Pest problem in the moss garden.

Someone's neutered tom has decided my moss garden is his spot. Moss takes a while to recover from the resulting brown spot, and when the cat paws, he pulls up blankets of moss.

I have already spoken to my neighbour about her cat (there is a bylaw against any roaming pets), and she does her best to keep him indoors, but there are other people who aren't so diligent.

Anyone have any cat repellents that won't displace the moss? I'm already pulling up mint and other herbs from the same neighbour's herb garden on the other side of my fence, but since I get a nice tea or supper out of it, I don't mind. I should mention that this moss garden is located in a deep sun- and partial rain-shadow on the north side of my house. Even at solstice, it's shaded. The moss chose the spot, I just stopped trying to get anything else to grow. The sod didn't even put down roots -- it peeled right up after three years! And the clover seeds I put down hardly sprouted.

Over the winter, I can put my chicken-wire pea trellises on top to guard the moss until the snow comes, but in the summer, I want to enjoy it under my bare feet as I hang up my washing.

Elfie

There are sprinklers with motion detectors that are designed to keep cats off your property. Water is a great tool for training cats.
Just a thought...

The sprinklers are called scarecrows and are available through several catalog companies. I use them to keep the deer out of my garden and they really work well.
(Although it's really irritating to forget they're "armed" and walk in front on them!)

My husband would love the idea of setting up a motion-detecting sprinkler system. My kids would love the idea of a self-activated sprinkler. I would love to have the composter-raiding raccoons set it off, too.

However, we are subjected to a regular watering ban every year. I know, "Southern Ontario" and "watering ban" seem to be mutually exclusive, but there you are. It has to do with everyone needing a lawn the consistency of mink fur.

I was hoping for a miracle non-invasive, shade-loving, water-economical, cat-repelling plant, or perhaps the cat equivalent of Irish Spring soap.

Maybe I'll just cage the entire yard with chicken wire over the top of the fence. It's possible: the yard is small. :-/

Cayenne pepper?

The scarecrows only blast water when the sensor beam is interupted, and then it only uses 2 cups of water. You can turn them off in the day. Once your intruders have gotten wet a couple of time, they will learn "respect" for those nasty things that spray at them and you will be using even less water.

Now THAT sounds attractive! And maybe something to set up in the FRONT yard, too, where the neighbourhood kids pick my flowers! >:-)

I'll see what I can find out in my area code. Thanks for the info!

This may be a very unpopular opinion, but I've always found a bb gun or .22 rifle a great cat deterent. I'm told cat tastes just like chicken. (OK, just had to get that out of my system, now everyone can start yelling at me)

YELL,YELL,YELL.

Happy now?

I don't blame the cats for wanting to tread on my marvellously soft moss. I blame the keepers of said cats for violating the town bylaw against roaming animals. Especially when I had to dig out "gifts" from the cats in my garden, 6 months pregnant. I hate wearing gloves when I garden -- I feel so disconnected from what I'm doing.

I have two cats of my own, and they are never allowed out of doors. There's a coyote in the naturalized conservation park just at the end of my street, and a bear was spotted in the town just 15 km north of where I live. (1.6km per mile -- you do the math.)

The other cats in the neighbourhood have learned to be very afraid of me, without using air- or carbon-powered weapons. All it takes is a mean hiss and looming presence. For someone who's only 157cm (5'2") tall, I loom very well. :-)

Try black pepper.It helped in litter pan training a cat we had once, most smell before they leave their gifts,good luck,

Hey I like that hiss and looming presence thing. Sorry all about the nasty comment about shooting cats. As some of you know I am saddled with a cat i don't like and who doesn't like me. Yesterday morning she was getting on my nerves more than a little.

FYI -- Cat doesn't taste like chicken, it tastes like eel, without the salt. And cat's harder to pluck than a chicken. All that fur. ;-)

My cats have been getting on my nerves today, too. Pissing in my laundry baskets... I should feed them to the coyote.

Re: Moss: the chicken wire lattices have proven effective. But now I have bigger weeds to pull, because I haven't been getting at the teeny weeds as they germinate. And I just took down the washing line for the winter.

Fun to read about cats and their relation to our gardening. My cat is about a year and a half old now and we just finished our second season of gardening together. She loves it so and I love the company that I figure it is as much her garden as it is mine.

Last week I applied for a backyard wildlife habitat certificate, but I'm afraid my habitat includes a cat. That seems to quite a no-no as far as birders and wildlife habitat certifiers are concerned. We'll see. We call the cat "domesticated" and label it a threat to wildlife, but homo sapiens is domesticated, too, and we're a whole lot bigger threat. Do I have to stay indoors, then?

Now, if it we're my neighbor's cat that was hanging out in my garden I might come at this with the bb gun. (I've never fired a shot in my life, so I'm glad it hasn't come to that.)

I've heard that citrus peels repel cats. You could try grating some up and sprinkling it over the moss. Then you could let me know if it works so I don't give bad advice to anyone else!