Squirrels and Tomatoes

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Published: Friday, 02 September 2016 13:23

Written by David DeCiero

The last few weeks I have been dealing with some pesky little critters that have been munching on my tomatoes.  We have had a severe drought where I am and I believe the creatures are after the tomatoes for the water in them.  I have found many slightly ripened tomatoes on the ground and chewed through.  I caught one squirrell in the act so I knew exactly who was doing it.  I watched the squirrell go behind a bush and into my tomato plant.  I saw the plant shake a little bit and he reemerged on the other side with a tomato in his mouth.  I decided to cover the tomato plants with deer netting (draped over the cages and hooked on the bottom) to discourage them.  I also placed a live trap in the section where my tomatoes are  and put tomatoes in it.  After 1 week, I had caught 3 squirrels.  I have not noticed any new tomatoes missing, so I may have taken care of the problem.  Additionally, I am picking all of the tomatoes before they are fully ripe and allowing them to ripen inside.  They may not have the same taste, but at least I have some.  Here’s a pic of the haul from the last few days (over which I have only lost 2 tomatoes to critters).  These are Plum Regal and Paisano paste tomatoes.