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Old July 14, 2015   #1
rjake100
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Default 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.
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Old July 14, 2015   #2
Kikaida
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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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Old July 14, 2015   #3
TexasTycoon
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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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Old July 14, 2015   #4
rjake100
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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.
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Old July 14, 2015   #5
BigVanVader
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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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Old July 14, 2015   #6
My Foot Smells
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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
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Old July 14, 2015   #7
Kikaida
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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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Old July 14, 2015   #8
hoefarmer
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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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Old July 15, 2015   #9
b54red
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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.

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Old July 15, 2015   #10
Starlight
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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. : )
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Old July 15, 2015   #11
BigVanVader
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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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Old July 15, 2015   #12
rjake100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by My Foot Smells View Post
what does the "evidence" lead you to believe. Rats leave terds, varmints leave prints.....
The evidence I am referring to is the large amounts eaten in a short amount of time.
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Old July 15, 2015   #13
b54red
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjake100 View Post
The evidence I am referring to is the large amounts eaten in a short amount of time.
That usually means rats but it could be other varmints. The trouble with them is they will come back every night until there is nothing left for them to feed on.

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Old July 16, 2015   #14
rjake100
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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
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Old July 16, 2015   #15
ScottinAtlanta
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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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