If you wanted to deter cats, dogs and other pesky animals from your garden it's always been a losing battle. Stopping dogs from pooping on your lawn, cats from whizzing in your children's sand pit and other native animals enjoying your flowers has largely been in vain.

I'm the first to admit that I struggle to deter cats from my garden and would rather see laws in place that force their owners to lock them up like any other pet. But, I concede that if I could find a way to deter them from entering my yard I would jump at it with open arms.

And I think I have...

I stumbled across this invention: Contech Electronics Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler #CRO101/CRO102(aff.) that senses animals within a 1,000 square foot area via its inbuilt motion detector. Immediately, it turns on and blasts the offending animal with a jet of water and startling sprinkler sound.

There couldn't be a more humane way of deterring animals from your garden.

One Amazon buyer wrote this about the product;

After spending so much time and effort into our first square foot garden I was devastated when a few days later I went out and found areas where our neighbor's cat had decided to make a litter box out of our garden. My solution to the problem was a shotgun, but my pro-animal husband refused and wanted to try a more humane effort. So, I went to the local garden supply store and bought their recommendation - some granules that I had to sprinkle generously all around the border of the garden every 24 hours or whenever it rained. Well, that did not work, every morning the cat had left me a present overnight.

After doing lots of research and before leaving for a week long trip (I was worried I'd come home to no garden at all) I finally decided to buy the Scarecrow. Now, I am a frugal person and it killed me to pay this much money for something to protect my garden (not to mention the overnight shipping charges, since I wanted it here before we left town).

The minute it came we opened it and my children and I went out and installed it. I have to say we had so much fun "testing" it and trying not to get sprayed! That night my husband and I heard it go off one time (it's right by our window). We left town the next morning. I was so nervous about what we'd come home to, but when we got home my garden was nearly perfect! I could see one spot where it looked like that cat had started trying to do his business, but it wasn't very "finished" looking. I dug up all around to make certain, but it was all clean! It's been nearly 3 weeks now and my garden is still in perfect condition, no more kitty crap!!

So, overall, this sprinkler is worth every cent. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is that I wish the stake was made of something more solid than plastic. If you are debating over this, trust me, it will work and you will LOVE it!!!

The problem with trying to stop animals from entering your yard using all manner of other ideas is that I just haven't heard of any that work. I have even touted the idea of using vinegar around garden hotspots to deter cats but the problem is that unless it's only a small area you're wanting to protect then you will undoubtedly have the smell of vinegar emanating from every corner of your yard.

From the 4 negative reviews of the 85 Amazon.com received, they all shared how movement from their plants set the sprinkler off. One reviewer observed that those who were happy with the product obviously had more sheltered gardens and those with exposed yards would have difficulties. Therefore, if you have a garden where gusts of wind are more prevalent this product may not be the answer for you.

For those who have sheltered yards, I suspect that this product may be the solution to your animal problems.