Cats and greenhouses!

Okay, how do you keep your cats from climbing on your greenhouse plastic? Last year on my little thrown together gh, they got to climbing quite a bit. We have just built a 14 x 24 hoop house with 6 mil poly on it. It cost considerably more than the cheap plastic I got at the dollar store the last two years, and I sure don't want them digging their claws into this stuff. Help! Help!

Mabe try some poly tape turned inside out. Cats dont like to climb on anything sticky.Not sure how long it would stay sticky but it might do the trick. If they dont like it the first few times they try,they will probably stay away from it forever.Might be a little pricey but just put it up to the level they tend to jump up on.Good luck! By the way,if they are comming on the GH from a tree,place it near the branches on the GH.

oh my....that is not good....i had a few kittens when i first put my g/h up and they had a good ol time running up the ends..but i put a stop to that real fast.....they were given away to good homes...that was the plan to begin with..i have 2 adult cats, a male and female, they are both fixed and have never had a problem with them...actually my male will come inside with me in the winter.....i have to be careful as he loves to rub my legs and it can be a a disaster if i step on his feet because its so crowded...boy i sure hope you get the kittys to not be on the greenhouse....i would hate to try to replace plastic in mid winter cuz they needed place to scratch.....oh my!!!

cindy

They don't like citrus either.I think there are sprays you can get called scat or something like that, it repells cats and dogs.They probably have it at wal-mart in the pet department. Jody

CATS !!!!!! I just try to take the good with the bad .
The good we know is that the kill rats mice goghers ect. This place had been vacant for 2-3 yrs and was over run with vermin. The cats have them all but gone.
My MAIN reason for having so many cats is that SNAKES had also decided that this was a great place. The cats "worry " the snakes and they move on. I also watch my cats. If I see them watching something -- its usually a snake.

The BAD !!!! I keep several cats in the atrium which is huge. I have found a lot of snakes outside of the atrium but never inside. So I have learned to TRY to over look the cats knocking plants off the benches, sleeping in my plants and pooping in my cutting and seedling trays, or the worst one, pooping in my potting soil.YUKKY !!! If we didnt have so many ratlesnakes the cats would be OUT of there !!!
So far, none of the cats have bothered to climb my small greenhouse . I will watch the suggestions on this thread so I can nip that as soon as it starts !!
If none of the suggestions work. I will put a little electric fence up each side.Cheap, easy to install, and it WORKS !!!!

Thanks for the suggestions. If anyone else has any, let's hear them. My DH had suggested an electric fence.

Keep them in the house.

I read the vinegar works. I had some rooted cuttings that cats just loved to play with (they got about half of them) and then I just added a two splashes of vinegar at the four corners making about a 8x8 area. It seemed to work so far. The only problem I can see with that is I have no clue when you should add more vinegar.

If you choose to use an electric fence, please make sure it is for PETS,. These have a reduced electical charge which will not do physical harm, as in KILL, the cats.

Vinegar is indeed a great idea, now I wonder if one of those dispensers they use for "ordor" or fly control could spray the vinegar making it automatic!!!! Better too often than not often enough.

Thanks for allow my "two cents".

Judy

They hate tea tree oil maybe you could dilute it and spray it where they jump up. Joelle

My cat HATES the smell of Basil.....she makes a face and RUNS away....maybe spray (or rub) the plastic with crushed Basil? I suppose you could even plant some around your greenhouse seasonly.

Great! Great! I will try each of these and see what works best. Except the "Keep them in the house." Too many for that. I would prefer to not use an electric fence if something else will work. I would probaby get "bit" more than the cats would.

I have 2 cats & they think that they OWN the whole yard. My newest one would come behind me after I planted something & dig it up. After replanting things several times I put mouse traps around where I didn't want them to dig & I also sprinkled chili powder over the same area. I found several of the traps sprung but nothing else was disturbed. Now if I see they are digging around in an area I don't want them in I just sprinkle chili powder, I don't have to use the traps any more. And the cats have all of their toes!!!
You could use any smell, the reason I used chili powder is I have a huge bag of it. It's just programing. I have done the same with my dogs & mouse traps. I set out Yellow Jacket traps in the spring to get the first ones & my darn dog was getting the bait out of the traps, so I used the mouse traps on the top of the traps & she leaves them alone. I also catch mice in my Green House with the traps... they are very useful!!!

Gingerlily....I have read that cats do not like the smell of anything citrus, so I think the Basil idea is a great one, and any other herb/plant that has a citrus smell might just work. With it smelling so wonderful around your gh, YOU might not want to LEAVE it, once you are in it!!! Good luck!

grayse

DH is already saying he's gonna sleep in it when it rains.

gingerlily...sounds like your problems are solved !!! Let your DH chase the cats off your GH when he is sleeping in it!! :-))

I like that!

One more thing that might help although I think they are expensive.. It's a hose attachment that sticks in the ground (or somewhere else since it's high up for you) that squirts water using a motion detector! I know Johnny's select seeds have/had them in their catalog but I can't remember where else.. Wish I could remember the name!

The water cannon you are talking about is called 'The Scarecrow' and is available lots of places on the web. Gardens Alive has them in their catalog. Jessamine

Gingerlily...last night when I was sorting through some Tai Basil at my sis' place, her cat wanted to see what was in the bowl, and when I put the bowl up to her for her to smell what is was her face squinched all up, and she backed-up so fast. It was the funniest thing to see her face do what it did.
I would definitely plant basil around the GH. In fact, if you want some seeds of it, I have two kinds you are more than welcome to. I have the regular kind, I guess, and my sis' Purple Tai Basil. Just email me directly with your addy, and I can send some to you. I'll let you know if I come across anything else that keeps them away from the gh. Sounds like DH is going to move right into the gh! There you go! On site gh protection!