Squirrels with particular tastes

[KathyDC]

I have squirrels in my back yard and usually they leave my plants alone until they fruit, but this year something (I'm assuming it's a squirrel) keeps snacking on the tops of my seedlings -- but only one variety! The rest it leaves alone.

The variety with the especially tasty leaves is Berkeley Tie-Dye Heart, if you're curious! I've had to replant it twice now!!

Anyone else out there with squirrels with a special palate?

[ddsack]

I have not had trouble with squirrels myself, but I have a friend that only requests yellow varieties from me, because she says her squirrels in town always spoil any red ones.

[b54red]

I have had tremendous problems with squirrels at times and have never had them eat tomato seedlings. It could be a chipmunk, rat, rabbit or mouse. Squirrels love to eat broccoli, cabbage, peas and other tasty seedlings but the only mammal I have ever had eat tomato seedlings was a mouse or a rat.

If you have a lot of squirrels and they are ignoring your garden then you are very lucky because once they decide to start feeding in the garden the problem will only get much worse as they spread the word about the great buffet you are offering. I gardened for over twenty years with no problems and then one year during a drought I started having problems with squirrels eating my tomatoes. The next fall they started on my broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and by that spring they were eating nearly everything. I tried everything to repel them from electric fences, to blood meal but the only thing that finally stopped them was to eliminate them until they finally stopped feeding from my garden. It took about five years to stop them but now there are still plenty of squirrels in the area and also in my yard but they leave the garden alone. I did find that blood meal was the most effective at warding them off but as soon as it would rain good they would return so it was just too expensive to keep putting it out after each rain plus it took a lot of time to spread it around and on every thing they were partial too eating.


Bill

[mdvpc]

I scatter a few orange habaneros around my raised beds. Once they have bitten into one or two of them, they tend to leave my tomatoes alone.

[rxkeith]

deer will often browse on tomatoes if you have any deer around. look for foot prints
on the ground.






keith

[KathyDC]

Definitely not deer, I have a small yard and it's fenced. Could be squirrels, or possums, or who knows what else, though! I mostly find it amusing because they only seem to care for one variety. (I may be less amused later!!)

[slugworth]

I have trouble with field mice eating the seedlings,plants,tomatoes.
It's almost like they can smell them out.
Any tomato close to the ground may be a victim.
They take a few bites and go on to the next one.
The indigo blue tomatoes they leave alone.
I had cukes making contact with the ground but they left those alone til there was
nothing else to eat.
I bought a plant at agway today and it had mouse bite marks on the lower stem.

[KathyDC]

Slugworth, that is frustrating! I usually have more trouble with birds. I'll go out and see a big pecked hole in a tomato. They leave yellows alone, though.

But I have to pick all of mine at first blush or else I risk the bird pecks.

[slugworth]

At least if the mice ate the whole thing.
They take a few bites and go on to the next one.
I thought they had better memories than that.