Hi Mike 160304, ultrasonics have been mentioned at least a couple of times. Before mine was half inched I had to replace the battery every two weeks as the only place I could site it was facing a footpath.
Sorry, "mentioned", yes.
My ultrasonic worked but used 6 AA batteries and I never knew when they were weakening, short of taking them out and checking them.
I have now, later yesterday, bought a much cheaper, shop-soiled CatWatch and mains adapter on Ebay, and the mains adapter is the main point - the maker says the signal is 35% stronger with the mains adapter, and the RSPB says the CatWatch works, but we shall wait and see.
Fortunately, I can site the CatWatch to cover the flower bed where we have 90% of the problem. To cover all the flower beds we would need at least 4 more units.
I got tired of trying to throw a pint of water from a big beer mug at cats. I did have a spectacular success with a big tabby Tom that ran up a tree, but it came back of course. A water pistol sounded great fun, but more fun than real deterrent, I think.
Those bottles of cat crystals etc are a frustrating way of spending a lot of money. Even the instructions sound a bit pessimistic - "remove old faeces" etc, etc.
Water pistol (or the hose...) is great if you can catch the little buggers in the vicinity. I've found powered ginger has worked pretty well. It's about 70p a bag (so very cheap) from my local Asian supermarket and depending on how bad the problem is, depends how liberally you need to sprinkle it about. Makes the garden smell like ginger nuts
The areas I have noticed where they like to dig to poo/wee I have sprinkled hot madras powder. As the areas are often discreet, it doesn't matter about the colour in the beds. Enjoy that up your nose kitty mwhahaha!
You do have to reapply it every so often (I'm obsesssive and been doing it every 3 days) but yes, it's working well and the cats are learning and its a very cheap solution compared to ultra-sonic things, lion poo pellets and other products which don't work. I've also got smashed up bits of sea shell around the garden for the slugs and snails which also have the benefit of annoying the cats too
IS there a cat deterrant called 'Shoo Cat ' ? I think it came in a box of voices, and whenever a cat came in the garden, you opened the box up, set on LOUD, and it thundered out in stentorian tones, SHOO, CAT ! and they were only 2/6 old money for a voice rendition !
Lion crap is for when a cat comes in, and you shout at the lion, 'YOU'VE CROSSED THE LION/LINE' , or whichever is applicable
I seem to remember a product a long time ago, called, 'Fox Off ', but never actually SAW the stuff on any shelves. I have a sneaking feeling that the salesperson was one of the two Ronnies !!!
I love cats and have always owned one until a few years ago but yes, they are a pest to gardeners at times.
My experiences and tips:
1) Ultrasonic device - works well on my parents balcony, but if you have sensitive ears (like me!) you can actually hear it. Also uses up a lot of battery unless wired into mains, as you'll activate it every time you are pottering about too.
2) Silent Roar never worked for me and smelt foul, as did everything it touched!
3) Pepper Dust and Organic Cat repellent from Growing Success (based on garlic powder) both VERY effective especially for sprinkling around newly seeded beds and pots (mine were marauded by cats until I found these). Pepper dust downside- disappears at the first rain. Garlic powder - last longer but you can see the whiteness of the tiny spots against the soil (if that bothers you).
4) I take lengths of bamboo cane and chop them to 30cm lengths, then stick these in the bare ground all around my garden - they can't get past them.
5) For larger plot of seed bed, I cover with a big, fine meshed cloche (folds up and goes into shed easily for rest of the year). It fixes into ground with tent pegs and works very well.
I also shoo them away whenever I catch them at it and throw water in their direction - keeps them away a bit, but one is very brazen and just waits 'til I'm out
Lov'em dearly and would never harm one, but they've cost me a fortune in ruined plants and seeds - until I wisened up to all the above!
Good luck - remember they are creatures of habit, so whatever you do/use, you have to be religius and maintain your habit, to deter theirs.
I have been having problems with cats - DISGUSTING !!!! I took the advice of orange pe.el and that seems to working. I cut it into shreds so it doesn't look unsightly in the border
Posts
Sorry, "mentioned", yes.
