How to stop cats pooping in your garden with humane deterrents

Subtle but powerful, these waterproof Pestbye Motion Activated Cat Repellent stakes are a best-selling solution to get cats to stay away from your outdoor spaces. Their compact dimensions makes them perfect if you want to hide them away in your garden.

They're small but cover a 110-degree arc, to a distance of up to 32-foot, or 10 metres, with their specialised HyperResonance Frequency. It's a completely humane way to deter cats, foxes, and other small animal pests such as squirrels from your garden.

These are powered by four AA batteries. Battery life depends on how many times the device is activated, but Pestbye says four batteries will typically last up to four months assuming 10 activations per day. These have an integrated stake so you can place them in the ground, but also have a hole so they can be wall-mounted.

You can try and use natural scents to warn off cats. Lavender is one smell that cats are averse to, so creating a lavender hedge around areas you want cats to keep out of can be effective.

This particular type of lavender is a compact form of the traditional version and will grow to a manageable half a metre or so. This plant is fully hardy and flowers from July onwards.

Lavender looks lovely with purple flower spikes and silvery leaves and attracts bees and other nectar-loving bugs. This plant will release its scent when brushed against, whether that's by people or cats.

This Defenders Big Cheese Mega-Sonic Cat Repeller is "mega-sonic," emitting a sonic burst to deter cats from spending time in your garden. This can be used year-round as it has internal rubber seals for water resistance with a rating of IP44.

This is described as a good option if you want more for your money as it covers up to 120 square metres. Thanks to the PIR motion sensor, this product works day and night to deter cats from fowling in your garden. Reviewers describe this as effective at warning cats off their property.

This can be staked into the ground or wall-mounted. You've also got options when it comes to power - this can run from batteries, or you can make it mains-powered using a 9V Universal Mains Adaptor, which is sold separately.

Our second choice for a natural repellent is the 'scaredy-cat plant' which, as it says in the name, is a great deterrent to scare those cats away. It's part of the mint family and produces a strong scent that cats hate.

This perennial plant is easy to grow, you can just place these in the sun in a pot or border. If a cat has been using your flower or vegetable beds as a toilet, this, planted in strategic spots, can make all the difference.

The smell this plant produces when touched is also unpleasant to humans, so do bear this in mind when it comes to planting and pruning.

These GET OFF My Garden Cat and Dog Repellents are jelly-like crystals with a strong scent that you can place around your plants, bushes and even on grass - basically anywhere you want cats to steer clear of.

These gel crystals release a strong fragrance, described as like citronella, that confuses cats' sense of smell. Do note these can also work on dogs too, so worth bearing in mind if you have a pooch.

This solution can be used in all weather, but they will deteriorate more quickly in rainy conditions, dissolving into the soil, ground, or grass.

Another option that you simply scatter around areas you want to protect, these The Big Cheese cat scatter granules prevent everything from scratching to digging and fouling.

These granules are biodegradable and simply repel cats with their scent. The granules contain natural aromatic plant oils on an inert clay carrier to deter cats and dogs. They also contain garlic, with some users complaining about the strong smell.

It's advised you scatter these granules every 48 hours until the cats get the message. This comes in a resealable bag, so reapplication is simple.

A rather unusual alternative comes in with the "Silent Roar" cat repellent. This is a pellet-based solution with a twist - the pellets are soaked in real essence of lion dung.

Silent Roar claims this means even the bravest of cats will retreat when they pick up this scary scent as they will associate it with a large predator.

This is a chemical-free, environmentally-friendly option. One application lasts up to three months and this is a twin-pack to last even longer.

If you're looking for an eco-friendly option with hassle-free operation, consider this Pestbye Twinpack Solar Waterproof Cat Repellent that gets its power from its integrated solar panels. One sunny day, providing a full charge, can see these repellents work for up to seven days.

These use an adjustable, high-frequency ultrasonic sound, audible to animals but not humans, to scare cats away from your outdoor territory. You can experiment with the frequency to see which level is most effective.

These have built-in ground spikes so you can stake them where you need them most - in plant pots and containers, in flower beds, or even straight in your lawn.

This serious solution from The Big Cheese is praised by reviewers as a great option for protecting fish ponds from predatory birds, for keeping chickens safe from foxes, and for scaring cats out of gardens.

It's a PIR motion-activated device that detects movement and shoots out a spray of water pulled through from a connected garden hose. This can work at a range of one to 10 metres and can cover a 100-metre square area.

This is battery-powered and weather-resistant to an IP44 rating, so it can be used in all conditions, although The Big Cheese doesn't advise activating it in freezing conditions.

This is a lo-fi solution that's suitable for installation in flower beds and vegetable patches. Cutting chicken wire to size (you'll need some wire pliers) and laying it on your soil can be a strong deterrent to keep cats off.

There are two reasons for this; cats find such wire uncomfortable on their paws to walk on, and it stops them from being able to dig the soil either before or after they do their business. This can also be used to add an extra layer of fencing to stop cats from getting in your garden.

This wire is supplied in a roll measuring 40cm by four metres, so it should cover plenty of ground. It's made of weather-resistant steel wire and has 25mm holes.