To redo the garden in a rented place?

[Boopbobeedo]

Ok, bear with me. It's going to be a little long and a bit difficult to describe without being very outing but I'll try and give you the gist!

I live in a rural location in a property on a site where my landlord also lives. Completely separate buildings but same (large) plot of land, along with several other tenants who also have their own buildings. Each property has their own fenced off section of garden.

My section doesn't have a gate on it (I think it used to) so anyone can just wander in any time in theory. As I live alone it would be a bit more reassuring to be able to lock my 'area' off - it's not a huge concern as no one really comes in uninvited anyway but it feeds into my next issue..

My landlord is a huge animal lover - there are a LOT of stray cats and wild birds in the area and he puts our huge bags of feed for all of them. So much so that next door had a rat problem because all the food was attracting them. They decimate absolutely everything in my garden as they can just come in the garden and shit everywhere/eat everything as there is no gate keeping them out and a massive food supply for them. As if stands I cannot use my garden at all because there is just cat and bird poop everywhere and there is no point cleaning it up as it will be ruined again a day later (I have tried in vain! I even have a special designated poop sweeping broom).

Wibu to ask him if I can completely redo the garden so I can actually use it? My plan (eventually) is as follows:

Add a new, lockable gate,
Dig up/ replace all the grass and weeds with membrane and either chippings or stones,
Add a small decking area on top of the stones so I can put out some chairs to sit outside when the weather is nice - this would just be decking tiles rather than anything permanent, it's just to make a flat base for chairs/table,
Put some planters or pots out with ornamental flowers or attach small planters to the fence so I can plant flowers without the birds and cats ruining them 😆

Is this ok? Or would this be too major an overhaul on a garden I don't own?

It's definitely not fox poo. I haven't personally seen any rats or any evidence of them, it's only the neighbours who said they previously had a rat infestation which was some time ago. There's a lot of people who have had cat problems who will attest to the fact that cats definitely do not always bury theirs!

I'm not surprised that there is a coexisting rat/cat problem. The cats are fed well and very regularly so there's no incentive for them to hunt anything.

Rats love decking

Cats hunt because it's their instinct to, not just if they're hungry. Consequently, rats tend to avoid areas where there are a lot of cats. You sound like you have all the answers though, so you don't need our help. The bottom line is ywnbu to redesign your garden if your landlord gives you permission, and ywbu if he doesn't. Simple really.

No need to be snarky! I'm just trying to get some advice from people who may have had similar problems and I'm wondering if what I'm proposing (assuming I am allowed to do so of course) would help at all. Maybe I should have chosen a different title? I appreciate you don't live here and have no idea of the scale of the problem or what I'm dealing with on a daily basis but I can assume you it is very annoying and frustrating to be paying rent for a property where I can't use one section of it (Like having a 2 bedroom place but one bedroom is blocked off so it can be used for someone else's cats litter tray). Especially since I don't have anywhere to dry my clothes inside, I have to run a poo gauntlet every time I want to dry anything.

What I'm proposing is some kind of chipping with an area of flat/plastic or wood tiles to create an area for seating. Pics as an example. Then I can grow things in pots or hanging baskets and they won't get ruined, eaten, pooped on or dug up.

Obviously I'd rather have the option that requires less effort and expense so maybe I'll try the sonic deterrents first and see what happens.

Decking is a rat hotel and gravel would turn it into a big litter tray.

I wouldn't do all of that being as you are renting.

I would ask the landlord to install a gate but I wouldn't go further than that. The gate would give you some privacy but the cats are still likely to come in over the fence.

I think as others have said, a large area of gravel or chipping will make the issue worse, not better (chippings will be a lovely camouflage for cat poo). I’d suggest investing in a lawnmower and a garden store (plastic if you’re worried about assembly) to keep it in- at least if the grass is short you’ll see any poo. Then I would concentrate my efforts on a small area directly where you want to use it, so get some planters and plants to form a barrier, get some basic furniture, get every herbal/ non herbal animal deterrent known to man and use them all, de-poo daily and sit out there as much as you can and use a water gun on the cats. If you do everything you can to change their routine and make a small part of the garden “yours” they might get the message.

