Information and discussion regarding garden diseases, insects and other unwelcome critters.
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July 14, 2015 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Low Country SC
Posts: 37
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Protecting my fruit
Something is eating my near ripe tomatoes. The large chunks that are taken out lead me to believe that the culprit is a four-legged vermin of sorts. I am considering protecting each tomato with a ziplock or bubble wrap. I searched the forum and found some posts that had success with this technique.
Anybody have any experiences to share? I would think the bubble wrap would be harder to get through, but the ziplock might be easier to install. I would probably use a staple or two on the zipper to make sure they dont remove the bags. |
July 14, 2015 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Valencia, CA
Posts: 258
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For me, I noticed rats were enjoying my fruit. I'm taking the approach of killing as many as I can...If you know rodents, you know they breed like crazy and will become troublesome in other areas if left unchecked. So at night, the traps go out.
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Fun FIRST, safety second... |
July 14, 2015 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Round Rock, TX, Zone 8b
Posts: 1,157
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Just pick them when they begin to blush at the blossom end and ripen them (shoulders down) on the counter. No taste difference vs. vine-ripened, and most critters won't bother green tomatoes.
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-Kelly "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." - Audrey Hepburn Bloom where you are planted. |
July 14, 2015 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Low Country SC
Posts: 37
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I put out a cage trap last night in an attempt to identify the culprit. If it is a rat, I will try and exterminate as many as I can.
Unfortunately they are occasionally eating the green ones too. I have a lot of leaf-footed plant bugs and several other varieties of stink bugs that have been snacking on my tomatoes as well. I am hoping that the tomato covers might help with that nuisance too. |
July 14, 2015 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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i just use old socks or landscaping fabric if I have some that I dont want messed with. Landscape fabric and staples and you can make it to size easily.
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July 14, 2015 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Pulaski County, Arkansas
Posts: 1,239
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what does the "evidence" lead you to believe. Rats leave terds, varmints leave prints.....
Last edited by My Foot Smells; July 14, 2015 at 06:26 PM. Reason: regurgitated context removal |
July 14, 2015 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Valencia, CA
Posts: 258
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I use snap traps. If you look closely at the fruit you will see the tell-tale sign of rodent teeth marks.
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Fun FIRST, safety second... |
July 14, 2015 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: North Central Florida
Posts: 110
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All summer I have been fighting possums, squirrels, and birds. The two things that worked were paper lunch bags sealed with a clothes pin or spongy shelf paper with the small holes in it, also sealed with a clothes pin. Nylons did not work. They could have gotten to them, but maybe they did not see them. I also put out a couple of rat traps at the bottom of their favorite varieties.
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July 15, 2015 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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I usually set out a bait station with rat poison. The one I use will not allow larger creatures to get to the poison but it will usually take care of rats or mice fairly quickly. I always set it up in between plants where the damage is being done. If you are dealing with rats then you have to stop them quickly as they are far more destructive than squirrels and will create more damage. They are also hard to trap if there is plenty to eat in the garden but they do seem to hit the bait stations every time I set them out. You do need to check every day for dead rats and remove them before your dogs can eat them as that can make them sick. The easiest solution to birds pecking them is to pick at first blush.
If it is squirrels and they are eating your green fruit you must kill them or they will just tell their friends and then you are in real trouble. One year I had a huge squirrel problem and they were eating everything including fairly small green ones. I shot over 50 squirrels in a few weeks and thinned down the population considerably. I did the same thing the next year and I guess the word spread among them to avoid my garden. We are now having a big resurgence in the squirrel population the last two years but they are leaving my garden alone so I leave them alone. Bill |
July 15, 2015 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: AL
Posts: 1,993
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I could be totally wrong, but I would think that those items made of plastic would build up moisture from the heat and humidity and maybe mold your tomatoes.
Bill ... I like the sock idea. The fruits could breath and easier than trying to wrap cheesecloth. Always lots of cheap socks at the flea market. : ) |
July 15, 2015 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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Yeah I have some free range chickens and a rooster that roam the neighborhood and kept scratching my garden and pecking my tomatoes till a well aimed shot with my sons pellet gun ran them off. They never came back. Animals learn pretty quick.
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July 15, 2015 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Low Country SC
Posts: 37
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July 15, 2015 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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July 16, 2015 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Low Country SC
Posts: 37
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Nothing in my trap so far. And nothing else has been eaten.
I went ahead and ordered these 6x8 drawstring bags. http://www.ebay.com/itm/221355941156 |
July 16, 2015 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 2,593
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Good timing. I used bubble wrap last year with good success, but very time consuming to cut and tape. Last week, I began using sandwich bags - just slid them over the tomato, cinched up the ziplock a little. Seconds per tomato. 5 days later - no losses from the sandwich bagged toms. The issue is whether the squirrel or rat can ID the tomato through the plastic - I was unsure if the bag provided enough camouflage, but it seems to be working.
Up till now, I have 100% loss from squirrels. 400 per acre in Atlanta. Last edited by ScottinAtlanta; July 16, 2015 at 12:26 PM. |
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