Pest Repellent for indoor plants

by Amber McClellan
(Chapel Hill, TN)

Dracaena

My cat is always interested in my plants. I recently bought two Dracaena plants and used Cayenne Pepper as a repellent. It has worked but now I am seeing something that looks like mold on the cayenne pepper I placed on the soil around the plant. Is this normal? What natural repellent should I use?

Comments for Pest Repellent for indoor plants

Click here to add your own comments

May 14, 2020

Not Clear
by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist

It wasn't very clear on if you want to keep your cats away, or some other pest.

There are repellents especially designed for cats, called Skoot, but I've never used them, and you would have to investigate if it's okay to use it indoors.

The best way to keep cats off plants is to provide them with plants that they're allowed to chew on, like barley grass, or wheat. They need the chlorophyll, and if they're not getting it from an outdoor source, they'll eat your plants. Draceana looks a lot like grass!

The mold you're seeing on the soil is normal, if a bit unsightly. Maybe take a fork and scratch it into the soil, or scoop it off with a spoon to get rid of it.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Ask the Horticulturist.