Cats are the perfect indoor pet. Affectionate and curious, they make great companions. Give them a toy and they will amuse you with their antics. Nothing is nicer than a purring feline welcoming you home after a long day at work. However, cats that roam outdoors can cause problems for gardeners and birds. They are voracious hunters of birds and may use gardens as a litter box. Allowing cats to roam isn’t just bad for gardeners and birds, it’s bad for cats too. Cats that roam freely are at risk of many things, such as car accidents, attacks by other animals (including other cats), and getting diseases and parasites.
As a passionate gardener, few things are more frustrating than finding your carefully tended vegetable garden littered with cat feces. While it’s tempting to just pick out the obvious piles, cat poop can pose some health risks if you don’t take the proper precautions before eating from your garden. In this article, we’ll go over some key tips to safely deal with cat poop in your veggie garden so you can reclaim your space and enjoy bountiful, healthy harvests.
Assessing the Damage
The first step is taking stock of the full extent of the cat poop problem. Walk through your garden beds and look closely for any obvious feces, digging down an inch or two into the soil to check for buried piles. Also inspect the base of plants and any mulch or ground cover where cats may have dug. While a thorough sweep may be unpleasant, it’s important to remove all the waste you can find.
Pay special attention to areas around soft fruits and vegetables that grow close to the soil like strawberries, lettuce and squash. Their tender skins mean they’re more prone to contamination. Harder produce like broccoli cabbage and tomatoes are less risky, but still require caution.
Removing the Waste
Once you’ve identified all the cat poop, it’s time to get rid of it. Use a trowel, shovel or garden claw to scoop up feces and at least an inch of the surrounding soil Bag it securely and toss it in the trash, not the compost pile
Disposable gloves, a face mask and hand washing afterwards are recommended for safe removal. Avoid breathing dried particles that may carry toxoplasmosis parasites.
For waste buried deeper in garden beds, remove 2-3 inches of top soil in a 1 foot radius around the contaminated spot. Replace it with fresh, clean soil and mix together gently. Removing visible feces and surrounding soil is key to eliminating health risks.
Sanitizing Affected Plants
Any fruits or vegetables that had direct contact with cat feces should be disposed of. For plants that seem unaffected, take extra precautions before eating.
Gently wash produce under running water rather than batch soaking to avoid any cross-contamination in wash water. Use a soft brush to scrub off any clinging particles, especially in leafy greens.
As an added precaution, peel thinner skinned produce like cucumbers or summer squash. Repeat washings and peelings until no visible contaminants remain. Avoid batch washing multiple plants together.
While not proven highly effective against parasites, some gardeners sanitize produce with a dilute bleach solution (1 teaspoon bleach per quart of water) or vinegar spray. Rinse thoroughly afterwards.
Preventing Recontamination
Removing all visible waste is the first line of defense, but keeping cats out of your garden for good is key to avoiding repeated issues.
Cover bare soil areas with landscape fabric, mulch or wood chips to discourage digging. Loose pea gravel also deters cats from using garden beds as litter boxes.
Fencing is very effective, but should be at least 5 feet tall with a roller or lean-in design, as cats are adept climbers. Bury base edges to prevent access by digging.
Motion activated sprinklers and ultrasonic repellers can also help scare cats away from your garden area. Use deterrents early on before cats form latrine habits. Be sure they don’t affect any outdoor pets.
When to Avoid Eating Affected Produce
While risks are low if feces is removed promptly and proper precautions taken, some people should avoid eating any produce from affected gardens, including:
- Young children under 5 years old
- Pregnant women (toxoplasmosis risks)
- Those with weakened immune systems
- Anyone exhibiting potential parasite symptoms afterwards like fever, fatigue, or digestive issues.
When in doubt, play it safe and avoid consumption. Regrowing vegetables in cleaned beds is a good option.
For most gardeners, diligent sanitation and hygiene measures should mitigate risks after cat fouling incidents. But significant or repeated contamination may make planting in new, clean soil the safest choice.
