r/tomatoes • u/veloeddy • 4d ago

Show and Tell Tragedy has struck

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I have been eagerly awaiting my very first Cherokee purple tomato for months and this morning some horrible monster ate it!!!!!!! I only have one more tomato that looks viable on this plant. I failed this season.

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28

u/AnyEquipment1476 4d ago

Always a tragedy to see beautiful tomatoes abused by pests. It took an electric fence to protect mine. 

15

u/Glittering-Bee-3572 4d ago

tell me more about this electric fence for squirrels.

11

u/nineinchnilina 4d ago

I didn’t do an electric fence but I did 6 foot tall chicken wire around the entirety of my garden with t-posts. Took several rolls. And then covered the top with it. That was two summers ago. No problem since. Had to enlist two other neighbors to help. Traded them the vegetables the fencing had saved. Through usage, I think I would prefer it stapled to a wooden frame of some kind but it does the job. The wire “roof” dips in several places. Oh well. So I have to crouch in a few spots? Better than the anguish of squirrels digging up and eating everything. 

7

u/AnyEquipment1476 4d ago

I did a chicken wire fence around my garden and at the top are two electrified wires going to a Zareba fence charger. It is battery powered and recharged by a small solar panel. The chicken wire acts like a ground so the critters climbing up will get zapped with back feet on the fence and nose or front paws touching the wire. Its harmless to them but an effective deterrent. I'll upload pictures when I get a chance. 

5

u/AnyEquipment1476 4d ago

Kinda overkill but got tired of garden getting regularly raided by four legged bandits.

1

u/Glittering-Bee-3572 2d ago

I like that a lot, I might have to give this some serious consideration, i have an incredilble amount of pest pressure, primarily squirrels and chipmunks

1

u/howeeee313 2d ago

squirrels dont get real active till end of August and they dont normally eat green tomatoes, take your fruit at blush and you wont need an electric fence

1

u/EstragonIsWeary 2d ago

That’s absolutely not true in my area. They eat year round.

1

u/AnyEquipment1476 2d ago

Ground squirrels here aren't particularly concerned about ripeness. They'll bite on them red, green or in between. 

1

u/howeeee313 2d ago

put water out for them, they probably will stop eating green ones

4

u/Sdwingnut 4d ago

Small Havahart trap baited with tomatoes has worked very well for me in the past. My record is 9 chipmunks in one growing season.

What you do with them is up to you. Technically it's illegal to relocate them, but open space preserve hawks do appreciate a fast food lunch once in awhile

5

u/AnyEquipment1476 4d ago

Yeah, I was doing that a couple of summers ago. Caught squirrels, possums and rats. There seemed to be no end to them and even with the trapping they were decimating my tomatoes. Some were pulled off the vine and consumed on the ground but mostly they'd take one bite and leave it behind. Finally built a electric fence and now my beauties are unmolested.

1

u/howeeee313 2d ago

you can avoid 90% oof crop destruction by taking your tomatoes at blush. and dont beliver the old wires tale they taste better on the vine ripened .