You’ve put lots of time and effort into your garden. Perhaps you’ve added raised beds with phenomenal soil. Maybe you’ve amended in-ground beds to sheer perfection. And suddenly, the neighborhood cats think your garden spaces are their personal litter box. How do you keep cats out of garden beds successfully?
There are many, many tips suggested online. Unfortunately, a lot of these methods just don’t work well. Sometimes they’re very short-lived. Other times, they’re just completely ineffective.
On the bright side, there are ways that do work to deter cats from your carefully cultivated soil and prevent them from damaging your dahlias. We’ll start by exploring tips that frankly don’t work. After that, we’ll talk about options that are short-lived and that may need to be done over and over. And finally, we’ll cover surefire methods to keep cats away.
As a passionate gardener nothing frustrates me more than seeing my carefully tended raised beds ruined by neighborhood cats using them as their personal litter box. But after years of trial and error I’ve discovered there are plenty of safe, humane ways to effectively deter cats and keep them from turning your garden into a potty.
In this article I’ll share 15 of my proven techniques to stop cats from digging and pooping in raised garden beds. Whether you’re dealing with your own furry felines or the neighbor’s pesky kitties, these clever deterrents can help protect your plants.
Why It’s Crucial to Keep Cats Out of Raised Beds
Before we dive into solutions, let’s quickly review why it’s so important to keep cats away from your raised garden beds:
-
Health Risks: Cat feces can transmit parasites like toxoplasmosis and bacteria like E. coli that can linger in soil and be harmful if ingested by humans.
-
Destruction: Digging cats may uproot seedlings, damage plant roots, or scatter seeds around beds.
For both food safety and your plants’ wellbeing, it’s vital to deter cats from using your garden as a litter box. The good news is, with consistency and persistence, you can succeed!
15 Surefire Ways to Deter Garden Cats
Here are my top 15 techniques for cat-proofing raised beds:
1. Install Physical Barriers
Fencing, wire nets, lattice, or other barriers that block access are very effective against roaming cats. Some options:
- Plastic garden fencing
- Chicken wire laid over beds
- Hardware cloth mounted around perimeter
- Lattice panels enclosing the area
Aim for around 2 feet tall. Cats can’t dig under or climb over easily.
2. Apply Unappealing Scents
Strong smells cats dislike will make beds unappealing. Try:
- Citrus peels
- Coffee grounds
- Pipe tobacco
- Essential oils like citronella or eucalyptus
- Rue, lavender or geranium plants
Reapply frequently at first. Works great for smaller spaces.
3. Use Natural Mulches
Bulk mulches like wood chips, pea gravel, or pine needles prevent digging. Maintain 2-3 inch depth. Replenish as needed. Excellent around perennials.
4. Install Motion-Activated Deterrents
Devices that spray water when triggered gently startle cats. Brands like ScareCrow, Havahart Spray Away, or CatStop work well. Position to cover problem areas.
5. Employ Scary Stuff
Random noisy objects that move in wind annoy cats. Try:
- Tackles or wind chimes above beds
- Foil pans filled with pebbles
- Mylar tape along edges
- Fake snakes or owls moved periodically
6. Apply Smelly Stuff
You may get looks from neighbors, but stinky substances keep cats away. Try:
- Used kitty litter
- Dog hair clippings
- Granular lion dung or predator urine
- Ammonia-soaked rags
Reapply weekly. Store-bought repellents work best.
7. Use Rough Textures
Before adding soil, fill raised beds with uncomfortable textures cats dislike walking on, like:
- Large pinecones
- Lava rocks
- Chopped twigs or sticks
8. Plant Coleus Canina
This herb’s smelly leaves when rubbed repel cats. Grow from seed around beds’ perimeter. Fast growing.
9. Install Cat-Proof Fencing
Special fencing with inward-curving tops makes it hard for cats to gain purchase on posts or edges.
10. Use Repellent Rue Plants
Cats detest the odor from Rue’s foliage. Scatter these perennial herbs around beds. Tolerates poor soil.
11. Apply Cat-Repellent Granules
Sprinkle granulated products like Shake-Away or U Scram near beds. Reapply after rainfall. Works fast.
12. Install Ultrasonic Repellers
Battery or solar powered devices emit high frequency sounds cats hate. Reduce visits.
13. Use a Water Scarecrow
This motion-activated sprinkler detects cats and scares them away with a harmless spray of water.
14. Block Access Below Beds
Line undersides with hardware cloth, bricks, or lattice to prevent cats from crawling underneath.
15. Train Your Cat
For your own cats, reward them for using acceptable potty spots, not raised beds. Apply repellents to their fur.
Find What Works for Your Situation
With patience and trying one or more of these methods, you can successfully keep cats away from raised garden beds. Be persistent, as it may take some trial and error to find the ideal deterrents for your unique scenario.
The key is addressing the problem proactively at the first signs of cat intrusion. Swift action prevents undesirable behaviors from becoming entrenched habits.
While not completely foolproof, combining several techniques greatly improves your chances of success. A little effort now saves endless frustration and protects your plants later. With these tips, your flowers and veggies can flourish, free from curious cats and messy surprises!
What Doesn’t Work At All
There are quite a few techniques suggested online that just simply don’t work. While they’re among the most common to find suggested, they’re just ineffective or, in some cases, downright silly. Let’s explore a few of these!
