Raised Bed I'm having a terrible time

ginnie6

ginnie6

Veteran Member
with the neighborhood feral cat colony. Short of disposing of them (which I can't easily do) how can I keep them out of my beds? I've scooped out HUGE piles of poop daily and I've lost plants to the darn things because they're digging so much. They're taking food out of our mouths now. I've tried so far just laying my tomato cages over the beds but its not deterring them.
 
Cardinal

Cardinal

Chickministrator
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Is there a local cat rescue that you can contact?
Either they get removed (humane traps) or they get disposed of.
My sister traps ferals at the local campground and turns them over to a group that neuters them.
 
Pebbles

Pebbles

Veteran Member
Here in the high desert, everything wants my garden, cats, rabbits, birds, deer, chipmunks, you name it. I completely surround my garden with bird netting. The garden is surrounded by horse panels, then I put 8 ft landscape timbers (old) in the corners, stretched a 50' X 50' bird netting square over the whole thing. It covers the top and all the way down the sides to the ground. I have old landscape timbers around bottom to secure the netting. It keeps out everything.
 
J

JenL

Senior Member
Try an ultrasonic animal repeller. It works to keep cats off of our cars. also keeps the dog out of the carport.
 
S

summerthyme

Administrator
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I used to scatter cuttings of sharp multiflora rose stems thickly on the soil. They didn't like them!

Laying chicken wire or 2"x3" woven wire flat on the soil surface also works, but has to be done before or right after planting. The plants will grow through it. It also keeps chickens from scratching up beds.

Summerthyme
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
summerthyme said:
I used to scatter cuttings of sharp multiflora rose stems thickly on the soil. They didn't like them!

Laying chicken wire or 2"x3" woven wire flat on the soil surface also works, but has to be done before or right after planting. The plants will grow through it. It also keeps chickens from scratching up beds.

Summerthyme
Click to expand...

That's what we did when we had cats. We would lay down 2x4 welded wire over all our raised beds after planting. We elevated it a bit off the surface. The cats didn't like their legs going through the wire when they stepped on it. It was the only way to keep our cats from digging up everything, or using the beds for giant litter boxes.
 
M

Martinhouse

Deceased
I have mostly container gardening and the cats think they have a hundred some litter boxes. I use pieces of fencing, or those mesh trays one brings home several six pack of bedding plants in, or the fronts and backs of the metal caged box fans or round fans.
Where containers are in rows, I can cover with long strips of 2 ft wide chicken wire if I plant things that don't need to be dug up throughout a season. Also good are plastic forks, which I bought in boxes of 140 at Dollar General. Shove the handles all the way down into the dirt. Cats don't like all those sharp pointy things sticking up all over their "litter boxes"! Also effective are lots of mousetraps. I told my sister to try those to keep the squirrels out of her pots of impatiens on her deck railing. Worked like a charm!

Several toy snakes about two feet long have kept birds out of my blueberries.

The old canes from blackberries and even raspberries, cut into four to six inch pieces, keep cats out for me, too.
 
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20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
ginnie6 said:
with the neighborhood feral cat colony. Short of disposing of them (which I can't easily do) how can I keep them out of my beds? I've scooped out HUGE piles of poop daily and I've lost plants to the darn things because they're digging so much. They're taking food out of our mouths now. I've tried so far just laying my tomato cages over the beds but its not deterring them.
Click to expand...
We had that issue with our own cats. They LOVE our garden beds.

We put posts around the bed. Can be as simple as sch 40 pvc inch. We then strung deer screen ( forget the darn name ) around the planter and used zip ties to hold it in place. Works real well. No more issues.
 
Quiet Man

Quiet Man

Nothing unreal exists
Pebbles said:
Here in the high desert, everything wants my garden, cats, rabbits, birds, deer, chipmunks, you name it. I completely surround my garden with bird netting. The garden is surrounded by horse panels, then I put 8 ft landscape timbers (old) in the corners, stretched a 50' X 50' bird netting square over the whole thing. It covers the top and all the way down the sides to the ground. I have old landscape timbers around bottom to secure the netting. It keeps out everything.
Click to expand...
Be glad you don't have gophers.
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
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Go to your local hunting supply store and ask them for some predator lure ... fox, coyote, bear, etc. Feral cats aren't stupid. They'll smell the "lure" (usually concentrated pee) and skedaddle.

They also make granulated repellent. I've seen it at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.
 
