Use Old Tights For A Temporary Fix To Keep Pets Out Of The Houseplant Pot

If there's one thing that'll turn your sweet kitten into a bad ol' puddy tat in nothing flat, it's the sight of houseplants. For most cats, and a few puppies, too, that phildendron's leaves are toys to be chewed on and swatted and its dirt, well, that's a restroom in the making. With such ready temptations so close by, it's quite the trick to keep one's furry friends out of the plants.

Fortunately for those of us who find ourselves in this predicament, there are other pet owners who have gone before us who know a few tricks, one of whom is @fridlaa on Instagram. She hacked some old tights – literally – to make a cover for her planters. To get started, she cut the legs off of the tights and then trimmed the feet off of the tights' legs. This basically left her with a tube made of tights.

This footless piece slides around the base of the planter and is then pulled all the way up over the top of the pot, leaving just a small hole around the base of the plant's stem. Because tights are made of flexible material, they'll fit around planters in a variety of sizes. Their flexibility also allows you to pull them up very close to the plant, which leaves less room for Fido to dig in and makes your home more dog-friendly in the process. It's better for your cat, too, for the same reason.

In a pinch, this will keep your pets out of your plants' dirt, but for as many pros as this method has – easy, cheap, readily available – it also comes with some cons, too. Cats are curious. Dogs can be persistent, particularly if they're the digging kind. Many breeds, like certain terriers, are. In other words, it's likely that, despite the barrier, they'll try to dig anyway. At minimum, you're looking at their claws getting stuck on the nylon material. If your cat or dog has a torn toenail, digging into the material of the tights could make it worse and much more painful.

Aside from this, the material itself is bound to get dirty and possibly moldy due to repeated exposure to the dirt and water. The combination of the repeated moisture and possible warm temperatures sets the stage for mold and mildew to bloom in the material of the tights. This turns a good idea into a smelly one that could also make your pet sick or turn your plant's soil moldy. 

And let's face it — some animals are just clever. If a cat can figure out how to get itself registered on the doorbell cam, it can also hatch ideas about how it might remove a little patch of material from its favorite planter pot. In light of this, you'll want to look at this solution as temporary. It'll tide you over until you can come up with a more permanent way to stop your furry kids from digging in the dirt.

On the most basic level, adding a handful of stones, shells, or pinecones to the top of the soil in the planter discourages digging. Watering the plant won't be a problem because the water will still seep down through the cracks in the rocks or shells and make it to the plant's roots. However, digging in this will be uncomfortable for your pets, which should make them back off a bit.

Placing the plant at a higher level to deny access to it can also help. Putting the plant on a tall, sturdy stand may keep your pup out. You might need to be a bit more clever if you have a cat, since they're bound to climb even up the curtains in some cases. Hanging the plant from a planter that's hooked to the ceiling will likely stop this.

Finally, you may need to do something to satisfy the need to dig. For your dog, this might mean a romp near the banks of the local river so she can dig to her heart's content. For Mr. Puddy, find a plant that cats love, like cat grass. Essentially, you're giving your little ol' puddy tat his own plant to dig in, and voila! You get healthy plants and your cat gets his dig on. It's a win-win for sure.