Squirrels eat tomatoes?

[littlekrb]

I made it just through July and this week 2 of my tomatoes got big bites taken out of them. Squirrels? I don't think rabbits eat tomatoes do they? It is cray because we have lots of rabbits in the area, but I have yet to see a single squirrel in the neighborhood since we moved here in December. Rabbits make much more sense but I thought I read they don't eat tomatoes. Any advice? Also, are they still edible if I cut around the bite? Or do I have to toss them?

[lakngulf]

Just came from my garden. Scattered around were five or six partially chewed maters with "squirrel" written all over them. I would be very angry if I was short on tomatoes. And their tastes vary, sometimes it is the ripest, and sometimes the green ones.

I have had problems with the squirrels for several years now. Sometimes I declare war on them with a .22. Yesterday I was sitting in a hammock chair near the garden, swinging with my six month old grandson. We watched the thief in action, survey the varieties, picked out a nice green one, grabbed and scurried back to the woods.

[rainbowgardener]

Rabbits will take some bites off tomatoes, as will squirrels. I don't have rabbits. I have tons of squirrels and if given the chance they will come along and take a couple bites out of each tomato!

[Kisal]

Squirrels are out in the daytime to feed. If you haven't seen any, it would be unusual to discover that they live in your area. However, unless you have dogs that chase and sometimes catch squirrels in your yard, as I do, I would find it odd that they don't live in your area.

They are pretty ubiquitous everywhere I've ever lived. I don't know where you're located, so I have no idea about the presence of squirrels in your area.

I've never found the squirrels around here to be interested in tomatoes. I throw sunflower seeds out in a part of my front yard near the public sidewalk, and I also have water available to the squirrels in the front. My veggies are in the back, well protected by my squirrel hunting pooches. Squirrels don't venture there anymore. If they do, they usually don't survive the visit.

[Dillbert]

..... birds

I've seen them peck holes in any number of garden products . . .

rabbits are easy to in / ex - clude. rabbits don't climb into the tomato plant to eat a hole in a tomato 24" off the ground. squirrels will, birds - nadda problem . . .

[Jeremy brua]

Mmmmm.... Squirrels in tomato sauce.

[littlekrb]

Birds! That could totally be it. I have a robin's nest under my deck. And I think another one in a small tree next to my garden. Funny how they would just now start pecking at the tomatoes though.

I think the reason we lack squirrels is because it is a newer neighborhood so there are few trees and the ones that exist are small. And my neighborhood is surrounded by corn fields, so again, no trees.

[veggiedan]

Let me tell you my squirrel story from this summer.

I was having exactly the same problems with tomatoes. I'd come out to the patch, and find a tomato -- sometimes green, sometimes partly ripe, half eaten on the lawn in front. Every other day or so. The squirrel (it was clearly a gray squirrel) was getting about half of my crop. I started picking tomatoes before they were ripe in order to ripen them safely. I have *lots* of squirrels, but I was getting the impression the offender was precisely one of them.

I tried to surround the tomatoes with chicken wire, but the the thief always found its way in.

OK, I'm getting mad. I plotted to trap the squirrel. I'm too cheap to buy a trap, so I consulted the advice on the web. Toilet paper rolls slathered with peanut butter suspended over buckets was a biggie. The dumb squirrel is supposed to hop on the roll, flip over, and end up in the bucket. Um, like sure. Actually, the squirrel sits on the edge of the bucket (I used a trash bin), and paws at the roll until it can grab it. My squirrel ain't that dumb.

So then I decided to get more clever. I took a cat carrier (small plastic cage with a hinged door in front), and spring loaded the door with stretched rubber bands. So when it shut, it was held tightly shut. I VERY DELICATELY prop the door open with a dowel that stretched from the back of the carrier to one of the wire grids on the grill in front. I put a little dish of peanut butter in the back of the cat carrier.

Two hours later - BANG! The door snaps shut as the squirrel, squeezing into the carrier to get the peanut butter, leans against the dowel pushing it off the grill wire. I race out there and latch the door shut.

Then I leisurely take it to a park a few miles away and let it go. Now, the weaning season goes until a month before I trapped this squirrel, so there weren't any kids left stranded. I'd feel bad about that.

That was three weeks ago. No more tomato thefts. The chicken wire is gone. In fact, a bird feeder that was hard to keep full because of a squirrel raiding it is now untouched. Yay! One squirrel.

