Cat Deterrents for your Garden: Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), what works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. Birds aren't stupid, they watch for cats and stay away. Sometimes natural law comes into play and the quicker animal wins, it's natural law. If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world. After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'. * amonia soaked (corncobs, etc) * aluminum foil * bamboo skewers * black pepper * blood meal fertilizer * bramble cuttings * Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp * catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards) * cedar compost * chicken wire (metal or plastic) * cinnamon * citrus peels * citrus spray * cocoa bean shells * coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!) * dogs * electric fence for animals * essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils) * fresh manure(ditto) * garlic cloves * gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree * gutter covers * hardware cloth * heavy bark mulch * holly leaves * keep the area damp, they like dry soil * lavender * liquid manure (good for your garden too) * motion sensor sprinkler * pennyroyal * pinecones * pipe tobacco * plastic forks * predator urine * red wine vinegar * river rocks over the exposed soil * rocks, crushed * rose bush clippings * rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only) * short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart * six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up) * Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water * squirt gun with water * talk to your neighbors * tansy * thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings * toothpicks * upside down vinyl carpet * vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam * water bottle on "stream" NOT RECOMMENDED: *** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me. *** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way. Give them their own areas: (To keep them out of where you don't want them) (If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters) + pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later. + give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason) + if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too. + Barley Grass + Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store + Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade + Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.) + Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to. + Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum) + Flax + Oat Grass + Jacob's Ladder + Lemon Grass + Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch + Mints + Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out. + Sandy area + Silver vine (Actinidia polygama) + Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive) + Sweet grass + Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass) + Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips) + Wheat Grass + Wheat Berries + Valerian This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violetgw@care2.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

My entire neighborhood deals with families of woodchucks all the time. It is illegal to transport them from you property to another location in MA. It appears though, that the companies that trap them can also remove them. Problem with that though, is that you may have them removed from your property, but they are still around in your neighbors. The life cycle of the groundhog is to breed, and when the fall comes, their off spring move on to dig their own dens. Usually then move to another area from where they where born. So if you remove the groundhogs from your property and your neighbors have them, then the offspring from your neighbor will be happy to move right on to your property. Not only that, but the ones that live down the street, will be happy to come and forage on your plants and gardens. Besides the damage that the groundhog does to our gardens, they can be very dangerous to property as well. They dig their tunnels underground and if tree roots get in their way, they don't burrow around them, but rather chew through the roots. The tree may look healthy above ground, but it can have barely any roots holding it. A simple gust of wind, or soaking grounds from rain, will topple the tree over without anywarning. I've seen that happen far to many times. They burrow underground under sheds and topple the shed as well. Several years ago, a neighbor had 8 groundhogs removed from their property by a company and thought they where all set. Much to their dismay, and quite an expense to having them removed, they sat and watched the neighbors groundhogs move right into their property and they where back at square 1. If it isn't the groundhogs eating, it's the chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels and new this year for the first time in 29 years, DEER. The deer have had a field day on my hostas. It's a never ending battle with the 4 legged critters. Fran

I can't stand salad bars - as Glenda would say, gag! Even though they have that glass cover protecting the food, I still imagine people coughing and hacking and not turning away from the food. Or the people who reach in and take a sample of something before deciding if they want to put some on their plate. I also can't stand potlucks at work. Unless I know the person and know how they live, I don't want to eat their food. I imagine the family cat, having just hopped out of the litter box, walking across the kitchen counter, then the person not wiping off the counter and then chopping vegetables on it. Gross!! I know, weird hang-ups but I just can't get past them.

Is there more blue than gray … which catches your eye first? You could choose a print with either blue or gray if you can find it. If you cannot find either a solid color cushion to match either the blue or gray or a pattern with either the same color of gray or blue in it (and if you don't want either black or white for your cushion), then you might consider choosing a red color … but not just any red -- choose the same "shade" or "tone" or "finish" of color ... just in a different color (such as red): If the blue is a dark bold blue, you could go with a dark bold red; if the blue is a lighter blue, then you could go with a lighter red; if the blue is a really muted color, go with a muted shade of red. Unless there is a lot more gray than blue, then the two "more colorful" colors in the same tone/shade should become the dominant color pair and the gray should just be more of a background color.