GARDENING enthusiasts are raving about a simple hack that deters rats and cats from gardens for good.
So if you don’t want the pesky creatures crawling all over your flower beds this summer, then fear not, you’ve come to the right place.
And don’t worry, you won’t need to go out and splash the cash on pricey traps or posh deterrent methods.
In fact, this hack is great for those on a budget, as it will cost you just 20p – yes, you heard that correctly.
Even better, you may already have the secret in your kitchen (or your food bin) already.
It comes after a gardening lover took to social media to ask for compost advice.
Posting on the Gardening UK Facebook page, Angela Knight wrote: “Hi, I have a few compost questions. Can I put orange peel in the compost bin?
“I eat loads of oranges but as I never knew if you could I tend to throw the peel away.”
She then followed up with: “I know you can’t put onions, cooked food and meat in, but is there anything else you shouldn’t put in the compost bin?”
To this, fellow group members raced to the comments and were quick to encourage the use of orange peels in the garden.
Many hailed the fruity peel as not only beneficial for plants, but also great for deterring cats and rats from gardens.
One user said: “I always add oranges and onions! Not had any problems.”
Another agreed: “I put all uncooked veg and fruit peel, onions and orange banana peel, buckets of unwashed seaweed in and shredded paper and cardboard.”
Whilst someone else revealed: “I have always put onions and also orange, lime and lemon peels in and it’s never been an issue for me.
“It’s helped my plants fantastically to flower better and has deterred rats and cats from my garden.”
Common pests in the garden don’t need to be a cause for alarm. If you can identify them, you can work on getting rid of them and preventing them from returning.
Aphids (Greenfly, Blackfly)
Aphids are extremely common and can impact plant growth. They have tiny soft pear-shaped bodies, and are usually green or black. You may spot them clustered on the stem of soft shoots – look under leaves in particular – or may find a sticky substance on your plants that gives away aphids have been there sucking at the sap.
Whitefly
These small white-winged insects are related to aphids, at just 1 or 2 mm in length, and look very much like white moths as adults. They can be found on the underside of leaves, preferring younger, fresher leaves. They fly in clusters when you disturb them. Their lifecycle is only three weeks long, which means an infestation can occur very rapidly.
Slugs
An unmissable, squashy-looking body plus small sensory tentacles on its head. Slugs move along on one muscular foot. They range in scale from surprisingly small to terrifyingly large; limax cinereoniger species can grow comfortably beyond 20 cm in length.
Cabbage Moth Caterpillar
Cabbage moth caterpillars happily make their way into the heart of the vegetables, The caterpillars are distinguished in shades of yellow or browny green with no hair.
Mealy Bug
Mealybugs are tiny oval-shaped insects that have a white, powdery wax coating. There are several different species, many of which have what looks like legs coming from their sides and back end. In their earliest stage of life, it’s entirely possible to mistake them for fungus and not recognise them as insects at all.
It turns out that the pungent aroma of oranges acts as a superb and harmless deterrent for cats that use gardens as their personal lavatories.
One gardening lover claimed: “Orange peel is brilliant to add to compost. As it breaks down, it releases phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.
“Every plant needs as much of these nutrients as it can get to thrive. I put the skins of oranges in my compost every day.”
A gardening pro has also proved the effectiveness of this trick.
Katie Femia, from The Homespun Hydrangea said: “If you have problems with furry critters coming into your garden, citrus peels can help.
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“Place orange peels around the perimeter of the garden and the scent should keep dogs and cats from wandering in.”
Not only this, but orange skin is rich in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus – elements which create nutrient-dense soil once they break down.
If you fancy giving this trick a try, you can nab a five-pack of oranges for as little as 99p from Asda and at Sainsbury’s, making this trick just 20p a time.
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