Keeping Cats OUT of the Garden | Pantry Chat Podcast Short
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 25 апр 2023
- We’re all busy and have a lot on our schedules, and sometimes we only have time for a quick podcast. Come listen to this podcast short as we answer your questions in a short amount of time.
Today’s podcast short is all about how to keep cats and other pests out of the garden. Though we haven’t perfected this, here are some of our tips.
For more information, links mentioned, and more great Homesteading Family content, visit the blog post here: homesteadingfamily.com/first-...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MORE ABOUT US!
WELCOME! We're so glad you're here! We are Josh and Carolyn Thomas. Together with our eleven children, we are The Homesteading Family where we’re living a self-sustainable life in beautiful North Idaho. Let us welcome you and show you a bit about us here: bit.ly/HFWelcomeVideo
Grow, Preserve & Thrive with us!
Visit us on our blog: www.homesteadingfamily.com
Facebook at / homesteadingfamily
Instagram: / homesteadingfamily
Rumble: rumble.com/HomesteadingFamily
A few highlights you don't want to miss are our FREEBIES!!
Healthy Healing at Home - Learn how to confidently use herbal medicine in your home with this FREE 4 video workshop: homesteadingfamily.com/HHHyt
Your Best Loaf - A Free 4 video workshop teaching you how to make great bread at home, every time, regardless of the recipe you are using: homesteadingfamily.com/free-b...
Meals on Your Shelf - Can along with me! Learn to can and put jars of a delicious meal on your pantry shelf with this FREE video series: homesteadingfamily.com/MOYS-f...
FREE PDF DOWNLOADS:
- Homesteading Family's Favorite Holiday Recipes - Grab all of our family’s favorite holiday recipes. homesteadingfamily.com/free-h...
- 5 Steps to a More Self-Sufficient Life - Simple steps anyone can take wherever they are to start a more self-sufficient lifestyle. homesteadingfamily.com/5StepsYT
- Thrive Wellness Checklist - A simple guide for healthy living: homesteadingfamily.com/TWC_YT
- Permaculture for Your Homestead- An introduction to permaculture with some strategies for applying it to one’s homestead and garden.
homesteadingfamily.com/PFYH_YT
- Carolyn’s Cottage Garden herb list - Carolyn’s favorite herbs for growing at home.
homesteadingfamily.com/CGHL_YT
- Carolyn’s Make-Ahead Breakfast Casseroles - These easy casseroles are a life-saver for busy weeks! homesteadingfamily.com/MABC_YT
- Your FREE Guide to Preserving Eggs - Grab your guide to preserving eggs with multiple methods. homesteadingfamily.com/Eggs_YT
- 5 Steps to a Healthy Garden - Get an explanation of what makes healthy soil and 5 steps you can take to improve your garden. homesteadingfamily.com/5Steps...
- Save the Crumbs- Several Recipes for using bread leftovers, a less committal entry to bread than the workshop. homesteadingfamily.com/STC_YT
- Fearless Fermenting- A simple guide on basic lacto-ferments. homesteadingfamily.com/FF_YT
- Fermenting Tomatoes - Easiest and fastest tomato preservation: homesteadingfamily.com/FT_YT
- Preserving Culinary Herbs - Downloadable, step-by-step directions to drying, freezing, and salting culinary herbs. homesteadingfamily.com/PCH_YT
- Render Your Own Lard - Grab these easy instructions on how to render your own lard. homesteadingfamily.com/RYL_YT
- Grandma Lynn's Blueberry Buckle - A delicious dessert anytime of year: homesteadingfamily.com/BB_YT
Simple solution, I just cut livestock panels to fit the tops of my raised beds, keeps all critters from digging or laying on top of your newly planted beds. Plus it gives you a nice planting grid. 5 cat momma and longtime gardener.
This is a great idea, I haven't ever thought of doing that. Thank You.😊
Yes, I've been putting grates and cattle panels over my beds and pots. When the seeds have grown, you can remove the grates and the cats don't care about that space anymore.
Cattle panels also help keep my pesky chickens out!
Yep. Those pieces of panels work great for laying down over areas where the puppy wants to dog around the house too, and over the kid sand box. They're easy to move and store.
