The Big CheesePrickle Strip Dog Stopper – 2 m x 28 cm wide, durable Grow-thru Deterrent Protects Plants and Bulbs and Prevents Cats, Dogs, and Wildlife from Digging the Garden and Plant Pots

For months I'd been coming downstairs in the morning to find "something" had been digging up my flowerbed, and either uprooting/ removing the smaller plants or damaging larger ones. I thought it was cats, but there's never been any gifts left behind - I wondered if it was crows, but nope, they seem to just attack my neighbour's lawn. As the months went by, and never seeing any culprits, it became apparent that some of the bulb plants that SHOULD have been coming through were not. I went for a rake and found they'd actually been taken - I was beginning to think it might be human weirdos - so I set up a camera...My garden problem turned out to be urban foxes - digging up my flowerbeds and eating my bulbs. I didn't even know foxes ate bulbs, but every day's a school day!Anyway, vandals identified, I started trying out different deterrent methods. An ultrasonic scarer worked for a while (and I've not seen a cat cross my garden since), but soon the foxes just got used to it. I hate chemical products, but thought I'd try them out of desperation... and they did absolutely NOTHING. Then I found this.AND IT'S AMAZING!Since installing, not only have the excavations stopped, but the foxes just don't even bother coming for a look now.I set it up so that the spines peep just out of the soil surface, so unless you're really looking you don't see them - but I caught a fox heading to the bed, it put one paw on and leapt back. It went in again, sniffed, tried pawing at the soil in a couple of areas, and then promptly tottered away - joy!! And there's been no soil disturbance since.Now I will say that while hugely effective, it's not the best presentation. It comes in a roll, and seems to retain form-memory, as it tries to roll back once unfurled. The little pegs are utterly useless in keeping it down - they're far too short to get an anchor, and the hook ends too small to get purchase on the soil - so the mat just springs back. I found the best way to lay it is instead to use a couple of large stones to pin the ends down for a few weeks, during which the sun heats the plastic and relaxes it, and the stones can be removed.So bad elements aside, this has stopped my bulbs being eaten, plants being damaged, and above all - stopped the foxes even bothering to explore my garden. Worth every penny!

[~UPDATE: Although this was good on prepared beds/pots to prevent digging, I also tried it along a brick wall to disrupt the route cats take. The cats would simply prance over it; the spikes just aren't uncomfortable enough for them to avoid it completely and go another way.So I've dropped a star. Still useful but if there was a spikier but still harmless version I'd want to try that. ~]For my purposes this was a fair value and effective deterrent to urban foxes.I only needed it to cover pots in which I'd planted bulbs, so one roll will do me for ages.Once down, it isn't very visible and daffs etc. can grow through it up to a point.It DOES require some decent pegs to keep it secure and I used these robust numbers: Hyfive Heavy Duty Metal Tent Pegs/Hooks for Camping Tent, Awning, Tarpaulin Pack of 20I know it keeps foxes from digging up my bulbs; not only have the bulbs remained protected but one of the charming furry urchins took a dump on one spiky panel, out of frustration p'raps.

I have 4 cats, and since putting this down over my flower beds, all except one avoid the area. One of them will sometimes still walk over it, but it prevents him digging there. I don't have a big problem with foxes, but I think it would probably work for foxes, too, although they might still walk over it, and pooh on top of it - would maybe depend how ingrained their use of the area is.. The provided plastic fixtures are useless, far too small/short, at least, for fixing it in the ground. For flower pots, they might just about work, but I used other pegs, the U-shaped metal ones. It's a bit awkward to use if you're planting potted plants, or you have existing mature plants, as the holes, at 2 cm x 1 cm, are far too narrow/small to allow enough space for the plants to fit through. It would probably work better if you sowed seeds, or planted bulbs, then covered them with it. But anything that forms a thicker stem or a clump in the middle, like ferns, will eventually be restricted by the size of the holes. I solved this by cutting holes for the plants, and as long as the holes are not too big, it will still prevent digging. The only plants for which I'd use it without cutting holes would be ground cover plants, thin-stemmed bulbs or grass.. However, despite the extra effort, I am happy, as this is first thing that has worked for me - my cats used to trample my plants. I tried the sprays, spreading pepper, various mulches, and even sticking pointy sticks/plastic forks around the plants. It's a bit over-priced for what it is, but for me, it was worth it to have plants survive again.. It would work even better (probably also for foxes) if the spikes were taller and thicker - they're only 1.5 cm high and quite thin. That would also be better for mulching over it. I put Strulch (mineralised straw mulch) over it, which also hides it (didn't like how it looked without), and it still works, as long as you don't spread it too thick, but chipped bark and similar might end up covering it altogether. Overall, would recommend, at least for cats..