Gardening > Pest ControlSeptember 04, 2005

Chipmunks Eating Ripe Tomatoes

We grew beautiful tomatoes this year only to have them ruined by chipmunks. If anyone has any ideas for stopping this, please let me know. - Betty

Answers

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By
06/02/2008

Someone suggested to me to scare away squirrels etc to buy a fake rubber snake and place it near your plants...

By Nancy. (Guest Post) 08/15/2006

How disheartening this year to have a bumper crop of tomatoes, only to reach down and pick one and find that they've been eaten! I put netting over my plants and caught a chipmunk in the netting, but let him go. But at least I know who the culprit is.

I sprayed some smelly stuff that has Coyote urine in it (my neighbor got it at Home Depot) and I sprinkled some other pest-away stuff that had garlic in it. I also put out a sticky trap and notice that the traps are turned over - but no dead chipmunks. I really don't want to kill them, but I think they are so smart, they sense danger and since I put the traps in the garden two days ago, no more tomatoes have been chewed into.

By proudtobecheap (Guest Post) 09/10/2005

we had the same problem with squirrels this summer leaving us with maybe 2 tomatoes a week. I bought 2 sage plants and put them in the space between my plants. guess what!, we not only didn't have squirell problems any more, but the bugs didn't like the sage either. left us with more tomatoes than we could handle, so i tossed a few to the side for the squirrels.

otter, florida

By
09/06/2005

One thing you could try is to set out some shallow pans of water for the chipmunks to drink. Sometimes when animals start eating our juicy veggies, it's to get the water content because they are thirsty, and not because they are hungry. It's certainly worth a try.

By Anonymous, NY (Guest Post) 09/04/2005

These rodents are smart. Given time, they'll find a way to get to their desired target. As with birds, it's best to vary your approach every so often to keep the rodents off balance. An good exclusion trick is to place a baffle on fruit tree trunks or bird feeder poles. New "squirrel-proof" feeders appear frequently in catalogs -- they may feature counter-weighted or electrified perches that surprise the critters when they visit the feeder. Some gardeners have had success spraying animal repellents such as cayenne pepper mix, predator urine, mothballs, and commercial formulas on or around plants. Others have had short-term success using ultrasonic noisemakers or setting up separate squirrel-feeding stations to lure them away from the garden. Trapping is the surest way to remove problem rodents. Live traps are very effective for particularly pesky squirrels or chipmunks. However, don't expect to control a whole population with trapping -- there are always more squirrels and chipmunks waiting to move in.

Questions

Here are questions related to this page. Click "Ask a Question" if you have a question to ask about this topic.

Keeping Chipmunks from Eating Tomatoes

Does anyone know or have some type of trick that I can use to keep these pesky chipmunks from eating all my tomatoes? It seems that they just start getting ripe and I go to pick one and it's been eaten still on the plant! Is there some kind of homemade recipe to spray on the plant to keep them off? And would I have to wash it off before eating? Any information would be very helpful. I hate to lose all the hard work I put into growing them.

By Linda from Brighton, MI

 

Chipmunks Eating Tomatoes

This year the chipmunks are everywhere. They have gotten into my raised bed and are picking my cherry tomatoes. Any help is needed.

By Jane

 

Most Recent Answer

By JimG 06/29/2011

My problem is squirrels, but this will probably work on all manner of rodent. I sprinkle crushed or ground red pepper around the garden and trash cans. They hate it, apparently, I haven't had any problem. I don't sweat it too much, if I see a critter getting too close to the garden or after it rains I go do it again.

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