Yes this is what I had to do. The neighbors cats wouldn't leave my garden alone. Works well. They can't dig through the fence and go somewhere else.
works 100% of the time. Lemons!! We had problems for years and then an old farmer told us to squeeze lemon juice on the outside of where you dont want them to go and leave the squeezed lemons on the ground surrounding the garden roughly 1 foot apart. You can rip the lemons into quarters and drop them also Im telling you it works 100% of the time.
Lemons?
I get cayenne pepper in bulk, it's cheap and cats won't go there because they sniff around before doing their business. Reapply periodically
For pots - I’ve seen an old gardener gal here in TN put the wire hanging planters (without the coconut liner and chains) upside down over the pot so it acts like a decorative metal dome - she did it to keep her chickens from pecking the seeds out. Would work for cats as well.
You can put plastic forks prone up.
I put bamboo skewers all through my raised beds to keep the cats out.
I used chicken wire laid flat over my raised flower beds (and stapled down to the bed) the plants grow through the metal. The only issue I ran into was one cat enjoyed laying on top of the wiring like a hammock and would bring her kittens up there to nurse. I thought it was adorable and a win-win situation, lol.
This is basically what I had to do.
I haven’t had a problem since I planted garlic and shallots randomly through the raised beds…. Not sure why it works but it does
Bend the edges of hardware cloth to make a slightly raised metal cover for the areas they prefer.
I’d have cayenne pepper in my beds, and have a cayenne free bed for the cat, it’s designated the kitties box. You have to reapply, but this keeps out nice too as mice get around by scent.
This worked for me too, keeping stray cats out of freshly mulched flower beds.
Works on squirrels too. They are my main problem right now.
I use those kids little spinner toys on a stick..I put all around my beds..inside & out...no cats..
I’ve laid scrap metal fencing directly on top of freshly seeded ground and it works fantastic. Once the plants are grown up a little bit, I remove the wire and add mulch.
Because cats like to scratch around the squat I have found that spreading different size sticks around the garden works. My neighbors cats have stopped using my garden space. It really isn’t a problem to move the sticks over if needed to work and weed, and I think it looks kinda cool. 🐈
On a small scale, I've found up turned plastic forks work great.
I also have used chop sticks 😊
I love having my cats in my garden. They love to lay under my bean vines in the summer, and they keep the rabbits away. I don't have raised beds, however.
We built a chicken wire fence(4ft high) around our cluster of raise beds to keep our neighbours' cats out. keeps the cats out and allows us to continue to love our neighbors 😉
I have been told not to use this but I do anyway and that is cayenne pepper. I have also laid down bird netting and cats don't like that either.
This works!
I lay wire on the top. They can't dig and hate it
If you have access to citrus peals will work . Cats don't like the smell. I also use chicken wire, just lay it over the bed,or around the bed. Cats won't cross or dig
I tried this but it only kept the cats away about 10 days. Once the peels had lost their essential oils or started shriveling up, the cats came right back. We didn't eat enough oranges or satsumas to keep replenishing.
I have that problems with the neighbors cat's so what I did but old chicken wires on top of it my raised beds or the fencing wasn't touching what I was grown is on the wood and the cats stopped.
I stick a bunch of plastic forks all over the bed.
We raised chicken wire above the raised bed sides on metal posts, and lay a more rigid wire mesh over top. It's kept the stray cats out well, though it does make gardening more challenging moving the mesh around.
Baby pool of sand and catnip?
For me it's rabbits and squirrels. What good for them? I also have garden in pots. I have tried garlic pepper cayenne pepper as well
When seeding, keep it moist at all times. They will look for somewhere dry. Ideally find a corner of the garden and dump a few bags of sand. Then they will prefer that. Good to hear I'm not the only one with this issue.
Forks, prong up - skewers placed at odd angles - motion sensor sprinklers
I put plastic forks around my beds with the tines up. They don't like that at all.
On the raise bed I put plastic crates on top of the raise bed then place a mosquito net. That helped.
I schedule the timer of the drip irrigation to run a very short cycle in the evening, deters cats because they hate moist soil.
My neighbor’s cats we’re getting through my fence and into my garden. I put Christmas lights on my fence and turn them on at night and put a waterproof am/fm radio on low at night. It’s been just enough to keep them out.
