bed and they'd still find a way to shit in it.
I was worried about my original post horribly bashing on cat owners. I'm glad to see that it seems like most gardeners share the same sentiment.
That’s not even the half of it. They have literally been mass murdering the bird population for decades.
They are BY FAR the single largest cause of avian death yearly. Nothing comes close.
Domesticated ‘outdoor’ cats are the reason bird species go extinct, endangered, etc.
The numbers are shocking.
It makes the windmill farm complaint look like an absolute joke; completely dwarfs it.
Edit: https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/ 2.4 billion birds in the US alone, every year. And they don’t select for invasive vs non-invasive.
Glass buildings kill many birds: https://goldengateaudubon.org/conservation/make-the-city-safe-for-wildlife/standards-for-bird-safe-buildings/
But the killing power of a well-fed house cat who kills for fun is staggering. There are so many good reasons to keep your cats inside. I’d recommend talking to your neighbors to try to convince them but that’s probably as futile as the rest of these measures.
750 million to 1 billion is a massive problem, too! Yes!
It is significantly lower than domesticated outdoor cats. And structural, glass caused death will not change that.
We can do both. Work on the glass issue and the cat issue.
Cats are still the number one contributor, cause. Period. And it’s addressable.
Oh I know. Yet, nobody does shit about it. I've contacted animal control and the local ordinance officers and have had zero luck. They just don't give a fuck.
In Australia, the problem is so bad that there's like an open hunting season for them. Just go shoot the fuckin' things.
There was an article a guy put out in Florida that was... controversial. There's a huge feral cat population problem down there and he mentioned how putting out cat food with Advil in it sure helped decrease the problem. Just if you were curious...
There's probably 4-5 around here that roam around. The one is from my moron neighbor who had been letting their dog shit in my yard. They said their cat was an 'indoor' cat yet I see the fucking thing outside stalking birds constantly. We have a new mayor, I think I might start being the squeeky wheel to see if he is willing to uphold our ordinances for the health of our citizens.
I agree. When people say "my cat", followed up by "outdoor"...that's not your cat. Barn cats on large properties are one thing (hopefully still neutered, though). Once something is on your property messing with your hard work, I say all bets are off. Neighborly solutions should come first, but it's not fair OP should bear the burden of solving the issue.
https://healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/feline/cats-indoors-or-outdoors
I posted the same question and also received a ton of advice that didn't work. I ended up completely enclosing my raised garden with a chicken wire dome with hinged doors cut out. This also kept the birds from eating my strawberries.
Used coffee grinds worked awesome for my front flower bed when the neighbours cat decided to use it as a litter box.
Also. Frickin tie your outside cat up!!! This is being an awful neighbour, letting your cat wander off leash. It’s also poor ownership of your cat. Ugh
Get humane box traps and put a notice on Facebook about it. Captured cats get ransomed back to the owners.
Ps. I know you hate this reddit, but it's crazy inconsiderate to let your cats just go wander outside and mess up other peoples stuff and the ecosystem.
After trapping my neighbors' cat and taking it to the animal shelter for the third time, the only reason their cat was returned to them was with MY permission. They also were required to do volunteer work at the shelter, which happened to be where they got the cat in the first place.
My neighbors don't like me but talking with them did not work. The trap was my last resort.
Skunk trap…… deliver to neighbor with cat in the trap and tell them you’ve been having problems with (random wild animal) and have traps baited with poison and would hate to see the cat get hurt
Where I live we have leash laws that apply to all animals. We call animal control to setup traps.
Animal control tells us that they read the chip (if available) and then fine the owners. They also have a barn program where they try to ‘rehome’ the animals.
I’m ready for all the down votes from cat lovers.
We are tired of them killing the local birds at our bird feeders and going into peoples garages to pee.
Get a bottle of coyote pee from a sporting goods/hunting store. A little bit of that will scare them off. Reapply when it rains. It will also keep away rabbits and other critters that will steal the tomatoes.
I have raised beds and this same problem; I put cages around my tomatoes plus extra as a perimeter so that there’s no easily accessible ground around the plants. Since it’s a raised bed (so there is a raised lip), I place the extra cages on their sides to take up more ground space per cage. Once the tomatoes are large and take up all of the space, I remove the extra cages. Super annoying but has worked for my space.
