New, extremely greed tomato theif

[Dewayne mater]

Well, I'm flummoxed! I came home and prepared to pick tomatoes this afternoon and discovered that either today or last night something got seriously after my tomatoes. About 10 black and brown boar had bites taken out of them. The bites had smooth cuts mostly round in shape and varied from 1/2 inch to 1 inch or more across. Additionally, two sun gold plants had been stripped of every single yellow tomato. I don't count them, but it was 100 or more. Additionally, a just blushing Goose creek had a couple of bites taken out of it as well. I mean, if you are going to eat it, eat the whole thing and leave the rest. This damaging many fruits is really frustrating.

What could do this? It had to be able to get up fairly high - 5 feet or more, so I'll assume it can climb. The bites seem pretty large for something small like a squirrel. Other known varmint in the yard are armadillo, racoons, coyote, bobcat, rabbits, owls, and all manner of birds. Thoughts about what would do this and how to stop it? Time is of the essence I guess since all of this damage was in one day.

Dewayne mater

[Redbaron]

hmm sounds like a Chupacabra

[MikeInCypress]

Sounds like a raccoon to me.

MikeInCypress

[raindrops27]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

hmm sounds like a Chupacabra

This is a joke right?? Sort of like how people have had sightings of bigfoot/ the yeti?

Op, I am sorry this happened, my guess would be racoons or squirrels..

[tlintx]

I think chupacabras eat goats, not tomatoes.

Sounds like a squirrel to me. Caught one in my leafy greens box this morning. It was apparently trying to make salad.


Tl

[Vespertino]

Sorry to hear that someone else is enjoying your tomatoes without your permission. My guess would be a squirrel also, they're very destructive. One decided to take up residence inside my house- it ate everything, even ivory soap. They're small enough climb your plants without breaking them, and they like to gnaw holes in things.

[cythaenopsis]

Deer are some of the worst tomato predators. They'll push their way through fences and other defenses to get at them.

The main thing is that you don't want the tomatoes to advertise to the wildlife. So, if you don't have too large an abundance, try tying cheese cloth or some other permeable material around your tomatoes so that they're hidden from view (no bright red magnets among all the green). I've even heard of some people using cut up pantyhose--just slide it over and tie it up; the material will be a turn off to animals but you'll still be able to see the ripening progress.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by raindrops27

This is a joke right?? Sort of like how people have had sightings of bigfoot/ the yeti?

Op, I am sorry this happened, my guess would be racoons or squirrels..

Yes. Sorry, I know it is a serious issue, I had it happen to me before in fact. Turned out to be over 40 different varmits from 4-5 species of rodent in my case. Took me ages to trap and poison them all.

The reason I joked is because you really cant tell by the description which varmit it is.
The similarity between the mythical Chupacabra and the OP's mystery varmit (besides being mysterious) is that they take a bite and move on to the next without eating it. In one case animals and the other tomatoes. In both cases it was thought to be some mysterious thing because it didn't eat...just sucked the juices (one case tomato and the other blood) which is your clue that whatever it is .... it is likely more thirsty than hungry.

[Dewayne mater]

I have little more info...the greedy being is nocturnal. I went out this morning and found several more bitten tomatoes. I'm attaching two pictures to show you the bite I'm referencing. One is to show scale (with the really ripe banana for scale) and the other a close up. As you can see, the thing is not satisfied with blushing tomatoes and has eat a small green one too. It did similar damage to 6 other tomatoes just last night mostly big beef and black and brown boar.

My concern is obviously that it will continue the rampage nightly. I have a Cowlicks Brandywine with 25 fruit on it from still very small to blushing any day. That is the one I've waited for all summer and I'm gonna do anything I can to protect it!

I did have an armadillo in the yard this morning, but, I seriously doubt that is the culprit. I don't think than can climb a cage and this creature did.

I will put out repels all today and see if it helps.

FYI - I'm in suburbia, but with a creek. Nothing as large as a deer. Thanks for your input!

Dewayne Mater

[tlintx]

The one on the left looks exactly like the ones in my yard that were snagged by a squirrel. They seemed to grab the cherry sized varieties from green to ripe, but ignored the bigger ones.

Is it possible the other one is from a bird peck?

[ddsack]

If you know anyone with a game camera, maybe you could borrow it for the night. It would be interesting see who that after hours snacker is, then you could come up with a plan to get rid of it. Very frustrating for you!

[Dewayne mater]

Bird pecks are possible, but, this is happening during the night. I was out checking at dusk and then back out this morning before 7 and it happened in between. So, I don't think it is birds. I also don't think this is a water issue. We have a creek running behind our house and it has water that is pretty clean (spring fed).

I have definitely seen racoons and think that is a possible suspect. In the mean time, I'm definitely picking at blush, if anything gets that far! Grrr.

[bcday]

Squirrels aren't nocturnal either, any more than birds are (unless you suspect an owl, LOL).
I vote for raccoon, or maybe a possum. There are nocturnal rodents though. Even a good neighborhood can temporarily harbor a passing rat, especially if the creek serves as a highway, and mice are more common than we like to think.

[shelleybean]

I just returned from vacation to find similar bites on all my largest tomatoes. They left the cherries alone for the most part. Took me a few days to figure it out but I believe it was squirrels. I found damage first thing in the morning but also during the day. They hadn't bothered anything before our trip. We boarded our dog while we were away and I wondered if they came around because we were gone and the dog was gone. Seems to be done now I wonder if it's just that we came home or all the hot pepper wax I sprayed. I am now watching things for my next door neighbor who is out of town. I just brought in their trash cans from the street and I see the same creature has been eating their tomatoes and even their peppers. Maybe they just moved next door? Grrrr!

[Redbaron]

From the pics I would guess mice rats or voles.