Love animals but not in my veg bed
Posted by EnaicSage@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 40 comments
Praying you all have an easy idea. I’m trying to get my vegetable garden to thrive so I can can items. I love animals to the point I’m almost vegetarian. My seedlings keeping dying because we live urban but the neighbor has 8 outdoor cats. City won’t do anything about it. The cats won’t stop using my veg beds as a bathroom. Afraid coffee and pepper powder would change the ph of the soil. Fencing around means I can’t easily work the bed. Anyone have a tried and true but absolutely kind to animals way to redirect these cats back to the owners property? I just want to be able to grow my own food.
Po-Tay-Toz@reddit
Put forks in the soil every 4 inches with the tines up or get one of those cat strips with spikes for gardens.
flyinmonkees@reddit
This. My cat was doing the same and I just stuck a bunch of sticks in between where I planted and it worked better than anything else I tried.
Desperate-Walk395@reddit
I’m have four cats who love to use my beds as litter boxes. I use this system - I got the materials in the plumbing system. I cover the hoops with netting. The plus is I can switch out the netting for plastic when it’s cold to extend the growing season.
TheRealDarthMinogue@reddit
I put plastic lattice down over all my beds. It's cheap as chips and cats don't shit there because they can't dig. Doesn't look pretty initially but once the plants are grown this can't even notice.
milfnkookeez@reddit
I believe plastic forks sticking up from the ground helps!
DanoPinyon@reddit
Live traps.
Many years ago now I shared a cubicle with a woman who took a call from her husband who was in the garage shooting the neighbors cats, because they refused to keep them inside to keep my co-workers baby safe. So they eliminated the threat.
Point being: people don't care. Do what you need to do. Live trap the cats and take them to the shelter. Let your neighbor know where they are.
IncindiaryImmersion@reddit
People who own outdoor cats are allowing them to kill off excessive amounts of birds and other small animals while feeding and sheltering them to create what becomes basically a mega predator within it's roaming range. The cats also risk exposure to disease, parasites, injury, and who knows what else. Outdoor cat owners are irresponsible assholes. Get live traps and traps the cats then take them to a shelter where hopefully they can be adopted by someone who uses critical thinking and actively tends to and cares for their animals instead of recklessly endangering their pets and local wildlife by letting the cats roam free in an urban environment.
Bionicbelly-1@reddit
This is so stupid. One of our cats loved being outside. He came in and went out as he pleased. Kept the chipmunks and rabbits out of the garden. Kept the mice away. Cats are viable pest control around gardens and homesteads.
Our other cat cannot be trusted outside by himself. He is orange and he is stupid.
IncindiaryImmersion@reddit
Not nearly as stupid as claiming that you care for your pet while allowing them exposure to parasites, predators, poisons, and diseases, and also allowing them to cause ecocide in your local bioregion. Do your own pest control and stop endangering animals, lazy ass.
preppers-ModTeam@reddit
You comment is unrelated to emergency preparedness, and to the post you are replying
Power-of-Erised@reddit
Fully agree. I let my two indoor cats outside in the fully fenced backyard for a few minutes every so often, but my fiancé and I are there with them, keeping an eye and allowing them to sniff around at nature. Aside from crated trips to the vet, that's the only outside time they ever get.
IncindiaryImmersion@reddit
Nice! That's a very responsible way to allow them outside time while also making sure they do not do anything that could get them injured or injure any other animals.
Power-of-Erised@reddit
We're thinking of getting a catio that we can put in the grass and give them more outside time without risk of them running off or getting injured
IncindiaryImmersion@reddit
Outdoor enclosures are a great idea.
Pearl-2017@reddit
They might be feral. Most municipalities will not take feral cats; they will just TNR them.
IncindiaryImmersion@reddit
Fine with me as long as those cats are no longer causing ecocide or depositing parasites in people's gardens. Such is the price that must be paid for people without critical thinking capabilities who excessively breed and buy cats. No community can realistically take care of hordes of neglected abandoned animals. Probably should put a stop to the for-profit pet industry and all backyard breeders to curb that problem at the source.
Pearl-2017@reddit
TNR means they release them back where they were found.
