Lee, fill that squirt gun with ammonia. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee A. Stone" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 10:15 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Using citrous outdoors
> > > > I thank you much for planning out our " cat war" this is excelent > information. we plan on using one additional item and that is a kids > super soaker squirt water rifle which I understand holds about a > couple quarts of water. should I have a sighted person around during > said watch time. I totally agree. that if more folks took better car of > their cats then none of this expense and time would be needed. and as > you know those stray cats love newely dug flower or garden beds. Lee > > > > > On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 09:47:17PM -0500, > NLG > wrote: >> CAT WARS! This page reports how well different cat repellents work to >> keep cats out of a yard. >> >> (Click on >> main site >> to browse 70 other topics ranging from exotic kaleidoscope designs to the >> strange world of lucid dreaming.) >> >> I like cats. I think they are a better choice than dogs as domestic >> animals. I have two cats of my own. I say this so that no one who visits >> this pages >> thinks that I hate these noble animals. However, I have a deep distaste >> for people who let their cats, or dogs for that matter, run loose >> enabling them >> to relieve themselves on my lawn. I'm sure that anyone who has stepped in >> someone else's pet's leaving will agree that it is a disgusting and >> irresponsible >> thing for one neighbor to do to another. >> >> Early in 2004 a local cat decided to use my backyard as his personal >> bathroom. Every morning I would find he'd once again soiled my yard. I >> confess that >> after spending weeks cleaning up after someone else's mess I was tempted >> to resort to drastic measures. Thoughts of trapping the offending animal >> and turning >> it into the local pound or spraying it with skunk scent and setting it >> free to return home were two of my favorite fantasies. But, I reasoned >> that such >> acts would bring me down to the level of the person who was letting the >> cat loose so I resisted those tempting retributions and looked for a more >> benign >> solution. >> >> The first step when entering into a war of any kind is to determine the >> enemy. After many hours of fruitless spying, I decided I needed a >> technological >> advantage to defeat my enemy's stealthiness so I rigged up a motion >> sensing alarm. Shortly after setting it in motion I was alerted to an >> intruder and >> took this picture: >> >> The Enemy >> >> It's an attractive animal and if it had more agreeable habits, like >> messing in his own back yard, I'm sure we could become friends. But this >> is war and >> in such endeavors friendship has no place. >> >> The battle begins: >> >> Petco stores sell a product called REPEL, which is a citrus smelling >> granular product designed to repel dogs and cats because it has an odor >> they dislike. >> It costs $11 for 2 pounds and is enough to treat 200 square feet. This >> presents a problem because it would cost $165 to treat my 3,000 square >> foot back >> yard. I purchased a single 2 pound container and spread it over my yard. >> Although this was a much lower dosage than directed, it still worked. For >> three >> days the cat did not soil the yard. Then I had to water and all the >> repellent was washed away. The next day I discovered the cat had >> returned. >> >> Next I tried SHAKE AWAY for domestic cats. This product is available at >> Armstrong Nursery Centers and uses an mixture of dried coyote and fox >> urine to fool >> cats into running away under the impression that predators are near. It >> worked as well as REPEL but cost twice as much and had an unpleasant >> odor. Besides, >> I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of my grandchildren rolling around on >> grass that had been covered with animal urine. It also lost it's >> effectiveness >> after watering. >> >> An Internet search for cat repellents provided the information that cats >> dislike citrus odors and cayenne. I tested the first by mixing one quart >> of pure >> lemon juice with one gallon of water and spraying the entire backyard >> with this mixture. It didn't work. It may be that to be effective I'd >> have to use >> 100 percent pure juice. That runs the risk of burning the grass and would >> be expensive. The cayenne powder worked for several days and when >> purchased in >> bulk from a restaurant supply store like Smart and Final, was the >> cheapest of the techniques tried so far. However, like all the other >> applied products, >> it lost effectiveness every time I watered the lawn and would have to be >> reapplied. For someone who waters everyday this could get to be an >> expensive and >> time consuming option. Besides, there's no telling what putting that much >> cayenne, or any of the other products, on a lawn might do to the lawn >> over the >> long