Oops, forgot to add pictures! What I'm aiming for is something like the third picture 😊

Would you be able to discuss this with your landlord? He needs to put out less food and then cats, rats and others won't be so plentiful. If you pay rent and that includes your garden you should be able to sit out in it. I wouldn't spend too much though but a little paved area with a bistro set sounds lovely

I know that does seem like the ideal solution! That really would have been my first port of call but he won't stop. He literally has a kids sandpit thing that he empties a huge sack of grain into for all the birds to eat. Wild birds come for it it he also has a lot of pet birds, ducks, chickens, guinea fowl, you name it! So they all just eat out of there. Similar situation for the cats, a lot of them sleep in his house but there's a lot of cats owned by various people around the site and he seems to just put a tonne of food out for all of them. It's a free for all! 😂

He's been spoken to about it by other tenants and is still doing it.

Sounds like a nightmare. IME (as a cat owner) that Cotswold Chipping you posted is too big for cats to shit on. So that might solve one of your problems. Foxes and rats will probably shit anywhere though...

How about something like this:
www.rubberfloorings.co.uk/productdetail/temporary-outdoor-portable-patio-flooring ? It appears that 9 tiles (3m x 3m) would cost you £206 including VAT and shipping, and it says it can be laid on any surface. Perhaps you could lay this directly on your grass and it will make a washable patio that you can hose down. You can take it with you when you move. I agree, from experience, that gravel isn’t ideal with cats.

@BlueMoon44 yes that's the sort of thing I'm after - something I can lay down with little prep and just temporary so I can remove it if I leave. Maybe I could edge it with the chippings?

I'd just like one area I can use that either isn't pooped on or can be easily cleaned to get rid of it. So I can have a BBQ or sit outside when it's nice 😊

To be honest there might be health and safely regulations he is not abiding by. Animal poo and rats carry disease and he has a responsibility as a landlord and as a citizen to not encourage the spread of disease

What sort of size and shape is your garden, OP?

Generally you'll have cats using your garden less as a toilet if you have a lawn, or a mowed grass area. That said, we have quite large gravel (which sounds like what you are after) in our front garden/drive and the cats don't use it as a litter tray, but they use next doors overgrown grass as one
The only way you could stop cats coming in would be to put those cat spikes across the top of your fence and new gate.
Rats dig, so putting a gate in won't stop them.

Is it hedgehog poo? Can look like cat, but more bitty in content?!?

I live in rented and I try to leave the gardens (keep them neat and tidy) but always end up doing them and being gutted i am leaving as it gets established.

If he’s a wildlife lover I would change the plan slightly, don’t go for the membrane stuff it’s awful for the environment and a shit to change the planting in the future. Use cardboard. It suppresses the weeds and mulches down. You can then mulch down over it. That’s what I did with my beds, and then come the spring planted straight in. I then re mulch with manure every autumn and sometimes spring. No weeds.

My cat LOVES bark and gravel so I wouldn’t go down that route. Your best bet is the stuff you can hose off the poo . So the tiles sound your best bet (it’s only hedgehogs that poo on my hard standing)

If he’s meant to cut the grass I’d consider reseeding it (or putting plugs in) of wild flowers. At least it will look pretty and like the weeds belong between cuts. The bees will thank you!

We feed birds and have 8 outdoor cats but have had no issues with rats. The cats kill them. If he didn't have the cats the issue may be worse.
Hopefully the cats are neutered, if not I'd speak to your landlord about this and encourage him to neuter them.

If you get permission, I'd go for it. I have rented various properties for years and I always do them up, do the gardens (if they have one), paint and decorate. I always leave the places looking nicer than when I moved in, I figure that since I'm living there it might as well be nice even though I don't own it.