Gardeners urged to scatter orange peel in garden

Gardeners are being urged to scatter orange peel in their gardens in order to help protect against a common pest.

The weather might not be getting significantly colder and wetter this October, but our gardens are still getting visited - and trampled - by a common household pet. While cats are beloved by many pet people, and outdoor cats are usually given free roam to slink about and nip into various gardens and green spaces in their neighbourhood, they aren't always welcome in gardens, especially when fruit and vegetables are still trying to grow.

Cats can dig up bulbs, attack birds and leave a mess in your flowerbeds.

So if you're not a cat person and you're getting tired of finding clumps of cat poo in your lawn or on your vegetable patch, you've probably tried all sorts of methods to keep kittens et al at bay; everything from high-pitched 'cat scarers' to spraying cat repellent liquids.

But instead of cheap tat, there is a simpler, all-natural method gardeners have been using to keep cats out for decades - and you can just use what's already in your kitchen.

Orange peel or lemon peel are an effective deterrent for cats. Put simply, they just don't like the stuff.

Simply buy an orange or a lemon but instead of adding the peel to your household compost as you normally would, scatter them on your soil.

Cats hate citrus peel. They can't stand the smell, finding it overwhelmingly pungent and the smell warns them to stay away. It also works with other citrus fruits like limes, but oranges are probably the easiest option.

The other upside of orange peel is that it rots into the flowerbed and enriches the soil, so you're not only getting a cat deterrent but helping the plants and flowers in the garden too.

Or you could distil orange essence into a spray bottle and spray it at various points in your garden.

Re-applying orange zest or peel every few weeks should keep cats out on the cheap.

In terms of plants, cats don't like lavender or some strong herbs like mint, but orange peel is probably the simplest and easiest option - and it works.