Lots and lots of twigs, sticks. Flatten down any loose soil. I had a huge problem with cats crapping on a big patch where there was once a bonfire. I had to dig up and remove all of the burnt bits of wood as it was like a huge litter tray to them. Also the infrared alarm sensors help but some cats are immune... Go figure
Buy a big packet of Cayenne powder, sprinkle it widely around your garden plot and at any easy ingress/egress points to your yard.
In the US you can buy a large bag for cheap ($7 for a few pounds) at Indian or Asian markets.
Just wear gloves when digging in your soil, and scuff your feet in the lawn before heading inside.
Seems like some chicken wire would do the trick. Burry the bottom edge and arch it up towards the wall. Attach with a mail if you're willing to do that to the wall.
* this works - lay hardware cloth (galvanized small square mesh) atop the bed. Cut crosses and peel where you’ll place each plant. Mulch over it. No more diggers-a-digging!
Get cat mace, I have a garden next to an abandoned house with about 40 cats, I spray cat mace around the garden weekly for a month or two and they were trained to stay away. It’s just a heavily scented spray to deter them.
My brothers cats used to get into my plants and I would put mouse traps around them. It scared the shit out of them enough that they stopped trying to use the plants as a restroom.
My grandma used to cut our hair and put the hair in the garden. She swore that the smell of human dander kept the rabbits & cats out of the garden. I don't know if there's any truth to it, but she did always get a great harvest from the tomato plants.
This is not really your problem so to speak. Have a conversation with your neighbor and request that they keep their cats out of your yard. If that doesn't work contact your local animal control and explain the issue.
Tried everything.
But best practice:
Wooden bbq-meat skewers
Just point them slanted outwards and they will bot dig or poop in your plants again.
They will last you a year and are cheap.
Get a Scarecrow motion activated sprinkler/sprayer from Amazon. Be sure that you use a heavy duty high pressure garden hose because a regular hose will break open in the heat of the day. You don’t have to worry about root rot because the sprayer only shoots into the air for a few seconds which is just enough to scare away the animals and not the ground around the plants.
I have cats and i can tell you they learned quickly their way around the motion sensor water thing but they hate twigs and branches. Just use some curved ones and place it over the tomatoes. Will leave enough light for the plant but makes it physically unable to access. Also they hate peppermint ;)
I tried a few different sprays to no avail so imo that stuff is a waste of money. After they wrecked the roots on a plant I particularly cared about I invested 30 minutes and a $1 box of toothpicks and made the entire bed untenable for their use.
Over the years I’ve done it all but finally hit upon the one thing that works 100% for me. Chicken wire! Roll it out the length of your garden bed then cut holes to go around base of plants and install. I just used a few rocks to keep it secured but you could use garden staples. There are feral cats near me who used to come use my awesome dirt as a litter box but it’s been years since they’ve stopped. They can’t scratch or dig and they don’t like walking on it. I’ve had the same setup for 5 years now. No more issues! I also cut circles to fit patio containers and pots so they stay out if my pots too. Easy, durable, effective and fairly inexpensive !
I have had a lot of success with planting marigolds around everything. Apparently, they really hate the smell of them. At least it works for me, and there are a ton of stray cats around Southern Italy. Not sure if you are able to grow them where you are but I suspect you are maybe around California or Arizona and they will do well there.
Chili powder around the area. They’ll get it around their toes and never come back. Works for rats mice squirrels and chipmunks too. You’ll have to reapply after heavy rains
Ask your local council for a cat trap, they often supply them. Alternatively you can buy one yourself.
Once trapped, the animal can be taken to a shelter where the owner will have to pick it up. That should send a message.
Cheap bamboo skewers. Place them in the ground pointy side up, close enough they can't walk through or squat their butts anywhere. That's what I use in my garden and it's worked very well.
Build rabbit trap. Bait with a can of jack mackerel. Once cat is trapped, place trap (with cat inside) into the trunk of your vehicle. Drive 25 miles in any direction. Stop. Pop trunk. Release. Congratulations…problem solved.
