There could be a few reasons you’d like to keep cats away from your house. You may have a lovely yard you want to protect. You could have a vibrant garden you take pride in, luscious trees, and freshly mowed green grass. The last thing you want is for stray cats to come into your yard and mess it up. On the other hand, you might suffer from severe cat allergies, in which case you want to keep cats away from your house. This doesn’t mean you don’t love animals, it just means you’d like to keep your space free of random cat droppings and cat dander. You may not want to put up an ugly fence to keep out unwanted cats. After all, you want to show off your garden to those who pass by.
You want your home to be a welcoming environment, not closed off to people. Rather than getting a dog to guard against cats, there are natural ways to keep cats away from the house. Here are a few tips on how to make your own natural cat repellant.
Cats have a very keen sense of smell. There are particular odors cats just do not tolerate, and will avoid at all costs. You can sprinkle the following items around the perimeter of your home to keep cats away.
- Cayenne pepper
- Dried mustard
- Dried rosemary
- Coffee grounds
- Lavender oil
- Lemongrass oil
- Blood meal
- Eucalyptus oil
- Peppermint oil
- Cinnamon oil
It’s fairly simple to apply these scents, particularly the scented oils. Fill a spray bottle with warm water, and add in five to ten drops of any of the oils. Mix well and spray the plants and grass with the mixture. There’s no need to soak everything completely, A few squirts should suffice. If one particular scent doesn’t work by itself, try combining a few together. The smell of citrus is also unpleasant for cats. Lemon peels and orange peels could be placed around the perimeter of the house also. Spraying cloths with citrus scents and placing them strategically throughout your yard can keeps cats away.
If you do have a garden, there are certain plants you can add that are natural cat repellants. You can border your garden with the following herbs to prevent cats from coming into your yard.
- Rosemary
- Garlic
- Citronella
- Lavender
- Lemongrass
- Eucalyptus
These plants will let stray cats know this is not the place they want to be. You can also place mothballs around your garden, as cats do not like mothballs.
Ammonia is another scent that can work as a cat repellant. Spraying the perimeter of your house with ammonia will keep cats away. This is due to the ammonia having a smell resembling that of other animals. The odor is very strong and doesn’t take a large amount to accomplish the task.
It’s a good idea to replace these deterrents every now and then, to keep the repellants fresh and working well. Particularly after a rain storm. All of these options are safe to use, and will not be harmful to cats or other animals. These options are also safe for your yard and garden. You don’t need to use a lot of any one scent, because of the cat’s strong sense of smell. They can smell odors in small doses that humans can’t.
Natural cat repellants are fairly easy to achieve yourself. They’re much more convenient than investing in a guard dog. They also won’t take away from your yard’s natural beauty like having a bunch of netting over your plants and flowers would. These are just a few suggestions on how to make your own natural cat repellant.
Photo by cobalt123
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