17 Fuss-Free Pet Care Tips

Ants love to invade kitchens and laundries, and one of their favourite destinations is the pet food bowl.

Keep them at bay by setting the bowl in a pan of water.

It’ll deter the ants and doubles as a water dish.

Birdseed that drops to the ground can grow into an unwanted jumble of plants.

Keep seed from sprouting by positioning a piece of scrap carpet underneath bird feeders.

To get rid of the hulls, sweep the carpet or shake it into a bin.

Be warned that the carpet scrap will kill the grass underneath.

A pet bird that makes a bid for freedom can be difficult to recapture.

Try closing the curtains and turning off all the lights.

Birds don’t usually fly in the dark so it’ll land and be easy to spot with a torch.

Growing a neat lawn in an area frequented by dogs is difficult but not impossible.

Acidic dog urine discolours and kills grass, leaving a patchwork of brown spots.

Here are a few ways to keep your grass green.

Apply lime regularly to neutralise the acid in the soil and restore the balance grass prefers.

Add tomato juice by the tablespoonful to your dog’s food each day to help neutralise urine.

Water the lawn thoroughly each week to dilute urine.

Replace grass with round pebbles bordered by brick or concrete edging.

Fed up with the dog digging up the same spot in your garden over and over again?

Keep the dog away by crumbling a cake of toilet freshener over the area. The smell really puts them off.

Do the local cats just love to dig up young plants in your garden?

Cats are repelled by the smell of citrus, so poke pieces of orange, grapefruit and lemon rind into the soil of flower and veggie beds, then dust lightly with soil.

Store peel in the freezer until it’s needed.

Does your dog’s barking in the car drive you mad? Try this trick.

Every time your dog barks, close the window (but watch his head).

He’ll quickly learn that barking means no fresh air and no slobbery tongue flapping in the breeze.

After a few car rides you’ll both be driving around in blissful silence.

Next time you walk the dog, take a plastic shower cap with you.

When the pooch gets thirsty, fill the cap from your water bottle and hold it out for them to have a drink.