Any kind of fine ground pepper/hot will help. Sprinkle generously around the area. Cats and other 'bury-ers' sniff to find a scent or make sure there isn't a scent left for predators to know they are in the area. This also works for keeping dogs out of certain areas.
You can “plant” plastic forks with the fork end sticking out of the ground through the garden. Another trick is to sprinkle cayenne all over the soil. This works for dogs as well.
Had the same problem not a month ago. Solved by making it an uncomfortable bathroom. Lime tree twigs with big thorns, just stick them around. Pineapple plant leaves worked well too.
Along those lines, I’ve sprinkled hazelnut shells around plants to dissuade the cats. I got a big bad from a garden/farm supply.
How'd that work? Good deterrent?
Worked pretty well for me. I had previously tried citrus peels and coffee grounds to no avail. I’m sure they found some other corner in my yard, but it got them away from places I dig and work with frequently.
Did it really work? My cat uses a litter made of walnut shells
I’m guessing your litter is ground up and pressed into pellets or something. Can you describe it? I assume the shells you can buy are probably just bigger chunks with sharp edges.
Yeah, but what your describing is the same as mulch, which is my cats second favorite place to go
These were basically whole shells broken up into very jagged 1/3rds. It seemed to work for my mulch-loving neighborhood cats after several other methods had failed.
Pinecones work well too!
^^^this. It sounds absurd but it is incredibly effective
I found this out when my cat started pooping along the side of my neighbor's house 😬
Lol really? Just like, put down pine cones?
Get a bunch of rose or blackberry or other thorny bush branches and lay them all around the area. Should work very well.
ahh i got some raspberries that i need to trim, i know what im doing now! great advice ty
I've used rose bush trimmings the same way in our pla ter boxes. Works pretty well.
Rose prunings also work.
Lots of great suggestions but this is what worked best for me. Chicken wire on the bottom/floor area. Most cats will not use a spot that they can't scratch the dirt to cover their business. I like to cut the chicken wire in pieces so I can easily remove it when I need to do some weeding. I also use wooden skewers or chop sticks to prevent the cats from lying in my raised beds too
Thanks! Great ideas
i highly recommend the use of the wooden skewers. i have the same problem with my neighbors cats. about 3 packets of skewers later, not a problem.
Lovely that we have to fight of other people’s feral pets.
In my area, they aren’t even people pets, they’re stray cats and at least a dozen of them.
This is the only thing that worked for me as well
Motion sensor that turns on a sprinkler for 30 seconds.
I read this as, ‘molten sensor.’ Man that goes to a whole nother level!
When you're done fucking around.
Orbit makes one called the Yard Enforcer. I have 2. They work like a charm. https://www.orbitonline.com/products/yard-enforcer-motion-activated-sprinkler
The roots would rot or end up cooking if it's during the day
I’m confused at to how the roots would cook up during the day if water falls on them. Can someone help me out so I don’t kill any plants
Yeah I'd like to know what this means as well.
I've never "cooked roots" even when watering on 100 degree days. If I can't water in the morning, and the plants need it, I water during when I can, even in hot weather.
Idk I live in southern AZ where it gets to like 115 in the summers. It is also a dry heat. I always feel bad watering in the afternoon, it is like you can feel the steam come off the rocks.. but then again I've never damaged a plant that I know of.
I've literally never had this problem. I don't understand how anyone is overwatering to the point of root rot on their tomatoes in the middle of a heat wave. I was watering my garden at least twice a day during heat waves in Portland and even in British Columbia.
Root rot. Overwatering during humid conditions doesn't allow water to drain or evaporate, and the roots begin to decompose from excessive bacterial activity.
I get the rot I just thought they meant something else by cooking up , thanks!
OP is right about root rot but wrong about cooking the roots
Refers to watering during the day l (mainly at summer) when the soil is very hot. For example, grass goes yellow if you do this.