My neighbor taught me last year to poke plastic forks (handles down) into the soil scattered throughout. It works!
Here is another idea that works for me. I have about 20 cats in and around my nursery greenhouses and garden beds. Place a kiddie pool out with dirt and they will use that. Be sure to clean the pool out about once a week. If you have fewer cats than I do maybe once a month.
Sections of chicken wire over the top - they also can be removed easily when the plants grow in. Also sticks poked in the soil all around the area so they can’t really even walk around in it - large toothpicks in pots - the plants grow in just fine around the sticks. My cats decimate my pots and the chicken wire or stick/ picks stopped it.
just seeded - cover with light remay, stones to hold it down
Good advise. Mine keeps the squirrels from digging up my bean seeds, I also use aged wood chips as mulch. He's a good mouser too.
I use Growers Solutions weed fabric on my raised garden bed now, but prior to that I bought rolls of green plastic wire from Home Depot and cut them to fit. Sunlight and water can get through and the cats won't . I use the green wire over my flower beds now and it works great there too.
Marigold flowers
Pinecones, sticks, spent raspberry canes, fruit tree prunings... They lay across the newly planted area easily, allow the seeds to germinate and do their thing, while essentially blocking access to the kitty toity dreamscape. Once plants are more established, it's not a big deal.
I put some wire fabric over the top of my beds and plant between the grid. Works great!
I also put livestock panels over my raised beds when they're vulnerable - freshly seeded, or very small new plants. I also use various forms of netting once the plants are established because not only do neighbor's cats want to crap and urinate in the beds - especially if another cat has been there first - but possum will also crap and pee on anything new - marking territory and skunks will just root around and dig things up - especially if you use a fish fertilizer - if not protected.
All this destruction happens at night while I'm sleeping. The night creatures come in and claim territory by crapping and pissing on everything not protected.
The other problem with cats is doing the same in all my chicken's dust baths so that my chickens have no where to bathe themselves and have actually suffered fly strike.
I find that these neighborhood cats, are almost 100% nuisance. Because they're well fed, they only kill for sport, usually little birds, not more difficult rodents and certainly not anything really destructive like squirrels that can decimate two years worth of fruit harvest in one season by eating 2/3s the fruit and flowers...I got conibear and marshmallows after that problem. Works way better than poopy, nasty, filthy cats.
I put fencing like cattle panels over my beds laying on the beds things like lettuce grow right through the big holes but cats can’t really use the spot
I use four inch strips of hardware cloth, either as fences or circles, with the spikey side up, through the bed.
On my raised bed I put 4 posts in the corner of the bed then put a bird cover over the bed. That one had cells that were wide enough so none of the plants missed getting sun. The bird net was wide enough to cover the entire bed and came down far enough to the ground so that I could but bricks along the edges and the cats could not get under the net.
Break sticks as long as popsicles sticks and “plant” them everywhere where seeds are planted and remove it when the plant is bigger to not be bothered by the cat. I worked perfectly for me where I grew garlic and other seeds that she loved to dig out :) She didn’t like to have to walk around them as it scratched her belly
Biild cages to height of your plants, 12, 18, 24 inches. 2x2" square to fit on top of 4x4 ft plots.attach chicken wire to 2 adjacent sides, bend at appropriate ht and width, attach to other side. Keeps out cats, rabbits, squirrels, and birds. Reference Mel Bartholomew, Sqrare Foot Gardening.
This may not be practical for raised beds but I use grow bags and I put plastic forks with the tines sticking up all over them. It worked quite well in the garden last year.
I had the same problem. I put some welded wire around the raised bed and soved the problem.
I build frames of wood or pvc and cover them with poultry wire to keep them out.
Just yesterday, I saw another post about cats in their garden. One response from a person said she bought cheap white plastic forks. She put those, based on the picture she posted, about 6 inches apart, tines up. Solved her cats in the garden issue!
