LESLIE: Vivian in Colorado’s got some unwanted visitors in the backyard. How can we help?
VIVIAN: I do. I have them in the front yard, too.
TOM: Uh oh. (chuckling)
VIVIAN: I have a new neighbor and she has several cats and they’re all roamers.
TOM: (chuckling) I thought she was going to say, “I have a new neighbor and she has several children.”
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Oh, they’re not strangers.
VIVIAN: (chuckling) No, she has – well, she has grown children but she has cats.
TOM: (laughing) OK.
VIVIAN: And they are roamers and they’ve been relieving themselves on my front and my back lawn.
TOM: Oh, very nice.
LESLIE: Aw.
VIVIAN: And there could be dogs involved, too; although I can’t swear to that. I have seen the cats. I like all my neighbors; including my new neighbor. I like cats. I just don’t want the extracurricular activity. (laughter) I wondered what I can do.
TOM: Oh, I have a very devious idea for you.
VIVIAN: (chuckling) I don’t want to be too devious.
TOM: This is something that – this is something that will not hurt the cats but it will totally freak them out.
VIVIAN: OK.
TOM: Get a sprinkler and hook it up to a motion sensor. When the cats come into your yard …
LESLIE: Oh, that’s smart.
TOM: … the sprinklers kick on and spray water. I tell you, after a couple of days, they’ll never want to step foot in your yard again.
VIVIAN: OK, that’s a great idea.
LESLIE: Also, you can take some lengths of hose pipe and just sort of sprinkle them around your yard in places where they seem to enter the property, because they might mistake it for a snake and get all freaked out and run away. Or you can also try to use prunings from rose bushes or anything else that might be a little bit thorny …
VIVIAN: OK.
LESLIE: … and just sprinkle those, also, around the places you think they’re coming over. And that might scare them away, too.
TOM: Or buy a big honking dog. (chuckling)
VIVIAN: (laughing) I know I’m not home enough to have my own pets, so …
TOM: I think the sprinkler idea is a good one and it works very, very well.
VIVIAN: OK, with a motion sensor. I didn’t even know there was such a thing. So, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
TOM: You’re welcome, Vivian.
VIVIAN: Have a great day.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
I’m so glad she wasn’t trying to keep the kids away. (laughter)
888-666-3974.
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