For many gardeners across the UK, the sight of a feline visitor using a prized flower bed as a personal toilet is a familiar and frustrating problem. While this behaviour is natural for cats, it can wreak havoc on carefully cultivated plants and leave outdoor spaces unpleasant. Fortunately, a gardening expert has shared a remarkably effective and humane method to deter these unwelcome guests for good.
The Gardener's Top Tip for a Cat-Free Garden
Gardening specialist Linda Ly, writing on her popular Garden Betty blog, has pinpointed one of her favourite long-term strategies to keep cats away safely. She explains that while certain scents can offer a temporary fix, they often fail to provide a lasting solution. The key, she reveals, is to make the garden environment itself feel uncomfortable for cats to tread on.
Cats have a strong preference for doing their business on solid, level ground. Linda's method capitalises on this by introducing an uneven surface they dislike. She specifically recommends using plastic fencing or chicken wire around your garden plots.
How the Chicken Wire Method Works
This technique creates what Linda describes as a weird and uncomfortable surface that cats will avoid since they don't like the feeling of mesh under their feet. It's a simple yet powerful psychological and physical barrier. She also notes that felines tend to steer clear of gravel, stone, and pebble-covered areas for the same reason.
For the plastic fencing, Linda prefers UV-resistant hex netting or square mesh fencing. She highlights the practicality of this material, stating, The flexible material is easy to cut and move around. Any leftover fencing can be repurposed to protect young saplings and delicate plants from other garden pests.
A Long-Term Solution for UK Gardeners
But does it actually work? Linda confirms that it serves as an excellent, long-term solution. The application is straightforward: instead of installing the fencing vertically, you should cut it to size and lay it flat directly onto your garden beds.
This allows your plants to grow up and through the gaps, and the fencing can be removed or adjusted as needed. For gardeners who prefer a more decorative approach, Linda suggests lining bed edges with pea gravel, chunky stones, or even ceramic fragments and shells. These additions make the ground less hospitable to cats while adding an aesthetic touch to your outdoor space.
This method, reported by the Express on November 18, 2025, offers a permanent answer to a perennial problem, allowing both gardeners and neighbourhood cats to coexist more peacefully.
