Residential Glee & Pets/Animals November 6, 2006
Reclaiming My Yard…
Shortly after moving into our current house, my wife and I noticed we were overwhelmed by the inebriating smell of cat poop on any given warm day upon approaching the front door. It only took a few moments for me to spot the source(s); along the base of the house in the flower beds were several curious mounds of dirt, each concealing its own little kitty surprise.
The first time I mowed the lawns (unfenced front and fenced back), I couldn’t help but notice many more morsels and their seeming magnetic attractions to the bottoms of my shoes.
It seems that, while the previous owners occupied the home, the territorial neighborhood animals overtook the yard. I have since begun a quest to establish myself as the local dominant creature and reclaim my property.
Here are a few highlights from the two months we’ve spent in the place:
I remember once complaining to a (very cool) neighbor that our property was literally full of crap only to look over and see his cat squatting down in our back yard, pushing like a red-faced, diaper-wielding 2 year-old. (Update: This cat has since grown on me…he’s quite the character.)
A number of times I’ve seen our other (unnamed) neighbors let their short, fat little dog out to potty. “No no, don’t go over there,” the neighbor says as the dog takes a hard-breathing trot to our yard. After the dog is done, she changes to “Okay, come on in!” (Seriously now, that’s just plain rude.)
Another day when I was raking, a small black dog from three houses down decided it would trot over to my driveway and proceed to bark maniacally at me. I tried to make friends with this one, crouching down and offering my hand (for it to smell…or bite, depending on its acceptance-level), only to have it raise the pitch of its barks and jump side to side and backward (yes, side to side/backward…very awkward, hilarious movement) as it struggled to move away while maintaining a horrific level of noise. Finally, I turned to walk away only to have it march forward and continue barking…so I chased it off the property waving my rake in the air. As it ran, it yiped as though I had actually touched it (the closest I could come was about four feet) only to come back about 30 seconds later. This time I chose to ignore the animal, which actually seemed to calm it down. What I didn’t realize, however, was that the dog took this as a green light to assume the all-to-familiar poo position in my front yard. I chased him away once again, only to have him return and try a second time. I wasted no time grabbing the hose and dousing him with freezing water…that day I seemed to have gotten my point across…but I’ve seen him try again on several occasions.
…so, we asked for advice.
First, a relative informed us that cats were repulsed by the smell of mothballs (understandably so), and that we should start with the flower beds by spreading them around the claimed areas. I picked up a couple boxes at our local grocery store, and generously spread the mothballs in and around the areas after (yet again) cleaning up the animals’ messes. The next morning as I left for work a fat little Manx snobbishly looked back at me as it trotted away from my house. I looked to my left (from where the angry little animal came) to see an uncovered pile of poop between two of the mothballs, left as though I had installed a new air freshener in their (the cats’) bathroom. I was pissed, but had to laugh.
I then turned to a chemical repellent I found at a local pet store. It seems to work, but God forbid I miss a day and step outside to greet my feces-filled dirt. Additionally, it’s $12.99 per bottle, runs out quickly, and bears a warning label stating “Harmful if absorbed through skin,” and proceeds to tell you that, in the event you actually get it on your skin, to wash the area for twenty minutes with warm water. Thanks, but no thanks.
I’ve been told citrus products repel cats, but this just doesn’t seem practical (and what about dogs?). I’ve heard of bulk pepper to spread in the dirt. I’ve heard of cayenne pepper in moderation…as of late I’ve resorted to throwing my sandals and frantically grabbing for the hose. Now I’ll certainly speak with the neighbor about her pug should the previous scenario repeat, but what else can I try? Have any of you had success with something different? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
on 12 Nov 2006 at 4:11 pm 1. Sarah writes …
I don’t know what to tell you. I have the same problem with my neighbor’s cat’s up until the flowers come up. Once the beds are full of stuff, then there’s no room for the cats to poop. I tried cayenne, but that didn’t work well because you have to use tons of it and it poses a problem when you start to dig and plant.
I found something that worked to keep the deer from eating my plants, but don’t know if it’ll do the same to keep cats out. I made a mixture of eggs, water, crushed garlic, and hot pepper sauce. I let it sit for a few hours, strained it, and put it in a spray bottle. After one spraying, the deer stayed away all summer.
Good luck!
on 06 Apr 2007 at 11:03 am 2. Steve Symington’s Blog » House is coming along writes …
[…] (added 4-6-07) weeded the flower beds…sounds like no small task, but it took my wife and I over 15 hours to finish completely. I removed three wheelbarrows full of rocks (some watermelon-sized), and filled three 42-gallon trash cans with cat poop and weeds, […]
on 15 Aug 2007 at 5:43 pm 3. Kim writes …
Hi, found this site on google search, trying (so far fruitlessly) to find a natural, inexpensive solution to the neighbor’s dog using our yard as a toilet. Any sucess with any of the remedies? I see lots of chatter about cayenne pepper, et al, but no real evidence that it actually works.
on 16 Aug 2007 at 8:04 am 4. Steve writes …
Kim,
We’ve actually had some luck (though it’s still a problem, it has become a smaller one). With regard to the flower beds, I found simply keeping them moist (daily water), full of plants, and excrement-free (clean the poo quickly) has really kept the animals at bay. For repeat offenders, and especially those that like to pee/poop in the same location, cayene pepper (perhaps mixed with water in a spray bottle) actually does work, but every so often you need to reapply it. Eventually, the animals tire of cleaning the painfully-spicy stuff off their paws.
With regard to your yard (and mine), I again found cleaning the poop ASAP kept the number of offenses down, but I also made it known to the animals they weren’t wanted…now I never hurt them, but most animals seem to hate being sprayed by the hose or being yelled at as shoes are thrown at them. You could try spreading cayenne across your yard (animals hate it, and you wouldn’t have to do it forever as they’ll eventually tire of the burning), but this doesn’t seem practical if your yard is large.
In the end, I suppose I could sum it up with three possible solutions:
(1) practice temporary diligence in making it known the lawn belongs to you and not the dog/cat/ferret/feral neighbor child. Spread cayenne pepper in commonly-used areas, douse them with water (buckets, hoses…I even use the sprinkler when I don’t have enough time to unscrew it), and the occasional yell/shoe-throw.
(2) Talk (politely) to the neighbor and ask them to keep an eye on their dog/cat/ferret/feral child. If you’re within city limits, I’d be amazed if leash laws don’t prevail. Dogs in particular are not supposed to be allowed to run free, even for a quick potty break. If the neighbor is less than kind about the situation, feel free to call animal control and report the violation; sometimes hefty tickets are better motivation. For instance, one of my neighbors slammed the door in my face after I respectfully asked her to keep her angry, manaically evil little dog in her yard…she later received a citation from animal control related to a call from another of our neighbors.
(3) If all else fails, build a fence.
Good luck, and let me know how things go!
on 23 Jul 2008 at 1:45 pm 5. Scott writes …
Prob way to late but stumbled on this blog by accident. Might I suggest a paintball gun? I used one on my neighbors dogs and cat (and 2 neighbors too) who purposefully took their animals into my front yard to crap.