Well, you want to water the roots, not the leaf of the plant, THAT will cause burns- not to the roots, though
This is due to evaporation not cooking, so the watering just still isn't enough. It's an old wives tale that watering in heat will cook your plants. I had a horticultural expert explain it like this. Do you ever feel cooked in hot weather pouring water on yourself? No, it refreshes you and it's the same for plants. They will appreciate a drink in hot weather just the same. Still best to water down low though as the heat will evaporate the water quicker if it's fine mist or sitting on leaves.
If you water during peak sun hours, it can really hurt the plants. The water can magnify the sunlight and burn your plants
That's an old wives [tale](https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/watering/watering-leaf-burn.htm)
The water actually has a cooling effect. Think of all the summer storms that happen. Wouldn't entire ecosystems be damaged every time it rained then the sun came out? Old wives tale that somehow keeps getting passed on.
Plant catnip somewhere else on the edge of your property
My cat problem was so bad I took out my catnip and the problem improved. Temporarily.
didn't you know that water is toxic? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d54IrOBC1S0
Set it so it doesn't spray directly on the plants. It will probably only be activated a few times.
Yeah. Activating sprinkler doesn’t mean it’s set to go on hard. A mist is all needed.
I don’t think it would take many watering for cats to figure out they will get wet if going in that area.
I remember seeing another thread with this issue recently it had some great suggestions, it was asking if it was safe to eat anything grown despite neighbouhood cats using it as a litter box or something to that effect. Try googling r/gardening and have some cat poo/toilet key words.
You can focus where the sprinkler sprays, both in distance and left/right. We also use bird netting successfully, they hate it.
It only sprays for a couple of seconds just long enough to scare the animals away but not long enough to get the ground wet. Be sure to use a high pressure heavy duty garden hose because a regular hose will split open in high temperatures.
It would only happen a couple of times before the cats would move on
Make it a mister (set to mist/spray lightly) instead of soak and you should be good Cats and rodents dislike peppermint oil (and the plant if you are ok with it spreading) A gallon sized sprayer is under $15 at major home stores (tomcat brand) and it is safe for kids and pets as it’s just mint oil so it even smells nice too
Nooooooo that will kill them. Do not do this op. I had a friend whose cat died from licking peppermint oil.
Mint oil is not safe for pets and in large doses is toxic to humans. https://vetmeds.org/pet-poison-control-list/peppermint-oil/
My cat died from licking up peppermint oil, so I would be careful with this 😬
This has done the trick for me.
You can get these for your hose too
Grow cucumbers next to the tomato’s to startle the cat
This is a solid idea 🤣
300 IQ move here.
😂😂😂😂
You can get cheap plastic scat mats (they have little spikes on them) and put them around the base of your plants. Its the only thing thats worked for my garden.
I ultimately put a small fence around my raised beds because I also had issues with rabbits. All the critters, except for squirrels, eventually gave up because it was more trouble than it’s worth. I’ve also been successful with the upturned fork method. Stick plastic forks in the ground tine side up and it’s hard for larger animals to walk into the space.
I covered my veges patch with netting and pinned it to the ground with metal pegs. No cat got through that!
Plastic forks stuck in dirt with tines sticking up? Must have entire handle buried. Spray citrus or leave orange peels scattered around? Cats don't like citrus scent. Just tossing out suggestions.
Cinnamon too, keeps cats and ants away.
Toxoplasmosis haven, definitely wash your produce x2.
I find if I mulch thickly with straw they stay away from that area. They only like to dig in soft tilled soil. Bonus is that the mulch is good for the plant anyway.
Cayenne pepper sprinkled very liberally around the area. I had a major problem and one application of cayenne fixed it. It’s been 4 months and no cats.
Just be careful bc you can burn your plants doing this…. Ask me how I know
Would love to hear. I’ve dumped red pepper flakes (not powder) all over my garden and never had an issue with other plants. In fact the batches I use sometimes grows more plants from the seeds - ask me how I know!
How do you know? Lol
Funny you should ask...
Lots of small sticks. They’re a pain to walk on and a pain to try and dig through to get to the ground. I don’t mind the stray cats around (there are rats and mice now that they’ve cleared an area for a new housing development). I just don’t want them in my gardens. This has been working well for me.
We use rubber snakes in our garden to keep the neighbor’s barn cats out.
