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What can I use to keep cats out of the garden?

My neighbor has three cats that are always roaming around my backyard. I don’t mind them being there, but I do mind them crushing the plants in my garden—help! How do I keep them out?

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Andrea Barrett · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Animals roaming in your gardens and destroying plants is frustrating! Ideally, you want to make your garden unappealing to your neighbor’s cats! To keep cats out of your garden, consider using odor barriers, physical barriers, water repellant, and sound barriers.
Here’s how to do it:
  • Odor barriers: Cats are highly sensitive to smells. You can purchase commercial cat repellents to discourage cats from entering your garden and powders with the scent of predators that cats fear—like coyote, fox, and bobcat. Alternatively, plants like Coleus canina, rue, pennyroyal, lemon thyme, and lavender give off smells that cats don’t like.
  • Physical barriers: Physical barriers like fences are effective for keeping cats out of the garden. Bristly material like mulch is also great to prevent them from walking in your garden. Use sharp-edged pine cones, holly cuttings, eggshells, or stone mulch.
  • Water repellant: Most cats dislike water, so if you catch them in the act, try spraying them to reinforce that they’re in an area they’re not supposed to be in! You can also get devices like a Scarecrow Sprinkler, which detects an intruder’s presence and shoots out water at it.
  • Sound barriers: Cats have much more sensitive hearing than humans, so using an electronic cat deterrent device that operates on a high frequency can make gardens unbearable for cats. Cap Stop is a great option—it gives off a high-frequency sound to scare away cats. Or check out the motion-activated SsssCat! repellent device that uses sound and a spray repellent.
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