first big beef stolen by a masked bandit.....

grower45212 · July 6, 2013

My first big beef tomato of the season

and it was nice , no blemishes, beautiful pinkish red, I was eying it for picking the next day and I had visions of making a BLT with it.......... too bad a masked bandit (raccoon) made off with it , he didn't leave anything, the nerve of these varmints .....all he left me was a trail of paw prints

.

I did get even though ...... I set my havahart trap for him. he left town in the back of a garbage truck.

No sign of any other bandits for a couple of days, even though I still have my havahart trap set .

maybe the rest of his gang got the message

NarnianGarden · July 6, 2013

Oh no. My deepest sympathies...

grower45212 · July 9, 2013

well, another ready to pick big beef fell victim to the masked bandits buddies.

they managed to avoid my havahart trap

.......it's been two nights since the great tomato robbery and still no bandit in my trap

. still my trap is set and ready for these bandito's

if they return

Redbaron · July 9, 2013

Hoping they don't. I chased a rat out of my garden yesterday, and gophers plague me every year. Then there are the voles and mice, squirrels and rabbits.

I guess I am lucky though, because I don't have raccoons or chipmunks.

.....or elephants.

Beehive fence for elephants

Always look at the bright side.

NarnianGarden · July 9, 2013

An elephant might be quite a sight in anyone's garden... Let's be thankful there is still life on this Earth

I am happy not to have any extra visitors on my balcony - but my parents are often plagued with squirrels and hares.... So far no tomato damage, they seem to gravitate towards flower bulbs and apple trees. To each their own..

Claudia · July 9, 2013

If it is close to ripe I am picking it!! We fight deer, squirrels, raccoons, possums, and chipmunks. We just put up chicken wire around our tomato plants. The deer picked us clean last week of all our green tomatoes.

ScottinAtlanta · July 9, 2013

Feeling for you, pal.

Sun City Linda · July 10, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redbaron

Hoping they don't. I chased a rat out of my garden yesterday, and gophers plague me every year. Then there are the voles and mice, squirrels and rabbits.

I guess I am lucky though, because I don't have raccoons or chipmunks. .....or elephants.

Beehive fence for elephants

Always look at the bright side.

grower45212 · July 10, 2013

no visitors last night.....bandits are on the lamb

cythaenopsis · July 10, 2013

Sorry to hear of the loss. I can only imagine how much of a let down it was. I've got my very first Krim turning color and I think it'll be ready to pick in another week. I'd be majorly bummed if it was eaten before I picked it!

I'm gardening aloft, so I don't have to worry about deer or raccoon. But I've got a sparrow's nest about 10' away and have noticed divots in my mulch where they were foraging for worms. Mockingbirds are apparently a type of bird that will peck away at a tomato for the fluid. And they are around... So, I slipped a section of nylon over the ripening tomato in hope of protecting it until fully ripe.

I've seen some people put up decoys. You can get some bright red fishing buoys and string them up near your tomato plants. The birds will be attracted by the exceptional bright red, peck at them, then realize that they're nothing to eat. This can convince them that the whole area is pointless and they'll move on.

grower45212 · July 20, 2013

well, the bandits buddies stopped back in for a refill of my tomatoes.......too bad they got my trap with cat food as the bait. In the past week I've trapped 2 juvenile males, 2 juvenile females and 1 full grown male.......bah, they have to get thinned out sooner or later.....

grower45212 · July 20, 2013

I'm going to keep my trap set all summer if I have to

.........

grower45212 · July 22, 2013

had a "BIG OLE POSSUM" visit my patch and trap last night.....I drove him 5 miles and turned him loose......

I'm unsure if that was smart. Hopefully he will not find his way back to my patch

so many varmints, so little patch.....

peppero · July 22, 2013

my sympathies to you. i had a small patch of sweet corn and, you guessed it the masked bandit got it all. one year i trapped 8 coons, several possums and 14 skunks. things have quieted down considerably except for the local armadillo. is that a 750 or a 900?

jon

grower45212 · July 23, 2013

79 kawasaki kz 1000 MK ll turbocharged

July 6, 2013	#1
grower45212 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: cincinnati, OH Posts: 11	first big beef stolen by a masked bandit..... My first big beef tomato of the season and it was nice , no blemishes, beautiful pinkish red, I was eying it for picking the next day and I had visions of making a BLT with it.......... too bad a masked bandit (raccoon) made off with it , he didn't leave anything, the nerve of these varmints .....all he left me was a trail of paw prints . I did get even though ...... I set my havahart trap for him. he left town in the back of a garbage truck. No sign of any other bandits for a couple of days, even though I still have my havahart trap set . maybe the rest of his gang got the message

July 9, 2013	#3
grower45212 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: cincinnati, OH Posts: 11	well, another ready to pick big beef fell victim to the masked bandits buddies. they managed to avoid my havahart trap.......it's been two nights since the great tomato robbery and still no bandit in my trap. still my trap is set and ready for these bandito's if they return

July 9, 2013	#4
Redbaron Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 4,488	Hoping they don't. I chased a rat out of my garden yesterday, and gophers plague me every year. Then there are the voles and mice, squirrels and rabbits. I guess I am lucky though, because I don't have raccoons or chipmunks. .....or elephants. Beehive fence for elephants Always look at the bright side. __________________ Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture

July 10, 2013	#10
cythaenopsis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Hoboken, NJ USA Posts: 347	Sorry to hear of the loss. I can only imagine how much of a let down it was. I've got my very first Krim turning color and I think it'll be ready to pick in another week. I'd be majorly bummed if it was eaten before I picked it! I'm gardening aloft, so I don't have to worry about deer or raccoon. But I've got a sparrow's nest about 10' away and have noticed divots in my mulch where they were foraging for worms. Mockingbirds are apparently a type of bird that will peck away at a tomato for the fluid. And they are around... So, I slipped a section of nylon over the ripening tomato in hope of protecting it until fully ripe. I've seen some people put up decoys. You can get some bright red fishing buoys and string them up near your tomato plants. The birds will be attracted by the exceptional bright red, peck at them, then realize that they're nothing to eat. This can convince them that the whole area is pointless and they'll move on. __________________ I'm GardeningAloft.blogspot.com (container growing apartment dweller)

July 22, 2013	#13
grower45212 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: cincinnati, OH Posts: 11	had a "BIG OLE POSSUM" visit my patch and trap last night.....I drove him 5 miles and turned him loose......I'm unsure if that was smart. Hopefully he will not find his way back to my patch so many varmints, so little patch.....

July 6, 2013	#2
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Oh no. My deepest sympathies...

July 9, 2013	#6
Claudia Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Indiana Posts: 34	If it is close to ripe I am picking it!! We fight deer, squirrels, raccoons, possums, and chipmunks. We just put up chicken wire around our tomato plants. The deer picked us clean last week of all our green tomatoes.

July 9, 2013	#7
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Feeling for you, pal.

July 20, 2013	#11
grower45212 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: cincinnati, OH Posts: 11	well, the bandits buddies stopped back in for a refill of my tomatoes.......too bad they got my trap with cat food as the bait. In the past week I've trapped 2 juvenile males, 2 juvenile females and 1 full grown male.......bah, they have to get thinned out sooner or later.....

July 22, 2013	#14
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	my sympathies to you. i had a small patch of sweet corn and, you guessed it the masked bandit got it all. one year i trapped 8 coons, several possums and 14 skunks. things have quieted down considerably except for the local armadillo. is that a 750 or a 900? jon

July 23, 2013	#15
grower45212 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: cincinnati, OH Posts: 11	79 kawasaki kz 1000 MK ll turbocharged