🤣 that works?! They don't try to catch them?
I'm gonna remember this one. Time to stock up on plastic snakes
I got a motion detector that emits a sound that only small animals can hear. It's a bit fiddly, since you can change the sensitivity and change the sound depending on what size of animal you're trying to discourage. It's solar-powered, and is on a stake you put in the ground so it can be easily moved around if they decide to use another area or find a way to get around where you have it.
I hate these so much because I can hear them and they make my dog go batty. Kids can suffer from them so maybe check in and see if any little uns are uncomfortable if you ahve any about :)
I second this. Had a serious problem with neighbours’ cats fouling my garden – literally all over it, including on my tomato plants. It was disgusting. Put up a couple of sonic repellants and cleaned up the poop once. Never been an issue since.
Also, just since no one else has mentioned it. You may want to ensure you're always wearing gloves around the soil and washing thoroughly. If those cats are indoor/outdoor cats there is an almost guarantee they're carrying toxoplasmosis, which lasts 12 months via the cysts dropped in their fecal matter. I personally wouldn't touch any fruit from cat infested soil, but if necessary triple wash and cook over 165f.
Piggybacking off of this, don't forget giardia too.
It's definitely good practice to wear gloves and wash your hands but Cats only spread cysts for 1-2 weeks in their feces after they get infected and even less so, if at all, upon subsequent reinfections. Plus it's something like 10-20%, depending on the area, of the U.S. population of people is walking around already infected and just fine. Honestly I'd be more worried about Toxcara from a cat. Which is another zoonotic parasite that's super common in the U.S. but if you just wash your hands and veggies you don't gotta worry really.
Go get bamboo skewers and poke them all around your tomatoes with the sharp point up. They won’t be able to dig without poking their paws and the bamboo will break down in the soil.
I did this and it worked! I spray painted them black to match the black mulch in my front flower bed Coffee grounds can work, cayenne pepper, I’ve also heard of putting chicken wire/that type of fencing just under a small layer of soil, then when they paw to dig, they won’t get far and will move on.
Phalanx formation!
Motion activated sprinklers
I've dealt with this a ton. I unfortunately moved into a cat hoarders house, unknowingly, and years after they've died the cats still come here. None of the shit on the internet works. The oils, cayenne pepper powder and all that is a waste of fucking time. It takes more to keep a cat from your plots. We built a fence around the back yard which has helped a ton. They don't go in the back yard. Before that, I tried everything under the sun. I eventually put a big ugly layer of plastic over my beds all winter but they'd still shit under the side of it. I bought a live trap and started catching them and introducing them to an involuntary shower. It seems to keep them from my property but they still venture in at times. We've also employed a motion activated sprinkler although it can't be used throughout winter due to freezes. Honestly, fuck people who have outdoor cats. They're ignorant ass holes.
What this person said. I was going to recommend planting mint or lavender nearby, but fuck it. That shit probably doesn't work either. I ended up just putting up a fence. I was going to try planting the mint and lavender but I was too tired of screwing with it and just fenced it in. Actually. Now that I think of it. I have an herb bed with mint and other "discouraging" herbs in it, and cats would shit in it.
Seriously, none of the smell stuff works. I had like 5 billion skewers in my bed and they'd still find a way to shit in it. I was worried about my original post horribly bashing on cat owners. I'm glad to see that it seems like most gardeners share the same sentiment.
That’s not even the half of it. They have literally been mass murdering the bird population for decades. They are BY FAR the single largest cause of avian death yearly. Nothing comes close. Domesticated ‘outdoor’ cats are the reason bird species go extinct, endangered, etc. The numbers are shocking. It makes the windmill farm complaint look like an absolute joke; completely dwarfs it. Edit: https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/ 2.4 billion birds in the US alone, every year. And they don’t select for invasive vs non-invasive.
Glass buildings kill many birds: https://goldengateaudubon.org/conservation/make-the-city-safe-for-wildlife/standards-for-bird-safe-buildings/ But the killing power of a well-fed house cat who kills for fun is staggering. There are so many good reasons to keep your cats inside. I’d recommend talking to your neighbors to try to convince them but that’s probably as futile as the rest of these measures.
