Take this you pesky squirrels!!!

Fri May 04, 2012 6:24 pm

I know its polite to share, but I just don't want to anymore. They always just take one little bite out of my tomatoes - they don't finish eating them, they just want to make sure that I can't I guess.

Fri May 04, 2012 6:35 pm

Beautiful. I need a squirrel defense myself!

Fri May 04, 2012 6:44 pm

Thanks! It really works great. I get to watch the squirrels stare longingly into it each day. Plus the rabbits are a lot cuter now that they only eat my grass.

Just make sure you wear gloves and an old shirt when putting the chicken wire on. I wore mine, but my brother decided he was too tough and regretted it afterwards.

Fri May 04, 2012 7:17 pm

Yes, the squirrels are famous for taking one bite of each one. I don't really know, but I'm thinking they don't really eat tomatoes, they just like the juice. If it is groundhogs they will eat most of the tomato. If it is raccoons, they will eat all of it and trample and tear everything up. If it is deer, the whole tomato will just disappear without a trace except maybe a hoofprint left behind.

I have a similar set up, just with deer netting wrapped around stakes and pulled together over the top. It is not as sturdy or nice looking as yours, but it works. It is entertaining watching the groundhog try to get to the tomatoes.

Fri May 04, 2012 9:25 pm

Ah, I don't have much trouble with deer where I am now. I can imagine they like to share the garden too though.

I was once at a business where the front window was completely smashed through. They said they left a bowl of fruit on a table near the window and a deer just ran right through the window to get at it. The whole thing was caught on the security cameras. Its almost comical when I think about it.

Fri May 04, 2012 11:38 pm

This reminds me of a moment last year when I walked out the back door and surprised a squirrel with a tomato in his mouth. He dropped the tomato and ran about 20 yards away. I picked up the tomato and threw it at him. My intent was to scare him so that he might think twice about trying it again. The tomato smacked him square and went "splat". I felt really bad as I watched him limp around, trying to get to a safe place. My aim has rarely been that good before

I'm an outdoorsman in just about every way and I hunt squirrels when they are in season. I never kill anything that I'm not going to eat and I certainly don't want to leave the critters injured.

So far, deer and coons have not bothered my tomatoes. I put a makeshift deer fence around the things that the deer have eaten in the past. This is my first season with the fence, so I'll have to wait and see if they go for other stuff instead.

Sat May 05, 2012 11:26 pm

I picked up the tomato and threw it at him. My intent was to scare him so that he might think twice about trying it again. The tomato smacked him square and went "splat". I felt really bad as I watched him limp around, trying to get to a safe place.

I'm sorry but that post made my day. I've been having trouble with squirrels digging holes in my garden and then placing acorns and corn kernels in the holes.

I'm sure that I would have done some damage to the squirrel had I thrown a tomato at it. I still have a pretty decent fastball.

Sat May 05, 2012 11:47 pm

I just serve the thieving critters up beside the vegies.

Sun May 06, 2012 12:05 am

I think I'm going to put up chicken wire, both the squirrels & rabbits are inside the garden near the tomatoes. 96 degrees here in South Central Texas, we're in Stage two water restrictions with no rain in sight. My butternut squash are about 4 to 5 inches in length and are yellow or ripe already. WE NEED RAIN!

Sun May 06, 2012 10:17 am

Wow! I'm sorry to hear that the Texas drought is still continuing. I keep wishing there were some way to balance it out. We've had too much rain where I am.

I suppose it wouldn't be economical to catch rain in cisterns, pump it in to tanks and send it on trains or barges ....

Sun May 06, 2012 10:43 am

They build miles of pipelines for oil.....

I think the Romans invented it -- it's called "aqueduct"

Sun May 06, 2012 11:32 am

Right, good points applestar! If Romans could do it, why can't we? We have terrible excesses of water with flooding etc in some parts of the country and terrible drought in others. It seems like we could invest in water piping instead of oil piping ...

Mon May 07, 2012 3:15 pm

Richard L. wrote:I think I'm going to put up chicken wire, both the squirrels & rabbits are inside the garden near the tomatoes. 96 degrees here in South Central Texas, we're in Stage two water restrictions with no rain in sight. My butternut squash are about 4 to 5 inches in length and are yellow or ripe already. WE NEED RAIN!

I was watching a weather channel special on the bizarre weather we've had the last 2 years. They said La Nina is ending though and that Texas should be getting rain soon, so hopefully they are right.

Jeremy brua wrote:

I just serve the thieving critters up beside the vegies.

Haha, I've seen them eating my trash on more than a few occasions. I don't think I'd want to eat them after seeing that.

Mon May 07, 2012 6:36 pm

Pretty impressive setup!

I'm lucky in that my dog (pit mix) has a thing for squirrels, which is a pretty good deterrent despite the fact that he's only really in the backyard for about an hour a day. I'm sure his scent is a decent barrier in and of itself.

There are some brave little devils, though, and if I find they start eating any of my garden, I may try putting pigeon spikes on the fence so they won't want to use that as a means for entry into the yard.

Wed May 09, 2012 1:21 am

mattie g wrote:Pretty impressive setup!

Thanks!

mattie g wrote:I'm lucky in that my dog (pit mix) has a thing for squirrels, which is a pretty good deterrent despite the fact that he's only really in the backyard for about an hour a day. I'm sure his scent is a decent barrier in and of itself.

There are some brave little devils, though, and if I find they start eating any of my garden, I may try putting pigeon spikes on the fence so they won't want to use that as a means for entry into the yard.

Ah, my old dog was great at keeping things away too. He passed away six years ago and we got a new one. The new one wouldn't even chase a mouse that got into the house...

Pigeon spikes might work as long as there aren't any trees hanging over the fence. They seem a bit pricey though.