And another one:
A potentially GREAT way to cut down on critters outside your house is to buy a bar of Irish Spring soap and hang it outside somewhere near your front and/or back doors. Lots of creatures CAN’T STAND the smell. Supposedly critters as small as flies and as large as deer can’t stand the smell.
When I first took a bar to my daughter’s house, we tried an experiment. We took a bar over to her cat. It was curious and got close enough to sniff the soap. It suddenly jerked back away from the bar. The second time (seconds later) it jerked away again. The third time it just ran away! Great endorsement for something that cost $1 at Walmart.