Now, take my word. If you want to trap a squirrel, 95% of the problem is having irresistible bait. I've heard nuts, corn, etc. are good. But for this squirrel, a dab of peanut butter was just the absolute best. The beast just couldn't stay away. You could see it scoping out a trap, getting closer and closer as he smelled it and was getting drawn in. Peanut butter is a squirrel magnet.

Yeah, I'm tempted to head out to the park with some crackers and peanut butter, and leave them as an offering where I deposited the squirrel. No hard feelings, guy!

[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/29881976@N08/7523754466/[/url]

Squirrel in carrier. Dowel removed. Rubber bands hanging in the background.

[applestar]

Someone starting taking tiny bites out of the ripest tomato -- not just any tomato but the much anticipated BLACK KRIM. My culprit is a chipmunk.

After the 2nd one got bites taken out, I learned and picked the almost ripe but not quite 3rd fruit to finish ripening inside.

I'm not tossing the entire fruit just because of a bite mark or two though. (Are you kidding?) I cut the small bites and surrounding fruit out, and we ate the rest. They were absolutely delicious.

[lakngulf]

This morning I was walking toward the garden with my grandson (six months old). A mostly eaten green tomato fell from a sweet gum tree and nearly hit us. Later I sat on the porch and heard something drop from another tree. It was a nice red ripe tomato.

Oh, and there are now two less squirrels in the neighborhood.

[Smallgardener]

I have had more problems with birds eating on my tomatos this year. And the squirrels are taking my peaches.

[Dillbert]

one of the theories behind bird munching on tomatoes, etc. is they are after the moisture / water.

you might try setting out "something" akin to a bird bath and see if that diverts them.

[lakngulf]

I was looking through some old photobucket pictures and found this one. You may have to zoom a bit to see it, but there is a nice red tomato in the crook of the pine tree.

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

[RogueRose]

I thought it was squirrels..............turned out it was groundhogs.

[rainbowgardener]

If it is groundhogs most of the tomato will be eaten. If it is squirrels, just a couple little bites out of each one, they more like the juice. If it is raccoons, the tomatoes will be all eaten and the plants will be all trampled and a big mess made. If it is deer, the green tomatoes will just be all vanished one morning with nothing to show that they were ever there but maybe a hoof print in the ground.

I don't currently have deer, but do have all the rest. In the past where I was, we had deer too.

[applestar]

Tomato stashed in the tree

Lake water's not good enough for your spoiled squirrels, eh?

It's still a good idea to set out birdbaths and wildlife watering stations though. It's more effective to locate them between the trees (or wherever they are coming from) and the garden.

[susanapics]

I lost every tomato on four plants one year to squirrels and/or raccoons. Every one was disappeared completely. I did see a squirrel in a tree with one in its mouth though. The next year I planted twice as many thinking we could share. ha. The squirrels didn't sign on to that idea and took all of those too. The third year I went on strike and got my tomatoes at the farmer's market. Once (years ago) I caught a box turtle munching on a tomato near the bottom. She got a free pass because she wasn't a squirrel Rabbits eat peaches and figs I can't imagine they wouldn't eat tomatoes.

[ExcitableGardener]

I posted this in the forums a couple months ago. [url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45179&highlight=[/url] Its not for everybody, but it sure helped me with my bird and squirrel problems.

The funny thing is I used to hate the birds and squirrels and now that they can't eat my garden I actually enjoy watching them.

[3 Pound Tomato]

The squirrels destroyed my tomato crop this year. It has been a terrible drought here in Maryland, they even eat the green ones. Some years I'll trap them, but this year I didn't have the time.

[rainbowgardener]

Deer netting! It's the lazy gardener's version of what excitable gardener showed. Stick in some stakes, wrap deer netting around them, stake it down at the bottom and pull it together over the top with twist ties.

Cheap, takes 15 min, and keeps squirrels, groundhogs, birds, and etc away from your tomatoes. I would never get to eat a tomato if I didn't cage them in with netting.

[susanapics]

Here's a big version of Excitable Gardener's solution. I really love it because it's secure (maybe) and serene at the same time [url]https://ediblegardensla.tumblr.com/post/28906666716/growing-tomatoes-squash-cucumbers-beans-golden[/url]

[rainbowgardener]

beautiful... I love it, but it really only works when your garden is all compact in one spot. I have different beds spread all over the front and back yard. The deer netting is nice for wrapping each bed individually.

[susanapics]

Deer netting is probably more practical too since you can move it if you need/want to. I might try it with my fruit trees next year. I have a new place that has an herb garden and other things but no vegetable garden yet so for now, I have options. Not a lot of extra cash, but options. It's very exciting.