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When it comes to gardening, nothing makes my father angrier than to see a pile of doggy doo-doo or kitty crap buried among the half unsoiled daffodils. He insists he doesn't need the extra fertilizer, and he especially doesn't appreciate replanting flowers that were knocked over by pesky pets. Fortunately, he has found a few ways to deter the little trouble-makers from doing their business in the flowerbed, which he has kindly shared with me.

The first thing to try is a fence. Make sure it is at a moderate height and contains pointed posts so that cats won't try leaping over it. Furthermore, if the dog is a digger, install it into the dirt. Another thing to try is to attach string or taut wire across the top of the fence. This makes it harder for them to get over it.

Cats and dogs are very particular about smells. If you sprinkle the following around your garden, they will be turned off and find somewhere else to put their land mines.

Orange Peels
Coffee Grounds
Vinegar
Mothballs
Ground Red Pepper

Another way you can keep cats, dogs and other animals away from your garden is by using their keen sense of hearing against them. The Ultrasonic Motion Sensing Animal Repeller by Smarthome, for example, sends off a high pitched sound that humans cannot here while protecting your bounties. It may take a few tries before they get the hint, but soon you will not notice them coming back. The YardControl Electronic Yard Fence also by Smarthouse works the same way, except it covers a 360-degree area around the sensor. Next by Smarthouse is the Scraminal, which is a heat and motion center that lets out a series of high pitched beeps.

A similar device made by Smarthouse that does not use sound to scare animals is the Scarecrow Water-Spraying Animal Repeller which hooks up to your hose. When the motion sensor detects that determined dog or trouble causing cat, it blasts the animal with a 3- to 4-second burst of water.

The last thing you can do to keep unwanted animals out of your garden is to spray them with water if you catch them yourself. Most animals will flee from a squirt by the hose, and if done to them enough times it will get your message across, cold and clear.

There are many ways to discourage animals from trespassing in your garden. Best of all, there are many CHEAP ways. Using this guide, you are bound to find at least one method that works. So get to digging and planting, and leave your animal pest worries behind!

Learn more about this author, Kelly A. Mello.
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