Any suggestions for deterring squirrels from eating my beautiful tomatoes? It doesn't seem to matter to them if they are ripe or green. The plants can be full of fruit when I leave for work in the morning and quite sparse when I come home in the afternoon. Please Help! Thanks in advance,
^Mile^^High^
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Put up a squirrel feeder and give them something they like better than tomatoes (sunflower seeds mixed with corn, and or other grain).
Dwayne
Shoot them before you go to work (unless you are prohibited of course).
If you use a BB/pellet gun, most everywhere in the US allows this as a removal of a nuisance creature. Check with your local law enforcement, to be sure, but emphasize that the animals are destroying property and that you plan to shoot them with an air gun. The main problem you may have is that many people hunt squirrels for food, and so their is an established hunting season for the creatures.
If you do decide to shoot them [and I've been doing it on an off for years], get a BB gun that can shoot at a high velocity, use flat-head pellets, and practice before you go out to shoot them. Squirrels are tough creatures, and it isn't easy to kill them with a single shot from a BB gun. If you hit them anywhere behind the front legs, they'll likely run away and suffer. Hitting them in the head or in front of the legs with a BB also won't ensure a quick kill. A flat-head pellet to the chest or head will knock them down, and you can finish them with another shot if necessary. I'm a pretty dead shot with my BB gun, and can knock a squirrel down anywhere out to about 50 yards. But I always use the pellets, and won't shoot if I can't hit the head.
Andrew
I find that after you kill them pinning them up on a cross next to your tomatoes as a warning to other squirrels to stay away works really well :p
Well, they aren't stupid animals. After a few days of "training" I find that I can shoot a BB into the ground and scare the squirrels off for the day.
Andrew
I had problems with *something* (likely birds) putting holes in my tomatoes. The theory was whatever was doing it was thirsty, so I put out some pots with water in them, and the problems stopped (I garden in California, where there's no rain to speak of during the summer months). Not sure if it'll apply in your case, but might be worth a shot.
Scott
Lead (.22 cal) or a rat trap baited with sunflower seeds sprinkled over the trigger. (Put the baited rat trap inside a plastic bucket so birds will not be attracted) The little bastards seem to eat just enough of a tomato to destroy it and then move on to the next. Encourage weasels and large snakes or anything that dines on squirrels. Apparently they are good to eat.
Farmer John (Death to the Rats!!!)
I find that after you kill them pinning them up on a cross next to your tomatoes as a warning to other squirrels to stay away works really well :p
Realllllly? More details please.
F.J.
Wow, I wonder why... Our area is LOADED with squirrels and they've never touched my tomatoes. If they did though, I'd be thinking BBQ or spagetti sauce...
Those are good, but more expensive.
For us city folk, that's not an option. Also, my next-door neighbor uses a .22 [against the law] loaded with hollow-point shorts. It is much louder than my air gun. More effective, for sure. But deinfitely louder. We can all tell when she's shooting.
Andrew
I had the same problem with Squirrels. I tried fake owls, fake rattle snakes, Poison (they got fat and happy but not dead) and fencing. Nothing worked until I decided to trap them. I called a company called Havahart and ordered 2 squirrel sized varmint traps. I couldn't believe how well these things worked. Caught about 24 squirrels in little over a week (use tomatoes or squirrel grub as bait). The only bad thing was I had to drive them about
5 miles away otherwise I was told they would find their way back. I probably could have a had a whole summers worth of squirrel jerky if I caught the urge.I have not had problem with squirrels since
I tried that, too. But those little buggers are masters of the epee.
Andrew
Definitely a stupid thing to do in the city. "CB" rounds refer to cartridges that produce low velocity and reduced noise. Ballistically, they are similar to a .22 Caliber air rifle and are used for indoor shooting, and close range pest control.
I have noticed that too but their imbrocatta leaves much to be desired.
I was hoping to hear a more humane way to stop the critters from destroying my crops.
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