Any advice for keeping out pests (animals)?

My boxes are now partially planted but I have now realized I have a problem... DOGS AND CATS! At any given time there is at least one cat in my yard (not mine--my cats live in the house) and my neighbors have two little toy dogs that are allowed to roam through the neighborhood freely (they go under gates, etc so even a fence doesn't keep them out). This morning I found one of the dogs digging in one box and one of them had peed all over the plastic cover of the other one. This has already been an ongoing problem but now I've made it worse by adding a garden for them to destroy. For the sake of the relationship with my neighbors I haven't called animal control but I'm about ready to do it.

I put some netting over the boxes and I think this will probably keep the cats at bay, but the dog just walked right on top of it, mashed it down and managed to break the PVC frame that was holding it up in the process. Any advice or do I resort to calling animal control?

Try sprinkling Coffee grounds over your garden it is said that cats don't like it and we have had some luck with it in our flowers. I have saved up a couple of pounds of used grounds and sprinkle them over my beds occasionally. I'm not sure if it will deter the dogs. I would also go and have a nice mannerly talk with your neighbor with no threats, If it happens again pay another visit after the second visit a third incident and Id call the pound.

Try sticking plastic forks tine side up where they go under the fence and in the garden. Absolutely have a chat with the neighbor. I would set a clear boundry and state expectations that the dogs no longer enter your yard and garden. Then I would call animal control. There is a difference in being assertive and being confrontational. Good luck!

An earlier post by someone suggested screening that you can get at Home Depot for about $7.00 a roll to keep critters outs. You could use bricks or rocks to secure the corners.

As for dogs that are allowed to roam free... I'm pretty sure that's against the law, at least in my part of the county. I wouldn't hesitate to call Animal control. You have the right to enjoy your yard without worrying about other people's pets coming in and doing damage.

Good luck!

Andrea on this forum recomended the ScareCrow® motion-activated sprinkler. Here is the info on it but it is available on Amazon for about half the listed price:
http://www.contech-inc.com/products/scarecrow/

Thanks for all the tips! I especially like the scarecrow, which would be great since we also have rabbits and deer wandering through occasionally.

As for the dogs, I talked to some neighbors this afternoon that have already approached the dog owners and they are unwilling to lock up their dogs so it's time for animal control. It IS against the law for them to roam and I'm tired of dealing with them. To make matters worse I actually think they are trying to breed one of them...