gardeners with pets:

[Denisemomof4]

HOW can I keep my dogs and cats out of a flowerbed? I have a garden bed that I ripped EVERYTHING out of and then promptly DEEPLY mulched to keep the animals away. I only left two perennials in it. The dogs AND cats have turned this area into their litter box since I ripped everything out, and they killed my favorite plant of the two. Today I planted a hibiscus tree and some full sun impatiens in the bed, all of which will pulled out and over wintered inside. The hibiscus will be in a south facing window, the impatiens in the green house. I'm experimenting with the impatiens.

 

Even though I've deeply mulched this bed, the cats and dogs are still using it. I can't have them kill my hibiscus tree! How can I keep them out? I read that DAILY placing out ammonia soaked cotton balls will help. Yeah, that will get old FAST. Any other ideas? This is a full sun area.

 

We have a HUGE yard with PLENTY of areas to go. I don't know WHY they're choosing my flowerbeds this year.

[Denisemomof4]

really? Nobody has issues with pets turning a garden bed into a toilet?

 

I guess I never should have torn everything out to start over. This was never an issue before.

[Truscifi]

Bury chicken wire just under the surface. It will be uncomfortable on their paws and they will avoid it. Also, I have heard moth balls will keep them away.

[myfunnybunch]

LOL, It's not that no one has this problem. We just can't solve it either. My first thought was, "Oh boy, I hope someone comes up with something that really works."

 

There are sprays you can buy at the pet or garden store. They need to be sprayed regularly.

 

You can try:

Cayenne pepper

Citrus rinds (lemon, lime, orange)

Coffee grounds

Eggshells

Mint

 

I've tried all of those with limited success.

 

They make motion-activated sprinklers. Haven't tried that.

 

If you've got lots of space (I think you are out in the country?) you might try finding a spot that you don't horribly mind them using and make sure it's got loose, bare soil.

 

You can shriek like a wild person and run out of the house yelling and waving your arms every time you see the cats near that spot, but the only ones permanently frightened by that tactic are the neighbors.

 

Good luck. I hope someone has some better ideas for you (and me!).

 

Cat

[ChristusG]

We had a vegetable garden, but not a flower garden. I made it a raised bed one. Our dogs never messed with it.

[vettechmomof2]

I do not have the problem only because the dogs have their own fenced area and I do not garden in their area. My gardens are elsewhere on our property because as animals I feel it is easier to train myself then train them not to use those areas.

So my suggestion would be to move the plant ;)

You can train animals to dig only at certain areas but then you must provide a nice deep area for them to dig in and to teach them that those are the areas to work in. I just find it easier to train myself.:tongue_smilie:

[OrganicAnn]

There is a type of coleus that will keep dogs and cats away. It has names like cat scat and dog be gone. Coleus is an easy plant to root and you can bring in clippings and over winter it. You could turn one plant into many if you really try. Plus they have attractive foliage. We grow coleus, but not those varieties because we don't have that problem.

[AK_Mom4]

We had a vegetable garden, but not a flower garden. I made it a raised bed one. Our dogs never messed with it.

 

Our pups LOVED my raised bed this year. They jumped up and ate all of the zucchini, pumpkins and squash. The only thing they left was a pathetic sunflower and a bunch of nastursiums.

 

They also greatly enjoyed the motion-sensitive sprinkler. Until they ate that too.....

 

Sorry - no fixes here for keeping pets out.

[Happy]

LOL, It's not that no one has this problem. We just can't solve it either. My first thought was, "Oh boy, I hope someone comes up with something that really works."

 

There are sprays you can buy at the pet or garden store. They need to be sprayed regularly.

 

You can try:

Cayenne pepper

Citrus rinds (lemon, lime, orange)

Coffee grounds

Eggshells

Mint

 

I've tried all of those with limited success.

 

They make motion-activated sprinklers. Haven't tried that.

 

If you've got lots of space (I think you are out in the country?) you might try finding a spot that you don't horribly mind them using and make sure it's got loose, bare soil.

 

You can shriek like a wild person and run out of the house yelling and waving your arms every time you see the cats near that spot, but the only ones permanently frightened by that tactic are the neighbors.Good luck. I hope someone has some better ideas for you (and me!).

 

Cat

 

The bolded is my preferred method...actually, I froth at the mouth. :lol: My dogs look at me strangely....

 

I don't worry so much about cats. I like cats in my yard because they keep down small furry critters I do NOT want in my house. Cats don't tend to use just one of my beds either, so I might feel different if they only used the bed beneath my porch swing. If that were the case, I'd do the chicken wire.

 

For dogs, I use knee-high wire fencing from Home Depot. These are sold in sections that fold up and are almost invisible, but help the dog understand the boundaries. Just stick them in the ground. Then, TRAIN. I spend a ton of time outdoors, either gardening or reading, or just sitting, so I can catch the cute little doggies when they first set foot on the non-lawn part of the yard. When that paw touches mulch, I begin frothing :lol: Doesn't take long for a reasonably intelligent dog to figure out life is more pleasant out of the flowerbeds.

 

Crate or confine the dog for a while when you can't be out there until they get the idea.

 

I've also used an egg/water mix blended with just a touch of dishsoap sprayed on plants. Rabbits hate it. If you add a heaping teaspoon of cayenne pepper to a quart of this mix, dogs would feel a bite.

 

Some plants are more enticing to dogs. We had a golden retriever who could not leave a certain type of vine alone. I quit trying to plant it.

 

Keep after them. They will get the hang of it.

 

Edited to add....I train my dogs to go potty only in certain areas of the yard. That in itself helps keep them from trampling through the flower and garden beds. I also give them a moist, shady spot to lounge in during the summer. That helps keep them where I want them, too.

Edited August 15, 2011 by Happy

[Denisemomof4]

thanks everyone. This is going to be frustrating. I was wondering if coyote pee would keep the cats out. The dogs will just have to deal with my yelling to scoot them out...... but I do have one dog that can barely hear.

 

This only started this year. Of course. We've been here 15 years and all the animals decided this year would be a wonderful one to find a new place to take over as the toilet. Siiiiiiiiiiiigh.

 

I wish there was a fix for dogs, cats, and DUCKS. I got mad at my pet duck for plucking the flowers off my new plants. He does this when I'm too busy to give him attention. I blocked him off in the rooster area today and let the rooster run around. He wasn't happy but was extra sweet when I let him out at the end of the day.:lol:

[black_midori]

Our fix is to give up on planting in the yard and work on buying/building a nice big greenhouse for next year... :) Hopefully THAT will work - for the birds eating our nice berries, too!! Our biggest problem, though, is that the grass won't stop growing (even though we have ripped with a deep tiller, sprayed kill-all multiple times, and spent way too many hours yanking!). Sigh.

[LibraryLover]

I have a good mouser who likes to dig in a couple of my veggie beds. Dh and I put a strip of window screening over a couple of the raised beds until the seedlings take. Cat seems to like beans best. Once they are sprouted and a couple of inches high, he leaves them alone...but the seedlings...what? Why?

Edited August 15, 2011 by LibraryLover