China Connection

China Connection

TB Fanatic
One thing you may not have considered is whether human urine can repel cats? Yes, human urine can repel some cats who smell it and think another animal has been marketing their territory.22 Oct 2021
Does Human Urine Repel Cats? (What?!) - Pests Banned
https://www.pestsbanned.com › cats › does-human-urine-r...


Human urine gets rid of cats, foxes, rabbits etc - The Grapevine
https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk › allotment-advice



14 Feb 2009 — Was suggested for chicken coops as well to deter foxes. Like marking your territory. It said it had to be a man, one cos easier for them (best ...

Will Human Urine Repel Cats? - Hyaenidae
https://www.hyaenidae.org › will-human-urine-repel-cats



It has been reported that the scent of human urine (again, early morning pungent pee) can keep animals such as cats, foxes, and rabbits away ...
28 Dec 2021 · Uploaded by Shawn Woods

How do I stop a neighbour's cat from urinating in my yard?
https://kb.rspca.org.au › ... › Cats › Behaviour



30 Apr 2019 — Simple chemical deterrents such as citrus peelings or coffee grounds spread around the area where the cat urinates may stop him coming around.

Does Human Urine Repel Animals? - Kylon Powell
https://kylonpowell.com › does-human-urine-repel-ani...



Does human urine deter cats? — The morning urine (likely to be the most potent during all) is believed to act as a deterrent to certain cats. The male urine ...
‎Does human urine deter cats? · ‎Does human urine deter foxes?

How to repel neighbor's cat - Houzz
https://www.houzz.com › how-to-repel-neighbor-s-cat



It consists of small pellets that are soaked in the essence of lions dung/urine. Cats seem to stay far away from this when I sprinkle it around my plants, since ...

Human Urine: The Most Effective Way To Repel Animals - Em ...
https://emoffgrid.com › Quick Knowledge



Cats have a strong sense of smell, and they don't like the scent of ammonia, which is found in human urine. Another ...
18 Aug 2021 · Uploaded by Pests, Weeds & Problems
‎How To Use Human Urine To... · ‎Human Urine and Its FAQs of...

Cat Repellents - WV Cats
http://wvcats.com › Cat_Repellents



Human Urine- It is said by some people that adult human male urine will repel cats. It would need to be fresh to have the best effect.

"Marking my territory" to prevent cats entering my backyard.
https://www.reddit.com › legaladvice › comments › ma...



20 Nov 2015 — Cats harte the scent and I don't think human urine will have much effect. ... There's a lot of other ways to keep cats out.

Best way to deter cats?... - Allotments 4 All
https://www.allotments4all.co.uk › smf



Apparently it had a smell that cats hate and used to deter them - no idea what it was ... human urine will deter quite a few unwanted guests from the animal ..
 
ginnie6

ginnie6

Veteran Member
Well I have a good amount of wire around here so I think the easiest will be to cover the beds. I may try the predator lure too . I'm so frustrated with these darn things! I guess technically they may not be feral as the neighbor across the road feeds them all. I thought he had had most of them spayed but they still keep multiplying. I've lost several plants that it may be too late to replant now because knowing our weather it will get too hot if I start them now.
 
West

West

Senior
summerthyme said:
I used to scatter cuttings of sharp multiflora rose stems thickly on the soil. They didn't like them!

Laying chicken wire or 2"x3" woven wire flat on the soil surface also works, but has to be done before or right after planting. The plants will grow through it. It also keeps chickens from scratching up beds.

Summerthyme
Click to expand...

Had a customer (no longer) who also had the chicken wire electrified. To a switch in the house, so he could look out the window and throw the switch and see his victims get electrocuted.
 
S

seraphima

Veteran Member
I sprinkle powdered cayenne pepper over those areas! Also mulch with comfrey stalks and leaves, which are kind of sticky and cats don't like on their fur and paws. If worst comes to worst, mulch the bed with wet seaweed, which cats will not mess with.
 
S

summerthyme

Administrator
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ginnie6 said:
Well I have a good amount of wire around here so I think the easiest will be to cover the beds. I may try the predator lure too . I'm so frustrated with these darn things! I guess technically they may not be feral as the neighbor across the road feeds them all. I thought he had had most of them spayed but they still keep multiplying. I've lost several plants that it may be too late to replant now because knowing our weather it will get too hot if I start them now.
Click to expand...
For beds that are already planted, you can try this...


Summerthyme
 
M

Murt

Veteran Member
I had to put up one strand of electric fence to keep the critters --dogs, cats, rabbits out of my garden
pretty easy and it worked well
 
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