I've figured out why I have so few tomatoes this year. Unfortunately, I could put up chicken wire to keep a rabbit out, but there's not much that will keep a squirrel out of the garden.
The poor squirrel was sad to drop his pretty tomato from the fence post. After the last photo above, he went down, out of my sight and I suppose found it and finished it off.
21 comments:
Sorry about your tomato but that's pretty cute. Glad you got to see him in action!
skippy's not much of rodent hunter?
let's not talk about skippy's rodent hunting.... he was busy probably napping
(I'm having fun with a new zoom lens.)
Great shots. It's one of those moments when you instantly switch between "Hey you flipping thing get off then, it is so cute and looking at me saying go on let me have it"!
I'm a softie too.
Marian (LondonUK)
Oh how cute......I can say that as its not my tomato he was stealing....lol
Has anyone tried the powdered bobcat urine against the squirrels and bunnies? I think my sister had some luck with it for a persistent woodchuck.
Frustrating to see the damage. Maybe a big ole' outside Coon Cat could guard the area. Or just some one-inch chicken wire carefully (and sightfully) installed. I put some in, and now I can enjoy the wildlife. Chipmunks and grounhogs? Now that's a different problem!
Oh bugger!
There is something that would keep those varmints out but I don't think you can fire a shotgun within city limits.
All I have to write is -have a heart traps. My neighbor started catching the squirrels and relocating them a few miles away. It has made a great difference in the neighborhood. We have an overabundance of squirrels that are wreaking havoc in Boise right now. There is some sort of ecological imbalance going on.
I have gone to some really extreme lengths to keep squirrels out of my tomatoes. Once they started eating in my garden they sort of colonized my yard and became a nuisance in other ways. Good luck.
Is there a hot dry weather pattern where you are?
In my experience squirrels don't usually bother garden vegetables (unlike groundhogs and rabbits). They are omniverous and have varied food preferences- we know they are much more likely to raid our birfeeders for seed, nuts and corn. I worked in a wildlife rehab center and prepared their little platters and no one cared for tomatos (we did have a few that really liked avocados and lettuce.)
I've heard abou this tomato thing with squirrels during drought- (my next door neighbor would freak out when they would take 1 bite out of each tomato and ruin the whole crop). To test it out, you might try setting up a simple, cheap water source- Let a hose drip into a flat receptacle like a trash can lid. All the wildlife in your garden would greatly appreciate it as well during times of scarce water. Drought is hard on all animals.
In my opinion squirrels more than make up for their nuciance behaviors (usually @ bird feeders)with their intelignce and entertainment value.
@Donna Caesar-
We did try installing a birdbath, which the birds and mosquitoes enjoy, but the squirrels have never seemed interested. Maybe because they can't pick it up and run with it like a tomato? LOL, maybe I should try water balloons!
"Relocating" squirrels is not a good idea. Squirrels are territorial, so dumping squirrels into someone else's territory starts mayhem in the place they're dumped.
I've successfully kept the squirrel out of my veggies and herbs by leaving peanut butter balls for him daily. I mix organic peanut butter, honey, and random organic nuts with oats into gold ball sized balls. I leave out 2 or 3 and he has never touched my plants since!! He also has started chasing the birds off my bell peppers! Maybe that will work.
LadySilverOak's post reminds me maybe the reason I don't have a problem with squirrels eating my veggies either is because I leave out (unroasted, unsalted) peanuts for them in a dish on my deck.
That peanut butter, honey nuts combo sounds pretty good! I think my squirrels would be jealous if they knew about it.
The peanuts are also a fav of the neighborhood skunks (very beautiful close up, although with a sliding glass door between me and them), foxes, and various of the birds.
p.s. I also have a ground level foot wide saucer of water on the deck. Everybody seems to drink out of that.
Wow, you caught a squirrel red handed! Oh My!
Down South on the Gulf of Mexico, in Mobile, AL we have plenty of squerels, but so far they were eating my pecans whenever they could, but not the tomatoes. Some big cats could keep them in check, but probably not always, as they (the cats) sleep o lot in the day time. I love your pictures, and your blog is very nice. I was gardening for a long time, but started blogging just recently on gardening, and I've got a lot to improve. Your is looking great. I'll be back again!
Thanks,
Mike
I just like watching what's going on. I like the idea that I plant a garden and then it has a life of its own.... And I can watch it from the window and play with my zoom lens.
The squirrels have not stolen tomatoes again since that first one. I think maybe it was the heat. A good suggestion.
But the animals have plenty of water sources in my yard. Maybe I will post a photo of my backyard someday. A pretty waterfall trickling over moss-covered rocks and into a 8 ft diameter pool. It attracts birds who bath in it. And the squirrels come to drink.
I had squirrels try tomatoes a couple years ago. A couple of tomatoes had bite marks. Not enough to worry about.
And that cute little rabbit seems to have moved on. My house painter has been out early and late and disturbed the rabbits routine. We have an active yard. I would love it if he stayed. Especially since I have also sealed off my cold frame from him.
What a little stinker, if only he weren't so darn cute!!
Oh man! Squirrels and chipmunks are the worst. They're so cute you don't want to stop them. :(
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