What's eating my red and green tomatoes? (pics)

[smokensqueal]

What is eating my tomatoes? It seem like they don't care if they are red or green. This red one was about a foot or two feet off the ground.

We seem to be having a problem with moles or voles around the house this year. I found a hole about 5 ft away from the tomato plant and wonder maybe if they would eat them.

[img]https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4769916182_06f938e06a_m.jpg[/img]

[img]https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4769276473_033873e9e2.jpg[/img]

[Kisal]

Moles are carnivores, so they wouldn't be interested in tomatoes. Voles most definitely would, however.

This UC article has good information about voles and suggests various methods of control:

https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7439.html

[smokensqueal]

Thanks I'll take a look at that link. I knew that moles did more of the bug thing and vole ate more plants. For a while I thought we had moles because they were pushing up the ground so much. Now I'm thinking it's voles because there are holes everywhere. The wife thought she saw one skury across the patio yesterday but she said she didn't get a good look at it. All she knows, she said, was it wasn't a rabbit. Which we have a LOT of those too.

[garden5]

Hmmm...if was a foot or two off the ground, I don't think it could have been a vole. That is, unless you has something next to the plant that he could climb up to get to it.

Where is the plant, is it on the porch, next to the house, or out in the yard?

[smokensqueal]

It's next to the house. I'm not sure how the tomato was situated. It could of been next to the cage or next to a ledge on the house.

Even if it's not a vole that link that Kisal sent was very helpful. And now that I read it I know for a fact that we have voles because I've seen the little trails connecting holes. Time to get out the traps before the wreck everything.

[TZ -OH6]

Hornworms are a good bet for big damage on green fruits. Chipmonks are tomato lovers, good climbers, and big time across patio skurriers. They also dig long tunnels so you don't see them much.

[garden5]

It looks like squirrels can do some damage as well. Here's a post in another thread by Lakngulf:

Squirrels can be a major problem. I have some second season tomatoes in my back yard--cooler area, etc. Each day I see a green tomato or two on the ground. They like em green too, but usually do not finish them off.

One year, when we were having a serious drought, the squirrels even hoarded some tomatoes. Look closely in this picture for the nice, juicy, red tomato in the bend of the pine tree.


[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/G2010J2/IMG_1450.jpg[/img]

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah it looked like squirrels to me-- they are famous for coming along and taking two bites out of each tomato! Why can't they just finish one?

Could also be groundhogs who also love tomatoes, if you have groundhogs around.

I have all these critters (+ possums, raccoons, etc) in my yard, which is why I grow my tomatoes under netting. If I didn't, I would never get to eat a homegrown tomato.