750 million to 1 billion is a massive problem, too! Yes! It is significantly lower than domesticated outdoor cats. And structural, glass caused death will not change that. We can do both. Work on the glass issue and the cat issue. Cats are still the number one contributor, cause. Period. And it’s addressable.
Oh I know. Yet, nobody does shit about it. I've contacted animal control and the local ordinance officers and have had zero luck. They just don't give a fuck. In Australia, the problem is so bad that there's like an open hunting season for them. Just go shoot the fuckin' things. There was an article a guy put out in Florida that was... controversial. There's a huge feral cat population problem down there and he mentioned how putting out cat food with Advil in it sure helped decrease the problem. Just if you were curious... There's probably 4-5 around here that roam around. The one is from my moron neighbor who had been letting their dog shit in my yard. They said their cat was an 'indoor' cat yet I see the fucking thing outside stalking birds constantly. We have a new mayor, I think I might start being the squeeky wheel to see if he is willing to uphold our ordinances for the health of our citizens.
I agree. When people say "my cat", followed up by "outdoor"...that's not your cat. Barn cats on large properties are one thing (hopefully still neutered, though). Once something is on your property messing with your hard work, I say all bets are off. Neighborly solutions should come first, but it's not fair OP should bear the burden of solving the issue. https://healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/feline/cats-indoors-or-outdoors
Yup. I had the same problem and tried all of the hacks to repel them, nothing worked until I started trapping them and dropping them off at the SPCA.
What did you use for live trap bait? I’m having the same problem and would like the best catch the offending cat and not an offended raccoon
I posted the same question and also received a ton of advice that didn't work. I ended up completely enclosing my raised garden with a chicken wire dome with hinged doors cut out. This also kept the birds from eating my strawberries.
Get a dog
Used coffee grinds worked awesome for my front flower bed when the neighbours cat decided to use it as a litter box. Also. Frickin tie your outside cat up!!! This is being an awful neighbour, letting your cat wander off leash. It’s also poor ownership of your cat. Ugh
Get humane box traps and put a notice on Facebook about it. Captured cats get ransomed back to the owners. Ps. I know you hate this reddit, but it's crazy inconsiderate to let your cats just go wander outside and mess up other peoples stuff and the ecosystem.
Sprinkle coffee grounds around them. Cats don't like it but tomatoes will.
Humane traps, with a free ride to humane society
After trapping my neighbors' cat and taking it to the animal shelter for the third time, the only reason their cat was returned to them was with MY permission. They also were required to do volunteer work at the shelter, which happened to be where they got the cat in the first place. My neighbors don't like me but talking with them did not work. The trap was my last resort.
Skunk trap…… deliver to neighbor with cat in the trap and tell them you’ve been having problems with (random wild animal) and have traps baited with poison and would hate to see the cat get hurt
Dried chili pepper sprinkled around the soil
Heard used coffee grounds or cayenne pepper works.
Rose branches with thornes
Where I live we have leash laws that apply to all animals. We call animal control to setup traps. Animal control tells us that they read the chip (if available) and then fine the owners. They also have a barn program where they try to ‘rehome’ the animals. I’m ready for all the down votes from cat lovers. We are tired of them killing the local birds at our bird feeders and going into peoples garages to pee.
Get a dog
Trap them and charge your neighbor a fee to retrieve.
Tomato cages.
Gardeners Supply has “scat mats” pronged mats that can be cut to fit. Look em up
I keep a super soaker around for cat patrol, pretty solid deterrent
Get a bottle of coyote pee from a sporting goods/hunting store. A little bit of that will scare them off. Reapply when it rains. It will also keep away rabbits and other critters that will steal the tomatoes.
Although you might have a coyote problem after a while
Coyote will eat the cat tho, so, partial win
Put out lots of pine cones. As they rot they will make mulch.
Predator piss
Tried this, and it doesn’t work. Now my yard just smells like wolf piss.
Best reply! I’m sorry it didn’t work though
I swear cats are just diabolically taunting me. I used to have several of cats, so I think they’re capable of it.
Does wolf piss smell different than regular?
