The CBO 3000!!

A Smart Garden Deterrent for Home Assistant

The Cat Bugger Off 3000 is a fully automated, pet-friendly garden deterrent. Powered by Frigate AI object detection and Home Assistant automation’s.

it activates your garden sprinklers when a cat is detected—gently encouraging feline visitors to bugger off, without harm.

🎯 What You’ll Need

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Home Assistant (with MQTT enabled)
Frigate NVR setup and running (Setup instructions)
Compatible garden-facing camera
A smart plug
12 Volt Power supply
12v water solenoid (Normally closed)
A cheap water sprinkler (I use 2 of these, I have blocked the holes on the top and the first 2 holes from the center on each arm so the water is spreads further)
YAML access in Home Assistant

💡 How It Works

Frigate detects a cat (target animal) in the camera feed using object recognition.
It sends an MQTT message.
Home Assistant automation receives the trigger.
Home Assistant check’s if it is allowed run the script, this is based on a input_boolean that can be turned on and off from the dashboard, I use this if washing in on the line or if we are in the garden.
Sprinklers activate briefly (6 seconds) —making the cat bugger off, this works for cats and any other animals.

✅ Why It’s Pet-Friendly

No chemicals, no harm: just a short burst of water
AI-targeted: minimizes false triggers and avoids other pets or wildlife
Easily controllable: disable it any time via dashboard toggle button

The Automation

alias: Cat Bugger off 3000
description: ""
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id:
      - binary_sensor.garden_cat_occupancy
    to: "on"
conditions:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: input_boolean.washing_on_line
    state: "off"
actions:
  - action: script.turn_on
    metadata: {}
    data: {}
    target:
      entity_id: script.sprinkler_run
mode: single

The Script

alias: Sprinkler Run
description: ""
sequence:
  - action: switch.turn_on
    data: {}
    target:
      device_id: #the device ID of your solenoid Plug
  - delay:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 0
      seconds: 6
      milliseconds: 0
  - action: switch.turn_off
    data: {}
    target:
      device_id: #the device ID of your solenoid Plug
mode: single
icon: mdi:sprinkler-variant

The input_boolean

Put this in you configuration.yaml

input_boolean:
  washing_on_line:
    name: Washing On Line
    icon: mdi:tshirt-crew
    initial: off

The Template Sensor

This goes in your configuration.yaml in the template section.

template:
  - sensor:
      - name: "Washing Line Status Message"
        unique_id: washing_line_status_message
        state: >-
          The Cat Bugger Off 3000 has been {{
            'armed' if is_state('input_boolean.washing_on_line', 'on') else 'Disarmed'
          }}.

The dashboard button

Create a conditional button on you dashboard for Armed.

show_name: true
show_icon: true
type: button
entity: input_boolean.washing_on_line
tap_action:
  action: call-service
  service: script.announce_washing_line_status
hold_action:
  action: none
icon: mdi:cat
name: "CBO 3000: ARMED"
visibility:
  - condition: state
    entity: input_boolean.washing_on_line
    state: "off"
grid_options:
  columns: 6
  rows: 2

Create a second conditional button on your dashboard for Disarmed.

show_name: true
show_icon: true
type: button
entity: input_boolean.washing_on_line
tap_action:
  action: call-service
  service: script.announce_washing_line_status
hold_action:
  action: none
icon: mdi:cat
name: "CBO 3000: DISARMED"
visibility:
  - condition: state
    entity: input_boolean.washing_on_line
    state: "on"
grid_options:
  columns: 6
  rows: 2

The announcement automation

This announces via a speaker that the cat bugger off 3000 is armed or disarmed.

alias: Announce and Toggle Washing Line
sequence:
  - target:
      entity_id: input_boolean.washing_on_line
    action: input_boolean.toggle
    data: {}
  - data:
      entity_id: assist_satellite.home_assistant_voice_09722b_assist_satellite # Change this to your preferred media device
      message: |
        {{ states('sensor.washing_line_status_message') }}
    action: assist_satellite.announce

The Cat Bugger Off 3000 in action

if you have any issues setting yours up, feel free to make a comment below, I am happily help.

If you have found this information useful feel free to buy me a coffee to help keep this content free and online.

HA by Telson