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Top 10 Cat Repellents For Range

If you have a small garden, any of the cat repellents we have reviewed will give you adequate cover and activate whenever a cat wanders into your garden. If you have a medium to large garden however, you will be looking for a cat repellent that has greater range, or perhaps you can place more than one cat repellent device around the garden, strategically placed for maximum effect. In this cat repellent review I thought we’d take a closer look at which ultrasonic cat repellers had the greatest range to help owners of medium to large gardens have success at keeping cats out of their garden.

Understanding the Specifications

The range of a ultrasonic cat repellent is dictated by two specifications, the distance the detector can detect movement at, and the angle of the sensor. The wider the angle and the greater the range the better the device will be at picking up movement of cats.

Ultrasonic Cat Repellent	Image	Type	Range (feet)	Angle	Sq.feet
Bird-X YG Yard Gard		Ultrasonic	35	120	4000
Garden Creations JB5028		Ultrasonic	30	130	5000
Contech CatStop		Ultrasonic	20	80	280
Yard Sentinel		Ultrasonic	30	130	5000
Havahart 5266 Spray Away		Water	35	100	1900
Havahart Spray Away Elite II		Water	35	100	1900
Guardener A201 2.0		Water	25	170	2000
Orbit Motion Activated Sprinkler		Water	35	120	2000
Contech CRO101 Scarecrow		Water	20	80	1200

* Figures are indicative only. Click on the arrows at the top to sort the columns.

As you can see, water repellents do not have the same range as an ultrasonic device, however they are some of the most effective as cats hate getting wet. If you have a small garden, then the water devices would be a good option for you. If your garden is medium or large consider using one or two ultrasonic repellents to keep the cats out.

Ultrasonic Cat Repellents

Ultrasonic Cat Repellers

Ultrasonic Cat Repellents work by emitting a high frequency tone that cats and other animals find uncomfortable. Unable to withstand the noise they move on to other areas, leaving your garden cat free. All ultrasonic repellents work by sensing movement, which in turn activates the ultrasonic tone, lasting for a few seconds.

Cats remember this uncomfortable experience and quickly learn that it will happen every time they visit area. After a short period they will stop coming in to the area, not just for a while, but for an very long period.

Ultrasonic devices require power to operate and this is usually by a 9v battery. Some versions come with a 9v adapter option, or it is possible to hand wire battery versions to work with an inexpensive power adapter.

The only caveat with these detectors is obvious - a cat must have average hearing to be affected, deaf cats would not notice the tone and could still be troublesome. The chances of this are slim however, making ultrasonic repellents an inexpensive solution for many gardeners to the issue of cats fouling their gardens.

They do work though, read proof and see them in action in our Do Cat Repellers Work page.

Water Cat Repellents

Water Cat Repellers

Water Cat Repellents use a short sharp spray of water to scare cats off, rather than the ultrasonic sound emitted by other devices.

When the unit detects movement it automatically sprays a jet of water for a few seconds in a small arc. The sound and the water act as a double deterrent to cats and other animals who immediately run off and remember not to come back again.

The advantage over ultrasonic units is that all animal are deterred, even if they are deaf. Your garden would be protected from cats, dogs, deers, critters and vermin.

The disadvantage of this type of deterrent is that it requires a connected hose for the water, and also a power supply to power the motion detector and the jet of water. This means a little more setting up is required.

However some modern units work from a small reservoir of water, doing away with the need for a hose. Some units also use solar power to trickle charge an internal battery, which does away with the need for a power supply. These units are extremely popular due to their effectiveness and ease of setup.

Powder Cat Repellent

Chemical Cat Repellers

Although we are referring to this category as a Powder repellent, it could perhaps be more suitable referred to as "chemical" deterrent as it also includes gel.

Whether it is gel or powder this type of repellent is very popular although it is not the type we would recommend, for several reasons.

Chemical repellents are subject to weather conditions and will blow away in high winds, or be washed away in heavy rain. This has a huge effect on their effect, diluting the success rate hugely.

Powder and gel cat deterrents uses chemicals to scare cats off, sometimes by simulating fox urine. Although humans may not pickup on the smell this is an unpleasant method of repelling cats.

If children or pets use the area, we would not recommend using powder or gel products for obvious reasons.