There's nothing more annoying than finding out that your neighbour's cat has sneakily been relieving itself in your yard.
Cleaning up cat poop is the last thing you want to do, especially if you've spent a lot of time pruning and planting.
Cats have been known to sneak into other people's yards to relieve themselves. Photo Credit: Getty Fortunately, there are some easy ways to keep cats away. Photo Credit: Getty
One gardening enthusiast recently struggled with this issue and took to social media to vent their frustrations and ask for advice.
Linda posted in the Gardening Tips and Tricks Facebook group: “I'm sick of having other people's cat poop in my garden.
Luckily, other avid gardeners had the perfect solution: holly leaves.
“I've tried everything I can think of. Then I tried fresh branches of holly, placing them in the soil, on top of flower pots. That was six months ago. Haven't had any cat poop since,” one person replied to the post.
“This has proven to work,” a second person agreed.
Another person offered similar advice, commenting: “Scatter holly leaves around the area.”
Holly is known for its prickly leaves, which do not harm cats or wildlife, but may deter cats from relieving themselves there.
The pros at Gardener's World agree that this trick is a pretty cheap and fun method to rely on.
“Cats prefer to walk on soft soil and avoid thorny surfaces,” the researchers explained.
“They are also more likely to defecate in loose soil or compost.
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“Make flower beds and borders unattractive to pests by covering bare areas with twigs, pine cones and holly leaves, or by laying down chicken wire.”
You can buy holly plants from online sites such as Hedges Direct for just £8.99, or if your neighbours already have some they can lend you some spare leaves or branches.
There are several other plants that can help keep cats away from your garden.
Other ways to keep cats out of your garden
Do not feed
Whatever you do, don't feed the cat.
It may not seem like a big deal at the time, but feeding your cats will only bring stray cats back.
This includes making sure your trash cans are tightly closed.
Even if you don't purposely leave tasty treats outside, easily accessible leftovers can attract stray cats to your yard.
Keeping flower beds moist
Cats hate cold, wet mud, so keeping your flower beds damp will greatly reduce the chances of an inquisitive kitty digging up your petunias.
You may also consider purchasing a motion-activated sprinkler system.
These smart sprinklers spray water at animals that invade your lawn.
Once you've used your sprinklers to attack those unwanted intruders, they'll likely never set foot in your yard again.
Make sure to turn off your sprinkler system before heading outside, or you could be in for a pretty nasty surprise.
Use a strong scent
Cats have a very sensitive sense of smell, so if they smell a certain scent, it can deter them from wandering through the bushes.
Invest in lavender, common rue, pennyroyal, coleus canina and lemon thyme and you'll have a cat-free lawn in no time.
Cats also dislike citrus fruits, so you could try scattering orange or lemon peels around the perimeter of your garden.
But in cases like this, it's important to do your research.
Some plants, such as mothballs, are toxic to both cats and humans and are considered inhumane to use.
Holly plants can discourage cats from defecating in your garden. Credit: Garden Picture Library
Common garden pests
Common garden pests aren't anything to worry about – if you can identify them, you can get rid of them and prevent them from coming back.
Aphids (green flies, black flies)
Aphids are very common and can affect plant growth. Aphids have small, soft, pear-shaped bodies and are usually green or black in color. You may find them clustered on the stems of tender shoots. Look especially under the leaves. You may also find a sticky substance on the plant, which indicates that aphids have been sucking sap.
Whiteflies
These tiny white-winged insects are related to aphids, only 1-2mm long and look a lot like white moths when they become adults. They live on the undersides of leaves and prefer young, fresh leaves. If disturbed, they will fly in swarms. Their life cycle is only 3 weeks, so infestations can progress quickly.
Slug
It's hard to miss their squishy bodies and tiny sensory tentacles on their heads. Slugs move around on muscular legs. They range in size from incredibly tiny to terrifyingly large. The Limax cinereoniger species can easily exceed 20 cm in length.
Cabbage moth larvae
Cabbage moth larvae happily infest the center of the vegetable. The larvae are a yellow or brownish-green shade and are hairless.
Mealybugs
Mealybugs are small, oval-shaped insects covered in a powdery white wax. There are several different species, many of which have leg-like structures growing from their sides and rear ends. In their larval stage, they may easily go unrecognized as insects, as they are easily mistaken for fungi.