No to more plastic thanks
I think re-using plastic forks in that way is a great idea! Nobody LOVES plastic…and at least we are beginning to slowly inch away from it…but it is something that currently exists so if we can re-use it in any productive way, I’d say that’s a step in the right direction! 👍 i thought the glaringly white forks might really jump out at you- but you could always give them a shot of spray paint! Black, brown, green- any colour that worked as camouflage in your particular garden! Attaching a tiny jingle bell with some string might act as a deterrent as wells and add a touch of whimsical charm at the same time! 😊
@@patti2413 fortunately I’m in Queensland Australia and we do not use plastic disposable cutlery or straws any longer
@@kathynix6552 oh you LUCKY duck!! Not just because you don’t have plastic, but because you live where you live!!! 😁
My sister went to Australia for 6 weeks a couple of years ago and she absolutely loved it. My cousin from here in Ontario went to Law School there, and decided to open her practice there. She now has a family and they love living there. Who WOULDN’T???!? 😂) (Actually, I think she is in Queensland now that I think about it!😋)
I’ve always wanted to dive there…but I’m learning that your reefs are in real trouble.😲😢
People touching the coral has made a mess of things…and the ‘islands of plastic waste’ we see floating in the oceans is disgusting and heartbreaking. When you’re a diver and know how magical that world is…to see what we are doing to it is unfathomable.
G’ day! 😉
(Btw…McLeod’s Daughter’s… one of my favourite shows of all time!!!😉👍😁)
@@patti2413 yes we don’t take it for granted. We often remind ourselves how blessed we are.
I use mesh netting or chicken wire over beds without mulch
The black plastic flexible stiffer netting works. We staple lathe wood piece to the ends, measure the netting to the beds or seeded area, lay this across while the seeds are germinating. The seedling’s can get to a respectable height through the netting, once established remove the netting. We roll ours up and use it year after year.
Nothing I worked until I tried plastic forks with tines up but I had a small area. only worked when I put the about 4 - 6 in. apart.
last year stray cats pooped in my potato bed and dug up my potatoe seeds in the process. so i ended up not planting anything in that spot in ground and just using containers after i cleaned out all the poop i could find. Luckily they havent got into my containers.
😀
I love cats, but ours are indoors (with a catio). But neighborhood cats use my flower beds as litter boxes. I’ve tried covering them with small pinecones, because we have lots of those. They just moved them aside 🤦🏻♀️. With the snow finally melting I will try using granular Plantskydd this year. Will use it on my veggie raised beds and straw bales as well. Hopefully it will keep the moose at bay as well
i have used dollarama fine netting on top of the row until seedlings are strong
You can use rabbit or chicken wire and make small hoop coverings and that might help too.
How do you keep mice out
Some experts say using citrus rinds will deter them. I will let you know. I use plastic bird spikes that are made for gutters or roof edges to keep birds from landing. They won't hurt the cats but it does not take long for them to decide they don't want to walk or do their business there. It is prickly to their feet and uncomfortable to stand on. This is useful if you only have a small spot you need to protect. It is made of plastic and comes in 10 foot sections. And it won't pierce their feet.
Where I live people drop off a ton of cats. There is about 20 cats here and they do not care if there is mulch or not they get in there and dig and use it as a litter.
I feel your pain. My neighbor feeds wild cats and lets them reproduce. Cayenne pepper works but you need to re-apply after the rain but it my break their habit after a good dose.
My garden beds are heavily mulched with wood chips and the cats STILL used them for litter boxes, destroying 90% of what I had planted. I had to fence in ALL my gardens with chicken wire. That was the only way I could stop them destroying everything.
I've been having problems with the cats in our onion beds.. So far sprinkling cayenne pepper and citrus juice around the border has helped
Great idea!
I just dedicated 1bed to the cats and it worked for me ..
I wonder if sprinkling a little dog hair around would work....or coyote urine?
Put plastic forks with the tines up. It doesn't hurt them but they don't like them.
Maybe providing a sand box or pile of sand as a more desirable litter are as an alternative would help.
The neighbor's cats used to come over and poop in my raised beds. Now I put hardware cloth wire over mulch on the beds. When I plant seedlings, I place hoops with bug netting over the beds. They come over to catch birds, and who knows what rodents they've eaten... I am not taking chances of what can be passed through their feces after reading up on it.
My cats don't care whether the beds are mulched or not, they still use them as toilet.
Any suggestions for dealing with invasive squirrels?
