Our squirrels truly believe we plant for them to eat. And so I plant cherry or grape tomatoes. Thus affording them their taste of the veggie/fruit and me keeping my sanity.
Not to mention, cherry or grape tomatoes are VERy expensive here. Yet a squirrel "snack" on these cherry or grape tomatoes is NOT the catastrophe as a bite, here or there, on beefsteak. Just my 2 cents.
I love the squirrels. My backyard is a certified wildlife habitat. I do have trouble with the squirrels eating the bark off my Korean dogwood during the winter and have tried spraying Bitter Apple which does work but rain, snow, etc. washes it off. I feed my squirrel friends peanuts, pecans, walnuts, filberts, sunflower seeds, gr
apes, apples. In the summer they will also eat watermelon. I will buy a slightly overripe half and put it out in the yard and the birds (mostly grackles/starlings) and squirrels just love it. Around the Christmas holidays when nuts in the shells are plentiful I will buy those for the squirrels. Of course since I give them pecans and walnuts, those are their favorites and tend to pass up the peanuts if the other nuts are available!
The bluejays and crows also love peanuts. The squirrels will eat tulip flowers in the spring but that's okay with me.....When I put food out every morning I usually get about 9 squirrels coming to my yard for breakfast! Raised two newborn squirrel babies in the past! They were adorable but a lot of work! I have four squirrel houses and three are made from old tires (they look like pods) and the squirrels just love those. I found someone who makes them on the internet.
I also get possums passing through my yard so sometimes at night will leave food scraps, etc. for them. I also had a mom possum spend a couple days in my garage in a corner giving birth. She stayed for a couple days then left. By the way for you people who consider possums pests. They almost NEVER get rabies as their body temperature is too low for the rabies virus to survive. You have a better chance of getting rabies from your neighbor than from a possum. If they come to your yard, just ENJOY seeing them.
I feel sorry for people who consider squirrels, possums, etc. as pests! They just don't know what they're missing.
Sorry you wildlife haters out there! Obviously you do not have the ability to feel empathy for animals. Just think how boring it would be if there was no wildlife, nothing to look at, appreciate and enjoy!
My problem is with bulbs; crocuses and muscari. I purchased an organic product that was made up of rosemary oil, cinnamon oil, mint oil, and essentially raw egg. I mixed the bulbs, the repellent and a bit of water in a bucked, then planted as directed. The muscari was fine, not the crocuses.
I have been using cayenne pepper and I thought it was working until today when I found a half eaten tomato which was covered in cayenne pepper. Could they be building up an immunity to the heat?
I also have vinegar soaked rags hanging nearby and coffee grinds in the pots. I throw ice cubes at the squirrels when I see them, and sometimes even hit them, but they don't seem to care much. These Brooklyn squirrels are fearless.
Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
I feed the squirrels away from my plantings and have never had a problem with digging or destroying. I have a problem with insects and those huge worms. ugh
Actually I would like to eliminate squirrels completely. They are overrunning my yard. At any given time I have between 10 and 20 of them. They eat everything in sight. I have never had an apple from either of my two apple trees, very few figs from my fig tree. And they devour every tomato I plant. There are no other animals in my yard. Would they eat poison peanuts if I put them out?
I was told to put moth balls around the plants. I put them down two nights ago and it seems to be working. I was so upset to see around 20 of my tomatoes on the ground half eaten by them.
Oh, and the coffee grounds/hot pepper/soap suggestions are excellent ideas. We've used coffee grounds at the base of our plants and had scarcely a critter eat our tomatoes in the past two years. I know how frustrating it is, to walk up to your plants and see a big, juicy ripe tomato, turn it over and find a perfectly symmetrical bite mark in it. A single bite! Don't worry. Try the mesh/wire and the coffee grounds and you'll be fine. PMZ
Yeah, put up some heavy-duty chicken wire with small holes around your garden on heavy stakes driven deep into the ground. Angle it over the plants so that the squirrels can't get in. Also keep a shotgun w/birdshot (or if you live in the city, a pellet gun) to pop off a couple of those buggers whenever you're around. Squirrels are like any other animal, they know when they're not wanted and will evacuate to the garden of another poor soul in short order if you give them a warning. Just don't be popping off rounds every five minutes; make every shot count. The last piece of advice may not be appropriate/legal if you live inside city limits/within a suburban development. But if you are outside in a rural area, feel free. PMZ
Be careful using cayenne pepper. If there are pets around, they could pick it up on their paws and end up getting it in their eyes.
