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.

Thanks for this article, Linda. I am very aware of some plants being toxic, and we are careful to not plant those in the back yard, which belongs to the dogs. I just had no idea about the sago or the jatropha, and I do have jatropha planted out by the pond. I sure didn't know about the grapes either. Our fat little Lisa is going to be very disappointed about this. I guess we will have to stop buying them. DH would not be able to eat them in front of her and not share. Very valuable information! Janie

I'm not sure if it's feasible, but a pergola, arbor or trellis may screen the view but I can't think of a way to screen out the smoke. Maybe a pergola heavily covered with a vine could offer a bit of a block but the wind will have it's way with the smoke. I love the smell of a barbeque restaurant :-)

No voles here, but I do have a terrible gopher problem. I have a neighborhood park on two sides of the property, so there’s an endless supply of them coming in. I do plant my most precious plants in gopher cages, but I can’t realistically plant everything in cages. I have been experimenting with a plant called Plectranthus neochilus. It has a skunky aroma when watered or brushed up against. I ordered it from Annie’s Annuals and Perennials. Annie’s makes no mention of it causing gophers to leave the area, but I read about it while researching the plant. Apparently many animals despise the scent of it. It’s an almost succulent type plant, and makes a good ground cover. Although I only purchased one plant, it roots so easily that I can just break off a stem and stick it in the ground. I keep it moist for a week or two, and it takes off. The areas where I have planted it have been deserted by gophers completely. I plan to put them all around the edge of my yard. The big drawback to Plectranthus neochilus is that it’s only perennial in zones 9-11, so it wouldn’t be helpful during the winter in cold zones. It does look a plant that you could overwinter indoors, however. I don’t have enough experience with this plant to say it works perfectly at keeping the gophers away yet, but I’m encouraged by the results so far. I was further encouraged when a visiting aunt from the San Joaquin Valley recognized it. She said she’d always wondered what it was called, as it’s planted all around the commercial strawberry fields to keep the gophers out. If the commercial growers are using this plant for gopher problems, there must be some truth to what I’ve read. It’s just very unfortunate that as a tender South African plant, it’s not hardy below zone 9. Still, it might be worth looking into for those in warm climates with gopher/vole problems. Lisa