manomes
Full Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:48 pm
Location: Southern California

Will bird netting keep squirrels out?

Last year the birds got many of my ripening tomatoes before I realized what was happening and put netting over the plants.

I have 4 potted tomato plants (gowing them on the patio) this year and have covered all of them with netting even though they've just started setting fruit - well the three I planted first anyway. I'm pretty excited because I probably did everything wrong when I transplanted the seedlings, but dozens of tiny green tomatoes are growing!!

This morning I chased away a squirrel that was running around the plants. There is at least one squirrel that has taken up permanent residence in the large tree just behind my condo - I'm pretty sure this was him. I've never seen squirrels come onto the patio before, so I assume he was after the tomatoes.

So a couple of questions -- do squirrels like or eat tomatoes? If so, will the nylon netting keep them out?

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rainbowgardener
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Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Squirrels seem to mostly like the juice. So they will come along and take one or two bites out of every tomato and leave the rest. :evil:

The deer/ bird netting will keep them out if you make a cage of it. That is, it is staked down at the bottom and pulled together over the top. Squirrels as you know are excellent climbers, so if you just have it on the sides, they will find a way to climb in.

It's kind of a pain, because then you have to open the cage whenever you want to get to your tomatoes, but I have to do it. I have squirrels, raccoons, woodchucks, etc and would never get a tomato myself if I didn't cage them in.



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