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Good Cat/Fox Repellent (Natural or Spray)?

Robsy128Robsy128 Posts: 8
in Problem solving
I'm not sure which it is, to be honest - either a really poorly cat that refuses to clean up after itself, or a fox. I've seen plenty of cats in the local neighbourhood (just outside of Hereford), but no foxes, so I'm supposing it's the former. 

Either way, something is repeatedly fouling in my front garden and leaving a pungent stench which is awful for visitors coming up the path to the front door! It's like coming to the "House of Poo". 

My Dad recommended Jeyes Fluid (I know it's a patio cleaner) as he's had success with that in the past, but unfortunately that hasn't worked for me. 

It's mainly happening in areas that haven't developed, or beneath my butterfly bush beside the front gate. I've put down woodchips as that fought the smell even after I had cleaned the mess up, but the wretched creature returned and fouled on top of it! 

So, before my new house gets a reputation with the postman and neighbours, and before I spend a fortune in the local garden centre, does anyone have any recommendations for good repellent for cats and foxes? 
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Posts

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    No chance.
    When you buy anything that says it is a repellent as soon as it rains then you are back to square one. Some plants are supposed to be good for keeping cats away but again we have had no success.
    We have had cats fouling in our garden and orchard for years. We have tried all sorts of things including the sonic deterrents. No use at all.
    We just have to be careful when walking especially in the orchard but we are so fed up of having to keep looking down instead of admiring our lovely fruit trees.
    Maybe others will come up with a solution.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hundreds of threads on this I'm afraid. Forget all the usual stuff about holly, bamboo sticks etc etc . None of those have ever worked here. 
    Water scarecrow is the most effective, but they don't survive frost. 
    Some of the sonic deterrents apparently work, but they're hard to get just now.

    More £s for @Hostafan1.... ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
     :D
    Another £1 
    Devon.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    edited September 2021
    @Robsy128, I've had some success with the brown plastic trellis /fencing roll (the more solid kind with 2" squares or so) pegged tight down over the flower beds/bark mulch paths so the cats/fox can't dig. Doesn't always work as some lazy cats don't dig but it does help. 

    @bertrand-mabel Might also work in the orchard if it's not a big space, the grass can grow up through it.

    We've also invested in one of the more expensive (£50) sonic deterrents in the veg beds. I can't say it eliminates the problem completely but it has reduced it considerably.

    Another £1 for you Hosta!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    "does anyone have any recommendations for good repellent for cats and foxes? "

    There is no spray that works. Choose either water spray or RSPB sonic deterrant.

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    @Lizzie27 We had 2 cats many decades ago that did dig and cover their mess.
    The cats that come into our area now DON'T.
    They just foul any area on the top of grass, soil etc.
    So trellis wouldn't work but thank you for the suggestion.
  • Robsy128Robsy128 Posts: 8
    Thanks, all. 

    And thanks @Lizzie27! It’s a good suggestion, though I think I’m in the same position as @bertrand-mabel in that the cat will mess on whatever I put down. 

    I suppose I’ll have to keep cleaning it up whenever I see it until all the earth has been covered with flowers and foliage! 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The only answer is total groundcover, and that can be difficult. 
    All I'll say is that some of these cats people get coming in that are put off by sticks and trellis must be real wimps. Why should people have to resort to this anyway. It's ridiculous.
    I've had raised beds which had bamboo hoops and skewers in them - like the traps the Vietcong used during the Vietnam war, and it made no difference.  They still sat on the edge and cr*pped in them. On the grass, yes. Anywhere.
    You have my sympathy @Robsy128. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    RSPB sonic devices have transformed by gardens front and back. No heaps of steaming crap every day. Hardly any trace of cats at all. 
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I agree @Fire. That's the one we bought, although I was highly sceptical. It doesn't stop all the neighbourhood cats all the time but there's definitely less. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
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