Bloodmeal is a good choice. You can also try using shiny pinwheels around the perimeter of the garden. The colors and movement scare animals away.
I have never seen the squirrels eat anything in my garden. Usually, they are planting things - peanuts, shells, acorns, etc. Someone around here feeds them peanuts and they are not really scared of people. I was picking strawberries and had a squirrel come up and sniff my hand. It surprised me so much, I went in the house and got a couple of walnuts. The squirrel came and took them right out of my hand. Guess the peanuts keep them away from the garden.
I use chili powder around the base of my plants. Have used it for years and it has never hurt any of the plants. Walgreens will put the big bottles of spices on sale and when they do i usually stock up. Keeps them from digging anything up. You do have to re apply it if it rains and when you water but alittle goes along way. Good luck. Works for me.
I have never had a problem with my squirrels eating or destroying anything in my large garden. I FEED the squirrels good food so they don't bother my garden. I just love watching squirrels and possum and I feed them. Dorie
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Request: Squirrels Eating Tomatoes
Archived on 06/13/2007
Q: I planted a garden with tomatoes and the last two nights we have seen little squirrels take off with some of the green tomatoes. I never knew they ate tomatoes let alone green ones. We have a lot of squirrel feeders that they eat from in our yard, so we know that they are not going hungry. Any advice?
Hardiness Zone: 8a
Thank you!
Jodi from Gary, Texas
A: Jodi,
Squirrels will eat just about anything in the garden. They seem to enjoy mixing it up once in a while and trying new things. Because they have already gotten a taste of your delicious tomatoes, it's unlikely that they are going to be leaving them alone anytime soon. There are a number of commercial sprays and home remedies you can try (hair around pots, cats or dogs in the yard, cayenne pepper spray, etc.), but your best strategy is to get yourself some cheap hardware cloth or chicken wire and create some cages to surround your tomatoes. Stake them to the ground with pieces of bent metal or wooden stakes. Make sure to cover the tops; otherwise the squirrels will use the cages like a ladder to climb up, over and inside. You mentioned you feed squirrels in your yard. Another strategy might be to beef up your feeders with something they find more attractive than the tomatoes, at least while your plants are bearing fruit (e.g. peanuts, peanut butter, corn cobs, etc.).
Good luck!
Ellen Brown
More Answers:
RE: Squirrels Eating Tomatoes
Squirrels will eat anything. You need to sprinkle blood meal around and they will leave them alone.
It is also a good fertilizer for your tomatoe plants. (06/12/2006)
By Susan from Hamilton
RE: Squirrels Eating Tomatoes
They could be chipmunks if they are really small. Young, small squirrels rely on their mother to feed them. The chipmunks play havoc with my flower beds and flower pots. (06/12/2006)
By Belle
RE: Squirrels Eating Tomatoes
Try some hot pepper, you can buy hot pepper spray at a garden center, but you can also make your own. Get some hot pepper, either the hot sauce in the little bottles, or make your own with some hot pepper mixed in water and spray it on your tomatoes. Just remember to rinse the hot pepper off before you take a bite, LOL unless you are a hot pepper fan! Also hot pepper is good for keeping bugs away, not birds thought, they can't taste it. You can also sprinkle it on the ground around your plants for other yuckie bugs that eat your foliage on plants too. (06/12/2006)
By Rosa
RE: Squirrels Eating Tomatoes
I've seen a recipe for squirrel repellent somewhere on the web that proposes not only highly diluted hot pepper sauce but also a couple drops of dish detergent in the mix--a pretty high dilution is still repulsive to animals. I tried it since it looked like squirrels were gnawing on my beautiful trumpet vines outside my apartment window and dropping them off the vine. I sprayed the foul-tasting brew all over the leaves and flowers and did not see squirrels outside the window again. The flowers survived. (06/23/2006)
Go to your local Starbucks. They give away used coffee grounds in big 5-10 pound bags. Scatter the grounds around the base of your tomato plants. This has worked for us. (06/12/2007)
