Watermelon Varmints

GoDawgs · July 23, 2018

Since last Thursday something(s) has been removing 20-25 lb melons from the melon patch, toting them off, busting them open and eating them out.

…and leaving trails of chunks.

Can't be raccoons. I can't see a raccoon moving, in one case, a melon across two acres to the woods. A bear? One young lone male was seen in the area three weeks ago. Every once in a while one passes through.

A third watermelon was found busted open yesterday morning. My sister did some internet research for critters that mess with watermelons. Apparently bears aren't fond of watermelons but coyotes are and there sure are coyotes around here. And apparently they are a huge problem in the watermelon farms down here, causing a lot of damage. I had no idea.

Here's a good link:
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/wild-a...den-40477.html

So Pickles set up the game cam again last night. Yep, it's coyotes. They came around 1:20am and got a fourth melon. Got two pics:

I might have go sit out tonight around midnight with the shotgun loaded with #1. Need to buy some slugs. It's five days to full moon but the moon rises at 4:23pm today and sets at 2:14 am so I'm not sure how bright it will be around 1am.

Meanwhile maybe I can anchor a few tomato cages around the few melons left. Enough to keep them busy and distracted while I thumb off the safety...

imp · July 23, 2018

Wow, never would have thought of coyotes! Good catch, hope you can save your melon crop.

Cole_Robbie · July 23, 2018

Interesting. Here is a link with some suggestions:

https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Wi...Repellents.pdf

My money would be on the Great Pyrenees and a donkey, but that is not so easy to come up with overnight. A motion-activated radio and cayenne pepper spray on the melons might be more realistic.

Dewayne mater · July 24, 2018

One of the farmers at my local farmer's market tells me that the best watermelons are the ones with scratches on them. He says this means coyotes smelled them, found them desirable and they were trying to break them open when something disturbed them and scared them off. So far, I've bought two like this and I'll be darn if they weren't amazingly sweet. No idea how you could control them, but they are fans of watermelon.

JRinPA · July 27, 2018

Not knowing your area I would have figured hogs before coyotes, but there would be nothing left after hogs I guess.

Do you have a red light setup or what...depends on the location and scent control I guess but I can't imagine getting coyotes inside 40 yards. I guess with defending an area instead of calling them, you really could set up a good ambush even with a shotgun.

I have foxes walk under me in my summit all the time so I think I'd be up a tree with rifle.
Did you try for them yet?

July 23, 2018	#2
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	Wow, never would have thought of coyotes! Good catch, hope you can save your melon crop. __________________ I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.

July 27, 2018	#5
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 972	Not knowing your area I would have figured hogs before coyotes, but there would be nothing left after hogs I guess. Do you have a red light setup or what...depends on the location and scent control I guess but I can't imagine getting coyotes inside 40 yards. I guess with defending an area instead of calling them, you really could set up a good ambush even with a shotgun. I have foxes walk under me in my summit all the time so I think I'd be up a tree with rifle. Did you try for them yet? Last edited by JRinPA; July 27, 2018 at 02:17 AM.

July 23, 2018	#1
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Watermelon Varmints Since last Thursday something(s) has been removing 20-25 lb melons from the melon patch, toting them off, busting them open and eating them out. …and leaving trails of chunks. Can't be raccoons. I can't see a raccoon moving, in one case, a melon across two acres to the woods. A bear? One young lone male was seen in the area three weeks ago. Every once in a while one passes through. A third watermelon was found busted open yesterday morning. My sister did some internet research for critters that mess with watermelons. Apparently bears aren't fond of watermelons but coyotes are and there sure are coyotes around here. And apparently they are a huge problem in the watermelon farms down here, causing a lot of damage. I had no idea. Here's a good link: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/wild-a...den-40477.html So Pickles set up the game cam again last night. Yep, it's coyotes. They came around 1:20am and got a fourth melon. Got two pics: I might have go sit out tonight around midnight with the shotgun loaded with #1. Need to buy some slugs. It's five days to full moon but the moon rises at 4:23pm today and sets at 2:14 am so I'm not sure how bright it will be around 1am. Meanwhile maybe I can anchor a few tomato cages around the few melons left. Enough to keep them busy and distracted while I thumb off the safety...

July 23, 2018	#3
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Interesting. Here is a link with some suggestions: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Wi...Repellents.pdf My money would be on the Great Pyrenees and a donkey, but that is not so easy to come up with overnight. A motion-activated radio and cayenne pepper spray on the melons might be more realistic.

July 24, 2018	#4
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	One of the farmers at my local farmer's market tells me that the best watermelons are the ones with scratches on them. He says this means coyotes smelled them, found them desirable and they were trying to break them open when something disturbed them and scared them off. So far, I've bought two like this and I'll be darn if they weren't amazingly sweet. No idea how you could control them, but they are fans of watermelon.