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Groundcover to discourage cats

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Question

Help, I've got a bare sandy area in our Sunset area in SF which is used by our neighboring cats as a bathroom. Could you suggest a good groundcover that would discourage them. Thanks.
Kathleen
San Francisco

Answer

Cats do not like the smell of orange peel. You can spread shredded orange peels over the area and then top dress/mulch with fine or medium bark. Cats find it uncomfortable to dig in such a coarse medium. If orange peels are not readily available, any of the "green" household products that are derived from Citrus could safely be sprayed in the area. We offer a product called Citrus Guard, derived from orange peel that is used as an insecticide but could be used as a repellant.

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