The short version: Keep cats and birds off garden beds with barriers rather than by harming them. For cats, cover freshly sown beds, lay a coarse mulch so there is no soft open soil to dig, and keep beds planted. For birds, protect the vulnerable stages, just-sown seed, young seedlings and ripening fruit, with covers or properly installed wildlife-safe netting. Most native birds are protected by law, and some states and territories set rules for the netting you can use, so check what applies where you live.
On this page:
- Keeping cats out of the beds
- Protecting crops from birds
- Netting rules in Victoria and the ACT
- Humane deterrence across Australia's climate zones
- Frequently asked questions
Cats and birds both get into garden beds, but they call for different handling. What they have in common is that the humane methods are also the ones that work, and most of them cost very little.
Keeping cats out of the beds
Cats dig and toilet in soft, open soil, so the trick is to take away the easy digging.
- Cover seedbeds. A mesh or wire cloche, a mesh-topped frame, or chicken wire laid flat over the soil keeps cats off freshly sown beds until plants establish. Lift or remove it as the seedlings grow.
- Lay a coarse mulch. The RSPCA suggests pebbles, pine cones or large bark mulch to make soil less inviting for digging.
- Try a motion-activated sprinkler. The RSPCA names these as a less harmful deterrent: a burst of water startles cats without hurting them.
- Leave no bare soil. Keep beds planted, mulched and watered, since cats prefer dry, open ground.
- Use blunt supports, not spikes. Some gardeners push sticks into the soil to break up open ground. If you do, use blunt, sturdy stakes or plant supports rather than sharp skewers or thorny prunings, which could injure a cat, a bird or you.
Deterrent plants and scents such as rosemary and lavender are often suggested, but the evidence is weak and the scents wash off, so do not count on them. Do not use cayenne or chilli, which can get onto a cat's paws and into its eyes and cause real pain. If you own a cat, keeping it safely contained at home protects the cat and local wildlife, and is encouraged by the RSPCA and a growing number of councils. Cat droppings can carry Toxoplasma, so wear gloves when working the soil and wash your produce.
Protecting crops from birds
Many garden birds eat pest insects, and most native birds are protected by law. In New South Wales, for example, harming protected wildlife requires a licence. The rules and exceptions differ between states and territories, so the aim in a home garden is to protect the crop, not to harm or trap the birds. If birds are causing a serious problem, ask your state or territory wildlife authority before doing anything more than keeping them out.
- Cover the vulnerable stage. Cloches, tunnels and mesh covers over seedbeds protect just-sown seed and young seedlings, which is where much bird damage in vegetable beds happens.
- Use wildlife-safe netting for fruit and crops. Choose netting with a mesh so fine that you cannot poke a finger through it, pull it taut over a frame so it is held off the plants, and secure the edges so animals cannot get underneath. White netting is easier for animals to see. The legal requirements in Victoria and the ACT are set out below.
- Check it often. Inspect nets every day or two for trapped animals and damage, and take them down when the crop is harvested.
- Move your scarers around. Reflective tape, old discs and moving devices can work for a while, but birds get used to them, so shift and vary them and combine them with covers.
What to avoid: the wide black mesh in this photo is the kind that can trap birds, bats, possums and snakes. Wildlife-safe netting has a mesh far too fine for a finger to pass through.
Netting rules in Victoria and the ACT
Two jurisdictions make wildlife-safe netting a legal requirement for home gardens.
- Victoria: since 1 September 2021, netting used over household fruit trees, vegetable gardens and other fruiting plants must have a mesh no larger than 5 mm by 5 mm at full stretch, and non-compliant netting cannot be used or sold. See the Victorian Government's fruit tree netting guide.
- The ACT: since 29 March 2024, netting over fruit trees and vegetable gardens must be wildlife-friendly, with a mesh of 5 mm by 5 mm or smaller. See the ACT Government's netting page.
Elsewhere, we did not find a similar household law as of September 2026, but the same mesh size is recommended practice. NSW advice, for example, recommends mesh no larger than 5 mm by 5 mm at full stretch, white netting that animals can see, netting stretched taut and kept away from the tree, and regular checks for trapped wildlife. Rules can change, so check with your state or territory before you buy.
Humane deterrence across Australia's climate zones
The methods are the same across the country. What changes is which birds visit, when crops need protecting, and the local rules, so check with your council and your state or territory wildlife authority. These zones are broad groupings, so if your garden sits between two, go by your local conditions.
- Tropical (far north Queensland, the Northern Territory Top End, the Kimberley in Western Australia): fruit-eating birds and flying-foxes can be active year round, so check nets daily.
- Subtropical (south-east Queensland, northern New South Wales): flying-foxes feed on garden fruit, so wildlife-safe netting and daily checks matter here.
- Arid and semi-arid (inland New South Wales and Queensland, inland South Australia and Western Australia, central Northern Territory): birds seek out water and moist seedbeds in the heat, so cover newly sown and watered beds.
- Temperate (coastal New South Wales, the ACT, much of Victoria, south-east South Australia): the ACT and Victoria have their own netting rules, set out above.
- Mediterranean (Perth and south-west Western Australia, Adelaide and southern South Australia): protect ripening summer fruit, and check Western Australian and South Australian guidance before buying netting.
- Cool and alpine (Tasmania, alpine and highland Victoria and New South Wales): the same approach, and covers over seedlings can help against light frost too.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop cats digging in my beds?
Cover freshly sown beds, lay a coarse mulch so there is no soft open soil, and keep the beds watered and planted.
What makes netting wildlife-safe?
A mesh so fine you cannot poke a finger through it, pulled taut over a frame, with the edges secured, and checked often. Victoria and the ACT set a maximum mesh size in law, and netting with wider or loose mesh can trap birds, flying-foxes, possums and snakes.
How do I put netting up safely?
Build a frame so the net sits clear of the plants, pull it taut, weigh down or peg the edges, check it every day or two, and take it down and store it after harvest.
Are the birds actually helping?
Often, yes. Many eat pest insects, and most native birds are protected, so protect the crop rather than targeting the birds.
Do scare devices work long term?
Not on their own. Birds get used to them, so move them around and combine them with covers or netting.
Will scented plants like rosemary or lavender repel cats?
The evidence is weak and inconsistent, and scents wash off. Avoid chilli or cayenne on welfare grounds.
Take away the soft bare soil for cats, protect seedlings and fruit from birds with covers and safe netting, and you can keep both out of the beds without harming them.
Sources we checked
Written by the Happy Valley Seeds team. Last reviewed on 18 September 2026. We checked the main facts in this guide against these sources:
- RSPCA Knowledgebase: How do I stop a neighbour's cat from entering and toileting in my yard?
- NSW Environment and Heritage: Licences to control or harm native animals
- Victorian Government: Wildlife and fruit trees
- ACT Government: Wildlife friendly netting
- NSW Environment and Heritage: Flying-foxes and netting
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Ready to plant? Browse our vegetable seeds and flower seeds, and cover the seedbeds while they establish.