2 Humane Methods to Keep Dogs and Cats Out of Your Garden

There are only two humane ways I’ve found to keep unwanted dogs and cats from using your garden as a litter or lunch box. The first method is to introduce scents that dogs and cats don’t like. The other way involves physical barriers.

First, let’s talk about scents that can help deter dogs and cats.

Please make sure that any scents you sprinkle in your garden are 100% organic and won’t interfere with the viability of your garden. Avoid all artificial chemical solutions.

Instead, I recommend the following ingredients.

Here are some organic scents that can help deter dogs and cats:

• Citrus peels – oranges, lemons, lime.
• Brewed coffee grounds (Starbucks often gives them away for free.)
• Coyote or Red Fox urine (this is available from Amazon and other hardware stores).
• Black pepper or crushed pepper also works.

If you have a particularly aggressive dog or cat infestation that keeps wreaking havoc on your garden, then you could also consider a small physical barrier. You could erect a small chicken wire fence around your garden to keep unwanted visitors outside.

Contrary to popular belief – the fence doesn’t need electrification to work!

A chicken wire fence of only a few feet in height can work wonders to keep unwanted neighborhood pets from accessing your garden’s soft, moist soil.

Speaking of soft, moist soil – that’s what attracts cats in the first place. If a cat uses your raised garden bed as a litter box – consider it as a compliment! You probably have soft, rich soil.

Here are some smart tips to help make your garden feel like less of a soft litter box.

How to make your garden less soft and less inviting without hurting any animals:

• Place a layer of chicken wire fence atop your garden bed’s soil.
• Place bamboo stake barriers in your garden so that animals have a tough time navigating throughout.
• Place twigs, pinecones, or pine tree clippings just underneath the soil’s surface.

Another genius option is to create a decoy litter box.

If your neighborhood cats keep returning to your garden, build a large outdoor litter box near your garden.

Hopefully, the cats will settle for the decoy and leave your garden alone – especially if your garden bed has a few impediments like a strong citrus scent and a small chicken wire fence barrier.

If all else fails, then a motion-sensor sprinkler is probably one of the safest solutions that can almost guarantee to keep cats (and dogs) away from your garden.

This time, for good!