scottishere,
Hot coffee works really well but only during the time you are in the garden drinking it!
Gymgirl,
I suppose other wires would work as long as it has a close enough weave so the cats cant get in the open areas. I just know the chicken wire works because that is what I have used. It is rough on their feet.
Helen
CATS IN MY VEGGIE BEDS!
Helenchild,
Got it! Thanks!
Gymgirl,My heart goes out to you,I always have my fair share of drop off cats ,we live in the country,and a neibor that does not spay and invites people to, oh bring em out here.I do have 3 cats,all fixed,and leash broke!!!we live too close to the road,not too long ago I took 2 horribly thin cats to the shelter,it cost me 40$ ,well worth it,it was a shame they were freindly,not like some of the ferel cats,Ive also found 4 3week old kittens under the shed,bottle fed them,found homes ,8 mos later miss kitty was returned to me, i was glad,she obviously wasnt ever taken to the vet,so she is cat 3.Do you have a shelter,it was well worth the 20$ each ,I know times are tuff, I hate to take them there but one cat was a female,the other a male,did not want more kittens,cant have that happen again ,or they will start calling me the cat lady,not going there.tell your hubby put that food in the trap!!!! take it to the shelter,good luck
Thanks Huggergirl.
I completely sympathize with you! We've been in a all out war - garden vs. cats - since we bought our house two years ago. We have a completely irresponsible neighbor who has 8 cats of their own (all outdoor and roaming the neighborhood) and puts food out - front and back yard - for the dozens of neighborhood strays.
It got so bad that we couldn't open our front windows, our yard reeked so badly of cat urine and poo. Animal control wouldn't do anything and the neighbor just told us to buzz off. We tried just about everything, sprays, pepper, citrus peels, chicken wire, you name it. Some things helped a little, but nothing fully kept them out. When we actually had a pile of cat poo left on our front step, we broke down and bought a cat trap! We've trapped almost 2 dozen, but new ones kept moving in and the ones we miss kept having babies.
At my wits end, I ordered one of the motion activated sprinklers and it's worked wonders! I HIGHLY recommend them!! We haven't seen a cat in our yard since we installed it and I haven't found a single "pile" in the flower/garden beds. Even though the sprinklers are a little pricey, it's WELL worth it! We spent several hundred of dollars and countless hours trying everything we could think of and should have just bought it in the first place. Sorry for the long post, but hopefully you all can avoid the same mistakes we made!
Warning I have been told Pecan shells are poisonous. My office used to be near a Pecan processing farm and there are huge mounds of the shells everywhere and nothing growing in them. The farm sells all the by products from Pecan production, but can't get ride of the shells.
Sonoita
I agree with Sonoita, our local nursery sells pecan mulch & there is a warning attached to it to not put on veggie gardens. Also cocoa shells are toxic in case anyone saw them around.
I had .. I say had as I haven't seen any signs lately.. cats in a side area where they left their "tokens".. I put pinwheels, you know the kids play with them.. in the area & it seems to work. The pinwheels only cost me 99 cents each.