Methods That Sometimes Work
The plants that I mentioned above that cats dislike (supposedly) are often spread across the soil’s surface, too. In fact, some recommendations suggest that you prune your plants and then drop them everywhere. If you feel like putting in extra effort, I’ve seen it recommended to dry them out and powder them to sprinkle around.
If cats dislike the plants, the scent of freshly crushed leaves might deter them for a few hours. But once the initial smell fades, usually within 24 hours, it’s just not effective anymore. Most dried plant materials lose their aroma and begin to break down far too quickly.
There are three things that tend to hold their scent a little longer than most other options. Crushed hot peppers like cayenne, some pipe tobacco types, and used coffee grounds may actually keep cats at bay for up to 2-3 days. Cayenne has a nasty side effect, though; if cats walk through it and then lick their paws, it can make them ill. But if you don’t mind sprinkling the coffee grounds from your morning pot of coffee over the garden every few days, you may find some effectiveness in that.
There’s one other option that’s claimed to be effective: citrus peels. It’s claimed that orange or lemon peels spread out across the soil’s surface will turn cats away by their smell. But there’s one problem with this: orange peels will also go moldy and may attract flies or other pests. Citrus peels also look a bit strange spread around the garden.
There is a brand of mat called the “Cat Scat Mat” that is essentially plastic mesh with ¾” spikes on it. To use it, you lay it on the soil’s surface. The spikes are about an inch or so apart, and so it’s virtually impossible for cats to walk across it comfortably.
A similar effect can be gained by using plastic carpet runners with their spikes pointed upward. But with both of these options, you end up with this strange-looking mat on the surface of your soil. You can place it on top of mulches if you’re trying to prevent moisture evaporation from your soil, but that doesn’t make it look any better. Still, it’s quite effective if you can find a way to minimize its appearance.
Along the lines of the prior suggestion, sharp mulch materials may have some effect in keeping cats out of garden beds. Things like pine cones, splintery bark mulches, sharp wood chips, or jagged rocks can be effective for short periods of time.
Unfortunately, unlike the mats, digging through the sharp mulch is an option for the kitty. An outdoor cat is actually quite likely to encounter prickly things like this in the wild. And besides, crushing up hundreds of pine cones or getting splinters every time you work in the garden may not be the best option for you. Rock mulch is the most effective of these, but it also retains quite a lot of heat… something that may not always be what you want.
Did you know you can buy predatorial animal urine? Coyote pee is one of the most common. And yes, animal urine works… for about a week.
Just like the aroma of plant matter, the scent of animal pee fades with time. Hot weather degrades the smell quickly, although it might be very stinky for a little while. Rain dilutes it and washes it away. Kitty may make your garden into their litter box once the scent ebbs away, assuming that the predator has passed.
There is a free solution, but it’s one many people might find distasteful: human urine. As long as you don’t have any medical conditions, using urine as fertilizer is a viable option, and it’s also a way to keep cats away. But just like predator pee, it only lasts for a little while, and it’s most pungent when fresh. You might not enjoy that option.
One of the most popular ways to keep cats out of gardens, according to the internet, is with the use of other smelly sprays. Concoctions of a variety of essential oils, sprays made out of garlic, or other strange homemade remedies are widely touted as effective. And they are… briefly.
The big problem is that the natural oils in many smelly plants like garlic only last for short periods of time when applied to the garden. The sun’s UV rays will break them down rapidly, and the exposure to fresh breezes will dissipate the scent.
In addition, while a lavender-citrus-eucalyptus spray smells good to us, it may not be ideal for cat safety. Many essential oils are actually poisonous to cats. If the cat does walk through your garden right after an application of a spray method like this, it gets all over the cat’s fur. When they lick themselves, they can be seriously harmed. If you do want to try something like this, be sure it’s something non-toxic!
There are a number of retail products out there that claim to be natural repellent for cats. Some are granulated, some are liquids. But how effective are they really?
The answer to that question is “somewhat”. Most of them use the same essential oils, powdered peppers, or garlic additives as mentioned in other categories on this list. So they work, but only for a short-term burst of efficacy.
Also, most of the retail options really don’t have appealing smells for us, and you’re still going to want to keep using your garden while you’re treating it with repellent!
Keeping Cats Off Your Vegetable Garden
FAQ
How can I keep cats out of my raised beds?
- black pepper.
- cayenne pepper.
- dry mustard powder.
- coffee grounds (ask for free grounds at your local cafe)
- used tea leaves.
- orange peels.
- Nature’s Wisdom Orange Oil Concentrate.
- Shake-Away (cat repellant granules)
How do I stop my cat from pooping in my raised bed?
- citrus fruit, for example lemon, lime, orange. Try putting the peel in the soil (it will compost and give your plants added nutrients too!). …
- cinnamon. Sprinkle some ground cinnamon around your plants. …
- banana. …
- lion pee/dung. …
- chicken manure. …
- your own cat’s poop.
Do coffee grounds really repel cats?
Coffee Grounds
The strong smell of coffee can be enough to keep cats off of your garden.
Will cat pee ruin my vegetable garden?
Urea (present in urine) is nitrogen, and it can burn roots, and kill a plant if it is not diluted. If you suspect that the cat has been peeing in the soil, then you should probably give the plant a really good watering to dilute the urea.