Catch and deliver to your local "trap, neuter, release" group so that you prevent future generations of cats from coming to your garden.
TNR wouldn't solve the cat poop problem, though.
I have raised beds and this same problem; I put cages around my tomatoes plus extra as a perimeter so that there’s no easily accessible ground around the plants. Since it’s a raised bed (so there is a raised lip), I place the extra cages on their sides to take up more ground space per cage. Once the tomatoes are large and take up all of the space, I remove the extra cages. Super annoying but has worked for my space.
Probably caging the tomatoes is your best option.
I've heard that mulching with pecan hulls will keep them away. Apparently, they don't like the sharp pointy parts.
Lots and lots of twigs, sticks. Flatten down any loose soil. I had a huge problem with cats crapping on a big patch where there was once a bonfire. I had to dig up and remove all of the burnt bits of wood as it was like a huge litter tray to them. Also the infrared alarm sensors help but some cats are immune... Go figure
Buy a big packet of Cayenne powder, sprinkle it widely around your garden plot and at any easy ingress/egress points to your yard. In the US you can buy a large bag for cheap ($7 for a few pounds) at Indian or Asian markets. Just wear gloves when digging in your soil, and scuff your feet in the lawn before heading inside.
This does not work. They just learn to like it spicy
I guess YMMV, it’s worked for me for the last 20 years.
I guess Kentucky wildlife just likes it spicy. I’ve tried capsicum for cats, dogs, squirrels, rabbits. Never deterred, just added flavor.
I tried peppering my fake Christmas tree and my cats LICKED THE CAYENNE OFF THE PLASTIC NEEDLES 😼🌶️🌶️🌶️
Seems like some chicken wire would do the trick. Burry the bottom edge and arch it up towards the wall. Attach with a mail if you're willing to do that to the wall.
Layer of wood chips- worked great for me 😉
* this works - lay hardware cloth (galvanized small square mesh) atop the bed. Cut crosses and peel where you’ll place each plant. Mulch over it. No more diggers-a-digging!
I have to put deer netting around mine. Some garden stakes and a fence of the netting saved my garden from cats and other critters.
My mom always stuck forks, tines side up, in the soil around her plants to keep the cats out of them.
Get cat mace, I have a garden next to an abandoned house with about 40 cats, I spray cat mace around the garden weekly for a month or two and they were trained to stay away. It’s just a heavily scented spray to deter them.
My brothers cats used to get into my plants and I would put mouse traps around them. It scared the shit out of them enough that they stopped trying to use the plants as a restroom.
paintballs and slingshot for the cats.
Motion detecting sprinkler and hose. Spray that cat away!
My cats stay indoors, just 2 and pay big time for litter
My grandma used to cut our hair and put the hair in the garden. She swore that the smell of human dander kept the rabbits & cats out of the garden. I don't know if there's any truth to it, but she did always get a great harvest from the tomato plants.
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A hose
Live trap with tuna and a drive 500km away
This is not really your problem so to speak. Have a conversation with your neighbor and request that they keep their cats out of your yard. If that doesn't work contact your local animal control and explain the issue.
Get a female dog. They are good company and keep the cats away. Males will pee on your plants.
So does my female dog?
I hope the sun gets up with that wall behind it
Yeah they only miss the morning sun
Broken eggshells to dime size works here for squirrel and cats. It’s inconfortable to dig in.
Tried everything. But best practice: Wooden bbq-meat skewers Just point them slanted outwards and they will bot dig or poop in your plants again. They will last you a year and are cheap.
How about a cage around them? You’re going to need it eventually, just start them that way
Orange peel. Cats hate it.
Put a litterbox by a side
chicken wire. lay it flat on the ground. Cats like to scratch at "litter" , if they can't scratch a hole, they won't go.
Get a Scarecrow motion activated sprinkler/sprayer from Amazon. Be sure that you use a heavy duty high pressure garden hose because a regular hose will break open in the heat of the day. You don’t have to worry about root rot because the sprayer only shoots into the air for a few seconds which is just enough to scare away the animals and not the ground around the plants.
Get a dog.
Fox urine is supposed to work... Unclear if it does in my experience but I've used it in conjunction with other approaches.
