In the summer, cats using your garden as a toilet can be particularly unpleasant.
An ugly deed can leave a pungent smell in the garden and make it difficult to garden, eat outside and enjoy the garden.
One person who had enough of cats pooping in her garden was Facebook user Glenis Keeling. She asked the social media group ‘Mrs Hinch Gardening Tips’ for advice.
He wrote: “How can I stop cats from using my garden pots as a toilet? I read somewhere that someone used cinnamon sprinkled in the pot.”
Although some gardeners suggested the use of spices, the most suggested solution was the use of citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges.
Mallows Sally replied: “I use citrus peel as they hate the smell – it works for me and my garden has been cat poo free for weeks.”
Lyndsey Wells agreed and wrote: “I use lemon juice that comes in little plastic lemons. Cats don’t like citrus so I spray it all over my garden.”
Marian Walker said: “Cat lover told me to spray lemon juice. They don’t like the smell of lemon. Works for me.”
Sue Willoughby also wrote: “orange peel – they hate the smell and it’s environmentally friendly too.”
Lesley Fawcett wrote: “I read about putting halved oranges around the garden. I do that and it works.”
Cats naturally dislike strong citrus scents because they are too pungent for their noses. Other odors they dislike include garlic, ammonia, vinegar and coffee.
A pack of four lemons can be bought from Tesco and Aldi for just 65p, which works out to 16p per lemon.
Other suggestions from Mrs Hinch fans to prevent cats from pooping in the garden included using chilli powder, spices such as curry powder and broken twigs.
Pam Gardner said, “Pepper, paprika, curry powder, I’ve used them all and they all work.”
Amanda Jane replied: “Broken branches stacked vertically in piles work really well.”
Jacqueline Swan commented: “I used extra hot chili powder and it also keeps foxes, slugs and snails away.”
