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wood chips

Posted by hangfire none (My Page) on
Thu, Jul 14, 11 at 12:34

What can we put on our mulch around our flowers to discourage the cats from using it for a bathroom? Thanks in advance.


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: wood chips

A dog?


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RE: wood chips

rose maybe work.


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RE: wood chips

Anything they can't scratch up. Maybe loose pieces of flagstone. Those can be taken up as needed to accommodate growing plants, or once the cats have lost interest, which they might. Lay them with narrow enough gaps that a cat's paw can't get access.

But other creatures scratch and dig too, so I think rearranging is just part of having mulch. You might look into some ground cover plants that would grow to cover the area instead. Something creeping like the rug junipers or something herbaceous that spreads via roots.

You might also choose plants that will cover a good patch beyond their stems, like hostas or mature peony clumps, and plant them close enough to touch.

KarinL


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RE: wood chips

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RE: wood chips

I think most cats hate the smell of citrus, so maybe if you grew plants that had that kind of smell it would help deter them.

Are these your cats or neighborhood cats?


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RE: wood chips

Lay thorny twigs (roses, mesquite, whatever) across the mulch in a criss-criss pattern. They hate walking on thorns.

For something a bit more gardener friendly, lay lattice across the mulched areas. They don't have room to dig.


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