During the summer, it's likely you want to get out in the garden as much as possible to enjoy the better weather. But this can be ruined by neighbourhood cats sneaking their way into your outdoor space and leaving some nasty surprises when they do.
It may be difficult to keep them out of your garden altogether, but there's one simple and cheap way to do this and deter them from pooping on your plants and flowers, ruining your hard work in the process.
The Express reports that garden expert David Domoney says cats are often likely to come into your garden via holes in the fence or hedge, so these should be blocked off.
But if they're leaping over a fence, you can use a simple piece of string and run it along the top, which will make it hard for the felines to land there.
The expert said: “This makes it hard for cats to balance on the fence panel. Or you can apply a grease like Vaseline to stop them using it.”
However, if they keep entering your garden and making a mess, you can also use teabags near any plants you wish to deter cats from.
David claimed one hack that worked for him was using tea bags in the garden to deter plants from pooing near plants.
He said: “One of the things that has worked effectively for me in the past is to save tea bags and spray them with a muscle heat spray, like Deep Heat.
“The tea leaves absorb the strong odour. Place them around the spot in the garden where the cats damage the plants.”
Tea bags are cheap to buy from local supermarkets as they retail for 70p at Sainsbury’s and £1.70 at Tesco. Muscle treatments like Deep Heat are slightly pricier as they retail for £3.50 at Tesco and £5.25 at Sainsbury’s.
David also suggested anything that gives off “strong smells” can be used to help repel felines.
He suggested: “Try putting lavender, rosemary and curry plants in your border. Some people also recommend using cut citrus peel – apparently, it smells too strong for the cat.
“Rubbing raw onion in places where cats frequent has been said to steer them away. Citronella is also said to be effective.”
He also suggested lining the soil with spiky objects, explaining: “Wooden skewers or prunings from spiky plants like roses may help as cats have sensitive paws.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