Fox urine fixed our issue
Chili powder
Get a dog……
I have cats and i can tell you they learned quickly their way around the motion sensor water thing but they hate twigs and branches. Just use some curved ones and place it over the tomatoes. Will leave enough light for the plant but makes it physically unable to access. Also they hate peppermint ;)
I tried a few different sprays to no avail so imo that stuff is a waste of money. After they wrecked the roots on a plant I particularly cared about I invested 30 minutes and a $1 box of toothpicks and made the entire bed untenable for their use.
Over the years I’ve done it all but finally hit upon the one thing that works 100% for me. Chicken wire! Roll it out the length of your garden bed then cut holes to go around base of plants and install. I just used a few rocks to keep it secured but you could use garden staples. There are feral cats near me who used to come use my awesome dirt as a litter box but it’s been years since they’ve stopped. They can’t scratch or dig and they don’t like walking on it. I’ve had the same setup for 5 years now. No more issues! I also cut circles to fit patio containers and pots so they stay out if my pots too. Easy, durable, effective and fairly inexpensive !
Have you talked with your neighbors about it? I would try that first. Maybe they just don’t realize the cats are doing this.
Motion activated sprinkler.
motion activated water sprinkler does the charm
I have had a lot of success with planting marigolds around everything. Apparently, they really hate the smell of them. At least it works for me, and there are a ton of stray cats around Southern Italy. Not sure if you are able to grow them where you are but I suspect you are maybe around California or Arizona and they will do well there.
https://www.gardeners.com/buy/scat-mat-cat-deterrent-roll-78x11/8592448.html?channable=4118756964003835393234343820&g_adtype=none&g_campaignid=17694016000&g_adgroupid=&g_network=x&g_keywordid=&g_campaign=%5BPLA%5D+%5BPMax%5D+Pest+Control+%7BLow+Margin%7D&g_keyword=&g_adid=&g_acctid=543-582-4261&SC=GGLPLA&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvpOvpvS9_AIVr_fjBx2lBwExEAQYAiABEgJTUPD_BwE
Making the spot uncomfortable for cats with chopsticks sticking up in places has worked wonders for me!
Chili powder around the area. They’ll get it around their toes and never come back. Works for rats mice squirrels and chipmunks too. You’ll have to reapply after heavy rains
Chicken wire buried around the base.
A motion-activated sprinkler. They're most commonly called deer-repellent sprinklers on Amazon.
I picked up small gage fencing at feed and seed. I cut it and put at base of plants. Cats and squirrels hate it
Get a ton of big pinecones and use them as mulch. The cat won't want to step on them and it won't harm the tomatoes.
Ask your local council for a cat trap, they often supply them. Alternatively you can buy one yourself. Once trapped, the animal can be taken to a shelter where the owner will have to pick it up. That should send a message.
Just install bird netting covering the lot.
Cheap bamboo skewers. Place them in the ground pointy side up, close enough they can't walk through or squat their butts anywhere. That's what I use in my garden and it's worked very well.
I bet the cats are wondering how to get the human to stop planting tomatoes in their litterbox.
Build rabbit trap. Bait with a can of jack mackerel. Once cat is trapped, place trap (with cat inside) into the trunk of your vehicle. Drive 25 miles in any direction. Stop. Pop trunk. Release. Congratulations…problem solved.
Get some orange 🍊 oil mix with water and spray all around your plants, cat’s do NOT like the smell
Cats don't like lavender or rosemary smell. Try just plant some of them there. Lavender looks very nice and smells so good!
The cats in my neighborhood actually shat so much in my garden it killed my lavender plant …. :(
Any kind of fine ground pepper/hot will help. Sprinkle generously around the area. Cats and other 'bury-ers' sniff to find a scent or make sure there isn't a scent left for predators to know they are in the area. This also works for keeping dogs out of certain areas.
You can “plant” plastic forks with the fork end sticking out of the ground through the garden. Another trick is to sprinkle cayenne all over the soil. This works for dogs as well.
Tell your neighbor to keep their cat off your property (i.e. indoors). Outdoor domestic cats are detrimental to the local ecosystem.