Squirrels wiped out my tomatoes.

[EdlinUser]

My garden is in a clearing in the woods. I'm use to dealing with lots of different critters but nothing like this.

I have 12 tomato plants growing, 8 different varieties. Just as they begin to ripen the squirrels carry the small ones off and eat on the beefsteaks till they are smaller and then carry them off. They also destroyed my cape gooseberries; climb the limbs till they break then eat all the fruit.

I didn't like doing it but I've put up steel traps baited with tomatoes and have killed two so far.

Has anybody else had a problem? Is this just a bad bunch of squirrels?
My theory: the great Easter freeze destroyed much of their fruit/nut diet and they turned to my garden.

Thoughts?

[clarkbar2311]

Sounds like some rowdy squirrels..

You have to do what you have to do...you must not have as many ferral cats as we do...

[Root]

Yes, the late freeze certainly has put wildlife in a bind. We have dogwood trees which keep squirrels and birds busy for months: not a seed-fruit on any one this year. We have had a bothersome squirrel which has been coming to our porch to eat dirt out of our planters--not like losing tomatoes, but a pain nevertheless. I put out a trap and caught it with peanut butter on a cracker--after three tries, very wary critter. But my mistake, I only took it and released it about a mile and a half away and it is back.
Wait until the deer start starving this winter; protect your bushes, blueberry plants, etc.

[strong eagle]

I was having a lot of problems in eaten and dissapearring ripe tomatoes, first from the terrapins, then from all my "pet" ground squirrels. I finally realized the squirrells were more thirsty than hungry so I supplied them with water containers sitting around the tomatoe patch, with a handfull of sorgum or broomcorn seeds next to it. No more missing tomatoes after that. My problem after that was the copperheads who came in after the squirrels! Strong

[pixelphoto]

wow i have deer problems and rabbit problems and I have tons of squirrels but never had a squirrel mess with anything in my garden except gourds when I planted them. They would come along behind me the next day and dig up my gourd seeds. LOL :)
I didnt think they would mess with tomatoes. WEIRD>

[052039]

WE live in the city such as it is & we have grey squirrels out the wazoo so they raid my tomatoes.....fixed them this year I PLANTED MORE tomatoes than there were squirrels...now we share the BOUNTY as i have heard - IF YOU CAN'T LICK"EM JOIN"EM.....
052039 - BILL :D:D:):)

[Jennie_in_Iowa]

Hahahahahaha Nice Bill.

[knighttrain]

(1st post) - I've also had a similar problem with squirrel and tomatoes this year (admittedly a drought year for my area). It’s a good thing I always plant too many. -Mike

[stonysoil]

my ripest tomatoe are alll being eaten.. big bites .. ive had to pick them in porange stage..i was thinking of wrapping the tommaotes in reemay on the vine.. has anyone tried this as a protection agianst critters?? ty stony