Herbs to Keep Cats Out of a Garden

Don't let your garden turn into the neighborhood litter box. Many times even a fence won't keep feline invaders out of your flower beds. If you're not a dog-lover, or you want a less expensive way to keep your garden safe, there are a few herbs that will keep cats away.

Garden Rue

Rue is a plant that flowers in autumn and bears small greenish-yellow flowers. This plant is native to Southern England. It emits a very noxious, almost nauseating, odor that will keep any animal, especially cats, far away from your garden.

Other herbs

Use other herbs such as geranium, lavender, absinthe and lemon-thyme. Sprinkle these around the outside of your garden and between the rows. These work well because they are not offensive-smelling to humans, but will keep the cats away from your flowers.

Moth balls

Lay mothballs along the outside edges of the garden. There is a chemical in mothballs, naphthalene, which cats find particularly offensive. You can either rub mothballs, with gloved hands, around your garden or scatter whole balls around the perimeter of the space you want protected.

Other methods

Spray small pieces of cloth with a citrus scent. Tear up an old T-shirt or a dish rag and spray each piece with an orange, lemon or lime scented air freshener. Scatter the fabric remnants around the entire garden. You can also spread cayenne pepper, pipe tobacco, eucalyptus oil, mustard oil, lavender oil or coffee grounds over your garden.

References

• Gotta grow.com
• Highbeam.com
• Botanical.com