Do deer bite green tomatoes?

[Dave]

I'm having fun this year trying to figure out three new pests; deer, chipmunks, and Japanese beetles. The deer seem to be chomping on the tops of the tomato plants but prefer hostas. The chipmunk seem to be biting on the young squash plants (unless a baby rabbit is sneaking in through the fence). The Japanese beetles seem to be munching on the wild grape leaves and a few of my trees. They also seem to want to buzz around you. Something is biting the sides off the green tomatoes. Wouldn't a deer take the whole tomato?

[Marcella Peek]

Maybe. Our deer like to sample things to be sure they like them. We also caught squirrels nibbling on the tomatoes and one squirrel was even hiding the half eaten tomatoes he had stolen on our bbq.

marcella

[Bill Platz]

They seem to eat about half the tomaato

[Rick]

They often eat the fruit for its water content. Has it been dry in your area? If so, you can try placing a water bowl/pan away from the garden. This often helps keep the tomatoes intact

[Dave]

It has been rather dry here. I can try keeping a bucket of water outside the garden at night to see if that might have any effect.