run. Something better had to be available. >> >> It was. >> >> I found the solution in an electro-mechanical product called the >> Scarecrow >> ( >> http://www.scarecrowinfo.com). >> This is a battery powered motion sensor used to control a water >> sprinkler. When a cat comes within 40 feet of the detector it turns on >> the sprinkler for >> a 4 second burst, enough for the impulse-type sprinkler head to rotate >> 180 degrees. The combination of sound, sudden motion, and falling water >> startles >> the cat and chases it away in the most humane manner possible. >> >> The unit is easy to set up and is 100 percent effective at scaring cats >> away. The only down side to this product is that it costs $59 for a >> single unit. >> Depending on the size and shape of your yard several may be required. In >> actual use I found that a nine volt battery lasts three to four weeks. >> However, >> this depends on the sensitivity setting. At the highest setting on a >> windy day the breezes will constantly tripper the device and reduce >> battery life. >> At the maximum sensitivity the device triggers on a sixty foot radius. I >> found reducing it to two-thirds of maximum stops it from going off from >> wind yet >> turns it on if anything walks into the area reached by the sprinkler. >> >> Here's a similar device called Cat Stop: >> >> It has a motion sensor that triggers an ultrasonic noise that scares cats >> away. I used one of these to cover an area not protected by the sprinkler >> and >> it's been 100 percent effective. >> >> It only costs 49.00 dollars and one nine-volt radio battery powers it for >> eight months. It's convenient because there are no hoses to fight but it >> only >> has a twenty foot working distance over a 45 degree pie-shaped area. >> Although it seems to work outside where cats are on edge and easily >> scared away, I >> discovered it doesn't do anything to house cats when used inside their >> house. I talked to a representative about this and he explained than >> under those >> conditions a house cat is on his own turf and unlikely to be frightened. >> Also, most people who test the device inside will be standing near it to >> observe >> the results. This is another signal to the cat that because someone is >> present nothing bad is going to happen. >> >> Information about Cat Stop is also available from >> http://www.scarecrowinfo.com >> The Scatmat people at >> http://www.scatmat.com/Tools/ >> have several products in addition to Cat Stop and Scarecrow for >> controlling pet movements in and outside of the house. >> >> A nine volt battery only lasts one week in the units I have. This is much >> less than the advertised 9 months. >> >> After confirming that both devices work, I set up three of the ultrasonic >> repellers on one side of my yard and two of the water jet repellers on >> the other >> to see which is more effective at keeping cats out of my yard. After a >> week of use both have been 100 percent effective. >> >> So, I am happy to announce that the CAT WARS are officially over and I >> was victorious. My only misgiving is that I was forced to spend hundreds >> of dollars >> to protect myself from someone letting their pet run wild. >> >> UPDATE!!! One year after writing this article a cat began urinating on >> one small area of my backyard, killing the lawn in many spots. I placed >> two two of >> the ultrasonic Cat Stop units to guard the area and within two weeks the >> grass had completely grown back, indicating that the Cat Stops had >> succeeded in >> getting rid of the cat. >> >> new frame >> Cats deterrent >> Keep Cats Out of Unwanted Rooms & Areas w/ a Catscram. Guaranteed! >> www.CatScrams.com >> Control Cat Spraying >> Products & advice that really work! Get them at CatFaeries.com >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Lee A. Stone >> To: Blind Handyman >> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 20:38 >> Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Using citrous outdoors >> >> >> >> >> Okay. what forms of citrous could one use outdoors, if possible that >> would not be destroyed by summer rains? . this is still in regards >> the cat problems thanks.Lee >> >> -- >> Shit Happens. >> Do you Jabber? I do. My JID is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> >> >> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> > > -- > You may be infinitely smaller than some things, but you're infinitely > larger than others. > Do you Jabber? I do. My JID is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > To listen to the show archives go to link > http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various > List Members At The Following address: > http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ > > Visit the archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following > address for more information: > http://www.jaws-users.com/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > list just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > >
