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kimbledawn
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Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:18 am
Location: Memphis

That's what my first ripe tomato looked like yesterday :evil:

Pinoyfisher
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 6:56 pm
Location: San Diego, Ca

My trusty pellet gun (1000 f.p.s) laid to rest 2 rabbits and 1 squirrel over the weekend :clap: But, there is one smart azz squirrel that is proving to be quite the adversary. As soon as I look out the window, he hightails it back to his burrow!! It's only a matter of time....tic...toc...tic...toc!

tedln
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Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:06 pm
Location: North Texas

Joyfirst wrote:Squarrel net?
No need to take drastic measures! Joyfirst was right.

Squirrel Net = Deep fried squirrel with mashed potatoes and biscuits and brown gravy. Maybe some garden tomatoes you saved from the squirrels and garden cucumber and garden salad on the side. Sounds mighty fine to me, and you can tell all your friends your entire meal came from your yard. :roll:

Ted

cynthia_h
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Location: El Cerrito, CA

I dunno, guys. I hate the Fluffy-Tailed Rats incredibly when they're eating *my* garden plants.

But to tell ya the truth: if I had to kill the meat I eat, I'd probably be a vegetarian. Maybe an occasional fish. Or a chicken/turkey that really, Really, REALLY got in my way! especially since I live on a 50' x 100' lot with mostly house, pavement, carport, and redwood tree. Any firearm/weapon I might even *think* of using would be much more likely to hit a neighbor's house than an intended squirrel target.

But by

1) encouraging the few outdoor cats on my block and my 10-year-old Bernese Mtn. Dog girl, who's always been eager to chase live prey (forget toys and balls; this girl will only chase The Real Thing--squirrels and birds),

2) PLUS telling my neighbor that she did the right thing by deciding not to feed squirrels on her porch after she found MICE eating the squirrel food (and BTW I deserve an Oscar for that performance; to this day, she thinks that I was grossed out about the mice and not the squirrel feeding),

I'm seeing many fewer squirrels in my redwood tree this year. No young 'uns, and that's the best news I've had re. squirrels in a very long time. :) Maybe this year my young plants won't have peanut shells buried next to their not-yet-settled roots.

Cynthia H.

Vergil had a much better day today; max pain meds yesterday and today have helped; he's much more comfy and slept more soundly.

grease monkey
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Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 11:00 am
Location: north carolina

Plant enough to share with them if you have room. They can't eat all of what you plant.

cynthia_h
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Location: El Cerrito, CA

I've worked very hard to develop 96 sq.ft. of planting space in raised beds. I'm hard pressed to know where I'd find the additional 4 sq.ft. to make it to 100: the "bones" of the landscaping would have to go....and it's all out by the public sidewalk, unprotected by fencing. (The 6-foot-tall jade plant *is* the fence. The juniper *is* the fence. This is what I mean by the "bones.")

No "additional" here. Fluffy-tailed rats can go somewhere else. :evil:

Cynthia

tedln
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Location: North Texas

grease monkey wrote:Plant enough to share with them if you have room. They can't eat all of what you plant.
Birds have a tendency to peck holes in tomatoes and in general spoil a lot of fruit. If they would eat the entire fruit, I wouldn't mind sharing. I don't really have a bird problem right now, but I have in the past.

Squirrels tend to eat an entire side of the fruit. They will usually leave the side that is most difficult to reach. They can and do destroy a lot of fruit in one day. I also don't have any squirrel problems now, but have had in the past.

Birds and squirrels seem to like most fruit when it reaches a growth stage we also find attractive like a pink or red ripe tomato. It tends to really tick me off when a tomato reaches the exact stage of ripeness I like and a squirrel or bird beats me to it.

Ted

garden5
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Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 5:40 pm
Location: ohio

tedln wrote:
grease monkey wrote:Plant enough to share with them if you have room. They can't eat all of what you plant.
Birds have a tendency to peck holes in tomatoes and in general spoil a lot of fruit. If they would eat the entire fruit, I wouldn't mind sharing. I don't really have a bird problem right now, but I have in the past.

Squirrels tend to eat an entire side of the fruit. They will usually leave the side that is most difficult to reach. They can and do destroy a lot of fruit in one day. I also don't have any squirrel problems now, but have had in the past.

Birds and squirrels seem to like most fruit when it reaches a growth stage we also find attractive like a pink or red ripe tomato. It tends to really tick me off when a tomato reaches the exact stage of ripeness I like and a squirrel or bird beats me to it.

Ted

Birds? So that's what the occasional holes in my tomatoes were from.

tedln
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Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:06 pm
Location: North Texas

If the holes are black, it probably is from a caterpillar. If the hole is fresh and moisture is still running from the hole, it was a bird. Caterpillars tend to eat holes in small tomatoes at the bottom. I've watched beautiful tomaotes grow and ripen only to discover the bottom is full of black holes when I pick it.

Ted



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