Citrus peels are a huge help. To deter cats
I have 4 cats and they love to use the mulch in my beds to cover their business 😆 My husband built them their own sand pit in hopes that they will leave the beds alone (new project, so we shall see if it works). Metal raised beds like from Vego have accessories that actually cover the beds with mesh which works to keep out bugs, birds and cats which is a great solution but more costly. You could also use deer fencing and customize a mini cage around your beds by zip tying it to thin poles (we used fiber glass rebar that we had). There are many creative ways to barrier out unwanted beasties and bugs.
My husband used wood slats layed a cross. It kept them out.
plant catnip in their bed to attract them maybe???
Several years ago I discovered that wooden skewers placed around your starts or in beds where you have seeds planted really detracts the cats. Once the plants are big enough that the cats can't dig them up by accident I remove the skewers. Yes, for a couple of weeks it looked like I was raising a skewer garden 😂 but once the plants got going and I could remove the sticks everything was fine and the cats either stayed out of the garden all together or couldn't get in because the plants had taken over. The cats don't like to have to tip toe around the sticks to go potty. And, yes, you have to put the sticks pointy side down in the ground so they are sticking up like an obstacle course. It works great in my potted plants too when they are just getting started.
I have the same problem with my cats. I try to cover them until everything starts growing.
My cats like the mulch more
I took leaf mold from a compost pile, (partially composted and looks like the wet pages of a book) and placed them moist down side on my germinating seeds. I had amazing germination, attracted worms, and it may discourage cats from thinking it is the restroom as it makes a carpet over the site. My neighbor puts out a box of pellets and the cats use that for their business. He says, it decomposes quickly, hides the odor, and then he side-dresses his tomato plants and they love it. Just some ideas.
I need to find a way to keep the squirrels out if my garden
They pooed in my raised bed that is covered in wood shavings from the start. They don't care.
I tried everything from sticking plastic forks in the beds to liquid fence....I don't think I ever found a fool proof method.
Wood chips should be seasoned, correct?
Many, many years ago I had a treadle sewing machine and a cat that stood on the medal ornate pedal and defecated. The answer was whole cloves. Problem solved. We had a neighborhood cat that began using our raised beds in the past while. I ordered bulk cloves and sprinkled them around. Safe, inexpensive and cats hate cloves. No more cats safely asked to leave❣️
We laid chicken wire on top of the soil cutting out areas for plants we put in. The cats won't dig in that!
Mulch the garden and then make a small patch a foot or two away of freshly turned soil beside the garden with no mulch. They will use that instead of your food growing area.
Sprinkle Ground Pepper
Has anyone tried mothballs? I was told to place them every 3-4 feet around the garden beds to keep cats away. (Apparently they don’t like the smell 🤷♀️)
Be careful with mothballs…. They are actually a pesticide chemical. Very harmful to children and animals.
What are they made of? How would that affect your food source?
Maybe make the cats a bed with catnip would keep them away from the other stuff🤷🏻♀️
We have a major cat over population problems in our town of just under 200. The problem os the really nice lady who keeps feeding them. The cats use my yards for a toilet to the point I can't enjoy my yard. It's a nightmare!!!
Cat’s don’t like lavender and they won’t go near it so maybe you could pick sprigs of lavender and lie in your bed for gravel areas like driveway and ornamental gardens I use lavender final rinse product called whizz for your laundry room but diluted in watering can over the gravel area and the cats won’t use it for their toilet area. For general flowerbeds I also use it but not for food crops but dried lavenders do the trick for stopping cats from toilet in general so I use it around my fence lines for un neutered cats for Tom cats that spray and they don’t like the smell of lavender
But, have you ever seen a male cat back up to something and blow bullets of pee out to mark his territory? It can go 3'+ high even if he doesn't literally jump in the bed itself. Open to ideas on this. Thanks for your video! 🙂
Electric fence
a pellet gun works pefectly...
Mothball flakes around garden bed
I WONDER if that would help keep fireants away, as well? I'm in Texas and everyone here struggles with the ants in their raised beds and (even) pots! 😑
Is that safe for veggies
Put chicken wire over it and it will protect from birds and cats.
A bamboo cane usually does the trick
I don't know when you went to these Pantry Chat Podcast short junk, but I don't like these and don't even bother watching most of them.
Not helpful
Keep Cats out by almost any means!