I completely agree we need to end dog & cat breeding until the stray population is under control.
IncindiaryImmersion@reddit
My misunderstanding then. So then the solution is to avoid dropping them at a TNR shelter and instead drive them as far as necessary to get them to a shelter that will not release them. Whatever it takes to get them far away from shitting in the garden.
croque4@reddit
Spread cayenne pepper around the bed. Tried and true! From a friend of course
Bamalouie@reddit
Have you tried a garden cage?
Dadd_io@reddit
Get a dog ... But the motion activated sprinkler is actually amazing!
Seversevens@reddit
The perfect solution for you is the motion activated sprinkler
Palavras@reddit
And/or catnip in a location far from the veggie bed lol
EmberOnTheSea@reddit
This is the answer.
ScrooU2@reddit
Moth balls. The menthol in em keeps snakes away but cats don’t seem to care for em either. The downside being that you’d have to drop one every stride or so (sorry I don’t have any exact measurements to give) to keep a large cat group barrier up, which means you’ll have an awful strong menthol smell.
Your neighbor is a dick.
KCaScTiVaCri@reddit
Agreed with the last statement, 😜but make sure not to use moth balls with naphthalene as those are toxic/carcinogen for humans.
infiltrating_enemies@reddit
Cats DESPISE citrus scents. I ended up getting rid of lemon antibac spray and subbing it for lavender because my girl freaked and refused to go near wherever I'd sprayed. I'd personally lay down some shredded and dried orange or lemon peel, it will change your soul pH but not by much, and if you're that concerned, you can cancel it out with lime/quicklime scattered in the soil
Pearl-2017@reddit
I used to use citrus cleaners & my cats were not phased. I switched to lavender just because I like it better. Supposedly lavender oil is toxic for cats but we haven't had any issues at all.
I have heard rosemary is a deterrent.
Pearl-2017@reddit
What about rosemary? I do a lot of cat trapping, which unfortunately includes TNR because that's the only legal option I have for truly feral cats. I looked into ways to have a garden & these shit head cats & I saw that rosemary is something they don't like.
Ok_Cartographer4626@reddit
Someone I know grows catnip far away from their garden. All the cats gravitate to the catnip and leave her garden alone. Catnip is easy to grow, has medicinal uses (for humans), and keeps cats happy and sleepy so it’s a win-win!
Uncle_Sam_Bot@reddit
I grow a bucket of catnip in front of my spinach as a distraction lol
big_bob_c@reddit
If you're handy, a box frame made out of pvc pipe and covered with netting might help. You can lift it out of the way to work then put it back when you are done.
ativamnesia@reddit
Just use netting over your beds. Easily removable and should keep them out.
SunLillyFairy@reddit
My dad did some very low voltage wiring around his garden beds. It wasn't strong like an electric fence, so it wouldn't hurt them (or him) but it was uncomfortable to touch. It also keeps slugs out.
We have a little garden in a fenced area and have all sorts of creatures trying to mess with it... cats, birds, raccoons... not to mention there's a big oak tree that makes leaves a huge hassle in the fall. So we put netting over it, like this, but we have it attached to the fence.
No-Feed-1999@reddit
Motion activated sprinkler works on chipmunks too
LtDangley@reddit
Live traps and then sell the cats on Craigslist or Facebook
SLC-Originals@reddit
My grandmother used Irish spring soap shavings around her garden and the deer and rabbits stayed away. Planting Herb Robert around your garden also deters deer and rabbits. Hope this helps
MrHmuriy@reddit
A couple of catnip balls to throw to the neighbors....
verminians@reddit
So they can get all tweaked up and then run around in the garden!! Sorry, I have cats, and this would absolutely backfire spectacularly. They have no decency.
milsurpfarts@reddit
Hate to say it but restricting access is probably your easiest solution. Despite my wanting easy access to our raised beds in our dense suburban neighborhood I had to put up 24 inch fencing to keep rabbits from getting in and digging everything up. It’s mostly a pain at the start of the season as I’m getting the beds ready but it’s a small sacrifice to give us a protected growing space.
I am also curious if folks have other solutions for you, but that’s just what worked for us.