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Pansy Universal F1 Mixed
84 plugs - £9.99
120 mini-plugs + 30 FREE -
£15.99
Clematis Large Flowered Collection
5 young plants £9.99
10 young plants - £17.99
Hydrangea paniculata Vanilla Fraise
£9.99 or 3 for £17.99
Black Bamboo
Phyllostachys nigra
restrained in habit
10L pot was £44.99 - now £34.99
Perennial Bumper Pack
36 plants - £19.99
Flower Seed
Vegetable Seed
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 Other peoples cats that is. Apparently (I've never tried it
- not being a cat lover) the best way to deter cats is to get a cat of your own. That
way it makes the garden its territory and other neighbourhood cats don't get a look
in. On the same lines, a dog is a fairly good way of deterring cats, my Cairn Terrier
is most effective at keeping next doors burgeoning menagerie at bay.
Presumably if either of these were an option though you wouldn't
be here looking at these pages for how to deter cats.
The main reason to deter cats is that they dig holes in nice
soft bare earth in order to deposit their unpleasant little packages. The nice
soft earth that they like best of all is a newly prepared seed bed and what is more
insulting than a cat coming and s******g in it when you've done? Especially as you
then need to go and make amends, not knowing quite when you'll find the prize in
the bran-tub. Tom cats also have a tendency to "spray" - their urine - in order
to scent mark the edges of their territory, most unpleasant if one of their marking
posts is just outside your door or barbeque area.
The easiest way of deterring cats in these circumstances is to
keep the soil covered with plants or whatever. Gravel may or may not work, some-one
I knew moved into a new house that had a gravel patch beside the front door under
the porch (the builders obviously couldn't be bothered to cut any paving slabs to
fit) and a local cat decided that this was the ideal toilet facility - most unpleasant.
Temporarily unoccupied spots can be 'filled' by pushing
prunings particularly of roses or other spiky plants into the soil. Keep twiggy
sticks and push them in at an angle to spread over the soil to protect new sowings
and plantings. Don't get too enthusiastic though, a few years ago I cut a load of
rose prunings into about 2" pieces scattered around a newly dug bed. Kept the cats
off a treat it did, over a year later they were still there and I had some very
unpleasant weeding experiences - make sure they're easy enough to remove later on.
Coleus canina - Pee-Off - Scaredy Cat - Cat Repellent Plant
 Pee
Off - No
not you gentle reader, but the plant - or the cats. Someone emailed me a few
of years ago asking where to get hold of this plant, at the time I'd never heard
of it let alone knew where to buy it.
It's now available in the UK exclusively from Thompson and Morgan
as small pot plants to grow on. The marketing material goes like this:
"Experiments with over 300 plants
have now produced the ultimate deterrent. Cats, dogs and even foxes will avoid
the Pee-off plant as it’s affectionately known. Coleus canina has excellent
foliage and small, attractive spikes of blue flowers in the summer, and releases
a stench that cats can’t stand. Thankfully it only smells to the human nose
when touched! Could this be the solution to your feline intruder problems you’ve
been longing for? Annual, but can easily be propagated and cuttings kept in
a frost-free place over winter. Plants need to be established before the smell
is released, be in drier rather than wet soil and planted every 1-2 metres.
Supplied as cell-raised plants."
Best planted in containers (and regarded as functional
rather than hugely ornamental - it does provide good vivid greenery as a foil to
other plants though), that way they'll grow quicker to an effective size and you'll
be able to move them around and experiment with the best place to put them. I found
out recently that over 9 million plants were sold across Europe in the first two
years of it being available!
Repels cats, dogs, foxes and rabbits
| I have grown coleus
canina for several years on the corners of the front of my property,
tucked into a perennial bed near the roses. I bought it as "Dog
be gone," and it is also sold as "Bunny be gone," so must work on rodents.
Because the leaves are fleshy, like a succulent, it
takes rather arid conditions and can live in full sun, unlike any coleus
I've seen. (I live in Southern California, USA and we get summer weather
of over 100 degrees F for up to a week at a time)
It spreads somewhat freely but not with long runners
like my favorite pest plant, common mint. Spreading does not occur
until it is established. I end up trimming back the edges, like
a stand of dusty miller, to keep it within the three foot circles I
have given it. I've lost it twice, due to garden makeovers, but it comes
back very easily from cuttings.
Dogs cannot stand it, and "snufft" when they put their
nose in. It smells much stronger than marigolds when bruised.
It should be put somewhere that won't receive constant touching by legs
or feet passing by.
Because the leaves are not variegated, just medium
green, the four-inch long, 3/4 in wide, fleshy bright purple flowers,
which are very unusual, are attractive in a Mars landscape sort of way.
They are unlike other coleus I've seen. I get good comments from
passersby every year, as though I made them unusual and not God. Because
of their blooms I keep them, but because of their smell they definitely
should not be something one would put at the back door!
Christine Gille
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About the coleus canina:
IT WORKS!!! I tried it, and in a few days, no more
cats and dogs around my patio!
Claude, Québec
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Buy Coleus canina
Cat Repellents - Traditional Methods
There are many tried and tested methods to get rid of cats, most
of which work for a short time, but tend to rely on some kind of chemical smell
so they need regular topping up.
- The Cat's Protection League recommend
diluted surgical spirit spread over the offending region.
Be careful not to get it on any plants though and it'll be easily
washed away by rain. Works well on wooden fences as it soaks in
to some degree and so is longer lasting. I've never tried, but maybe
soaking rough wooden sticks in it and then pushing them into the
soil would work in a similar way.
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- Moth balls - more weather resistant
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- A tautly strung wire or string fitted 10-15 cm
above the top of a fence used by cats makes it difficult
for them to balance.
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- Plastic bottles half filled with water
- I include this for academic reference only, don't waste your time...
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- Citrus smells are particularly
disliked by cats, soak peel in water and spray it around.
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Renardine, chemical repellent Six pests
banished by one repellent. Unique MAFF approved repellent, which
keeps unwanted cats, dogs, rabbits, foxes, moles and badgers away
from gardens, small holdings etc. Used as directed, renardine is
safe and harmless and has been in continuous use since 1896.
Other proprietary chemical cat repellents
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- Mushroom compost - used as
a mulch, don't get too carried away though as it tends to be fairly
alkaline, so continually adding it year after year could restrict
the plants you can grow.
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Hi Tech Cat Repellents
Ultrasonic and motion sensor devices that make
a noise inaudible to humans or spray water when something moves into the range
of the device - very effective so I've heard.
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 Pest-Stop
Outdoor Pest Repeller -
£34.99
A pest repeller that is designed to keep your garden
clear of unwanted visitors, such as rats, cats, squirrels, rabbits,
foxes, badgers and deer. There are three different settings so you can
set it to the sound frequency you want. The high frequency setting is
used to repel rats but is also effective against squirrels and cats,
medium frequency for cats and small dogs, and low frequency for larger
dogs, foxes, badgers and deer.
The repeller comes with a wall/fence mounting adapter and rod adapter
for placing it on a pole. It is battery operated (4 x D Cell batteries),
with option to run it off a 12c AC/DC adapter. Coverage approx 70ft x
50ft in a fan shape from the unit.
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 Champ
Scarecrow -
£59.99
Motion activated sprayer. A battery
operated sensor detects the heat and movement of an unwanted visitor
and then releases a powerful oscillating jet of water up to 30 feet.
The sudden noise, movement and water have an immediate effect. Use
against cats, dogs, herons, deer, foxes, rabbits, squirrels and
many others. Easily connects to the garden hose.
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