Who has been eating my Cherokee Purple?

VC Scott · June 3, 2014

I think it is a darned ground squirrel.
IMG-20140602-00101.jpg

Dewayne mater · June 3, 2014

Darn it! Hate to see that. Last year for me, I believe my issue was rats...lovely. If rats are a possibility, I'd get some traps out ASAP because they won't stop until they've eaten every tomato.

Squirrels around here to to enjoy ripe tomatoes, not green ones, but, I think you have gray squirrels in Cali which are different than the fox squirrels we have around me. Unfortunately, there are probably other potential culprits too. Good luck!

Dewayne Mater

Sun City Linda · June 3, 2014

Rats around here wait until it is ripe!

Virtex · June 3, 2014

I ate your tomato, SORRY! I should have waited till they were ripe, but I was hungry

VC Scott · June 3, 2014

Saw the culprit in the late afternoon. Ground squirrel. I have now deployed the Squrrilinator. With any luck I will capture him by tomorrow afternoon.

Virtex · June 3, 2014

You can't catch me!

VC Scott · June 4, 2014

We shall see. If the Squirrelenator doesn't work, there is always the .22 air rifle.

TightenUp · June 4, 2014

i've had squirrels and i think a wood chuck do some similar damage in the past. This year the fence got buried by about 6 inches of compost and wood chips on top of that

VC Scott · June 4, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtex

You can't catch me!

Sorry Virtex, you were no match for the Squirrelenator.

Sorry I didn't get there in time to move the culprit to another territory. At Noon the trap was empty. By 2:00 pm the culprit was no longer with us. He ate half of the avocado and all of the bird seed, but didn't touch the Cherokee Purple I left for him. Although it isn't a terribly hot day, I am afraid he overheated because the sun was directly overhead.

Anyway, if you have ground squirrel problems, Squirrelenator is the way to go.

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Labradors2 · June 4, 2014

It is very sad that the poor critter was left in the hot sun to die and I know that you didn't mean to do that. If you have to set the trap again, it might be a good idea to locate it in a shady spot so that you can relocate him.

Thanks,
Linda

June 3, 2014	#1
VC Scott Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, CA Posts: 352	Who has been eating my Cherokee Purple? I think it is a darned ground squirrel. IMG-20140602-00101.jpg

June 4, 2014	#8
TightenUp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 1,183	i've had squirrels and i think a wood chuck do some similar damage in the past. This year the fence got buried by about 6 inches of compost and wood chips on top of that __________________

June 3, 2014	#2
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	Darn it! Hate to see that. Last year for me, I believe my issue was rats...lovely. If rats are a possibility, I'd get some traps out ASAP because they won't stop until they've eaten every tomato. Squirrels around here to to enjoy ripe tomatoes, not green ones, but, I think you have gray squirrels in Cali which are different than the fox squirrels we have around me. Unfortunately, there are probably other potential culprits too. Good luck! Dewayne Mater

June 3, 2014	#3
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	Rats around here wait until it is ripe!

June 3, 2014	#4
Virtex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: California Posts: 121	I ate your tomato, SORRY! I should have waited till they were ripe, but I was hungry

June 4, 2014	#10
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,898	It is very sad that the poor critter was left in the hot sun to die and I know that you didn't mean to do that. If you have to set the trap again, it might be a good idea to locate it in a shady spot so that you can relocate him. Thanks, Linda