My ultrasonic worked but used 6 AA batteries and I never knew when they were weakening, short of taking them out and checking them.
I have now, later yesterday, bought a much cheaper, shop-soiled CatWatch and mains adapter on Ebay, and the mains adapter is the main point - the maker says the signal is 35% stronger with the mains adapter, and the RSPB says the CatWatch works, but we shall wait and see.
Fortunately, I can site the CatWatch to cover the flower bed where we have 90% of the problem. To cover all the flower beds we would need at least 4 more units.
I got tired of trying to throw a pint of water from a big beer mug at cats. I did have a spectacular success with a big tabby Tom that ran up a tree, but it came back of course. A water pistol sounded great fun, but more fun than real deterrent, I think.
Those bottles of cat crystals etc are a frustrating way of spending a lot of money. Even the instructions sound a bit pessimistic - "remove old faeces" etc, etc.
A Shotgun is pretty good
Water pistol (or the hose...) is great if you can catch the little buggers in the vicinity. I've found powered ginger has worked pretty well. It's about 70p a bag (so very cheap) from my local Asian supermarket and depending on how bad the problem is, depends how liberally you need to sprinkle it about. Makes the garden smell like ginger nuts
The areas I have noticed where they like to dig to poo/wee I have sprinkled hot madras powder. As the areas are often discreet, it doesn't matter about the colour in the beds. Enjoy that up your nose kitty mwhahaha!
You do have to reapply it every so often (I'm obsesssive and been doing it every 3 days) but yes, it's working well and the cats are learning and its a very cheap solution compared to ultra-sonic things, lion poo pellets and other products which don't work. I've also got smashed up bits of sea shell around the garden for the slugs and snails which also have the benefit of annoying the cats too
Whenever i catch cats in my garden i always chase them off and shout at them.
Over time they seem to come in less and less so that is kind of a solution. They must hate me
IS there a cat deterrant called 'Shoo Cat ' ? I think it came in a box of voices, and whenever a cat came in the garden, you opened the box up, set on LOUD, and it thundered out in stentorian tones, SHOO, CAT ! and they were only 2/6 old money for a voice rendition !
Lion crap is for when a cat comes in, and you shout at the lion, 'YOU'VE CROSSED THE LION/LINE' , or whichever is applicable
I seem to remember a product a long time ago, called, 'Fox Off ', but never actually SAW the stuff on any shelves. I have a sneaking feeling that the salesperson was one of the two Ronnies !!!
I love cats and have always owned one until a few years ago but yes, they are a pest to gardeners at times.
My experiences and tips:
1) Ultrasonic device - works well on my parents balcony, but if you have sensitive ears (like me!) you can actually hear it. Also uses up a lot of battery unless wired into mains, as you'll activate it every time you are pottering about too.
2) Silent Roar never worked for me and smelt foul, as did everything it touched!
3) Pepper Dust and Organic Cat repellent from Growing Success (based on garlic powder) both VERY effective especially for sprinkling around newly seeded beds and pots (mine were marauded by cats until I found these). Pepper dust downside- disappears at the first rain. Garlic powder - last longer but you can see the whiteness of the tiny spots against the soil (if that bothers you).
4) I take lengths of bamboo cane and chop them to 30cm lengths, then stick these in the bare ground all around my garden - they can't get past them.
5) For larger plot of seed bed, I cover with a big, fine meshed cloche (folds up and goes into shed easily for rest of the year). It fixes into ground with tent pegs and works very well.
I also shoo them away whenever I catch them at it and throw water in their direction - keeps them away a bit, but one is very brazen and just waits 'til I'm out
Lov'em dearly and would never harm one, but they've cost me a fortune in ruined plants and seeds - until I wisened up to all the above!
Good luck - remember they are creatures of habit, so whatever you do/use, you have to be religius and maintain your habit, to deter theirs.
I have been having problems with cats - DISGUSTING !!!! I took the advice of orange pe.el and that seems to working. I cut it into shreds so it doesn't look unsightly in the border
Hi Paddy,
Is the Problem cat a 'Marmalade' cat by any chance ? If this is the case, you stand NO chance, Mate !
Stangely enough one is !!!!!!!! It still worked lol !!