Cats are destroying my garden beds...HELP

[DrGreenThumb]

We have been noticing that every time we work on our raised beds, somehow cats make their way in very late at night or early in the morning from the neighborhood and defecating and destroying the work done. I have tried pepper and recently orange peels. Nothing seems to be working...any suggestions on how to deter these critters in a safe, harmless way? Thanks!

[webmaster]

Chicken wire. My friend with the urban backyard farm had a problem with squirrels eating their harvest so they put chicken wire around the problem areas.

[coloradogardening]

Hi I am new to the forum and I was scrolling through the topics when I came across the one about cats in your garden beds. The one thing I found that works for me is when I trim my pyracantha shrub I put the trimmings on top the beds. The cats nor my dogs like those thorns. You could also use branches off a shrub rose.

[DrGreenThumb]

Thanks for the suggestions, we will surely try those out. I did have one more concern: Is there any danger to cats defecating in the soil? Will I have to dig out that portion of the garden bed? It has been raining lately and would not want the soil to be destroyed because of bacteria seeping down from cat poop. Thanks!

[coloradogardening]

Dog and cat droopings can carry roundworms and other parasitic nematodes. Gardeners can ingest the eggs from the roundworms from the contamiated soil. Additionally, make sure you wash the vegetables before eating if you know that a cat has been using your bed.

The best thing is to prevent them from using your beds. If they do, make sure you clean out the droopings.