Keeping Your Garden Cat-Poop Free
Unwanted deposits in your vegetable garden can be frustrating, but a few precautions will help safeguard your veggies:
- Inspect for waste and remove promptly
- Dispose of affected plants and surrounding soil
- Wash produce extremely well before eating
- Use barriers like fences, gravel and mulch to block access
- Deter cats with repellents when problems occur
Staying vigilant to keep cats away and cleaning carefully after incidents allows you to enjoy your homegrown goodies safely. With some common sense precautions, you can reclaim your garden from becoming a kitty latrine.
Follow these tips to deal with cat poop contamination, and you’ll be rewarded with a thriving, productive vegetable garden all season long. Don’t let unwelcome deposits go to waste. A few preventative measures and prompt cleaning will keep your garden growing strong.
How to Help Your Garden If the damage is already done in your garden:
- Put on gloves and get rid of the feces and as much soil as you can right away.
- Remove any vegetables growing near the contaminated soil.
- Throw away the plants and soil in the trash, not the compost.
- Use isopropyl alcohol, hand sanitizer, or Lysol to clean any garden tools you use. Also, clean your gloves and boots, but keep them away from the garden.
- Root vegetables like carrots, beets, potatoes, and parsnips should not be planted in soil that a cat used a lot. Neither should leafy greens like lettuce, chard, and kale that are eaten raw.
Cats prefer soft, dry soil for digging and are attracted to bird baths and bird feeders. There are some things you can do to deter them from using your garden as a litter box.
- Putting at least 4 inches of thick woody mulch over bare soil in your garden will keep people from digging.
- Cover plants with floating row covers so they can’t get to the soil.
- When laid over bare ground, chicken wire works well as a barrier.
- When not in use, cover raised beds with a tarp or a wooden panel. The same goes for sand boxes for kids.
- Motion activated sprinklers can deter cats.
Impact on Wildlife and Human Health
A study from 2013 says that cats kill 300 million birds every year, making them the number one animal that kills birds in Canada. Birds are on the front line when it comes to insect control. According to ScienceDaily, birds eat about 400 to 500 million tons of bugs every year all over the world. A healthy population of birds is important to garden eco-systems. They naturally control the number of pest insects because they eat a lot of them, especially larvae and pupae while they are feeding their young. Cat turds (poop) are very bad for the soil, especially if they use your vegetable garden as a litter box. Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that cats shed in their poop. It can be very bad for pregnant women and people whose immune systems aren’t working well. Their feces may also contain roundworm, hookworm, E. coli and/or salmonella, all of which can cause serious illness.
Q&A: Concerns About Cat Feces (And Toxoplasmosis) in the Garden
FAQ
Will cat poop hurt my vegetable garden?
How to stop cats pooping in a veggie garden?
Will cats ruin a vegetable garden?
Can I leave cat poo in garden?
What happens if you put cat feces in garden soil?
Cat feces in garden soil is not only unpleasant to smell when working in the vegetable patch, it’s also potentially dangerous. It can contain bacteria and parasites such as toxoplasmosis, according to the University of California Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County.
How to remove cat feces from soil?
Cat feces should be removed from the soil as soon as possible to prevent the spread of illness. To neutralize cat feces in soil, you can follow these steps: Remove the feces from the soil. You can use a scooper or a shovel to remove the feces and the surrounding soil. Dispose of the feces in a plastic bag and seal it tightly.
Can cat feces be neutralized in soil?
In the realm of gardening, encountering the issue of cat feces in soil is not uncommon. Cat feces, while often dismissed as a minor inconvenience, can have adverse effects on soil quality and plant health. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into effective methods to neutralize cat feces in soil, ensuring a thriving garden environment.
Does cat urine affect a vegetable garden?
The cat urine effect on plants and garden soil is negligible from a health perspective, but it should still be rinsed off the plants to remove the smell and prevent damage to the foliage. Preventing cats from using your vegetable garden as a litter box is all about making the garden less attractive and less accessible to the trespassers.