Squirrels in my tomatoes

[Dutch]

I’ve never had this problem before.  Now I am seeing them daily and much of the time I see them leave with a tomato in their mouth.  Lead has not proved to be an effective deterrent.  Eight of them won’t be coming back but nothing has changed. There seems to be too many of them.  Is there any kind of rain proof repellent that I can use?  

[snagged in outlet 3]

11 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Lead has not proved to be an effective deterrent.  Eight of them won’t be coming back but nothing has changed.

Quitter😂

[Dutch]

1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Quitter😂

No I haven’t but it looks like a losing proposition.  I can only deter those that I can see and I’m not watching tomatoes 24/7.

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

I've read many times that a source of water, such as a pie plate (or multiple), bowls/Buckets etc. will help keep them from demolishing tomato gardens. 

[Dutch]

I have a fountain and a bird bath that is out there.  They used to eat seeds off the ground by the bird feeders and drink from the bath then leave.  Now they make another stop on the way out.  Will they go in a live trap?  

[BilletHead]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

I’ve never had this problem before.  Now I am seeing them daily and much of the time I see them leave with a tomato in their mouth.  Lead has not proved to be an effective deterrent.  Eight of them won’t be coming back but nothing has changed. There seems to be too many of them.  Is there any kind of rain proof repellent that I can use?  

             I have never tried this Dutch but have used pepper dust in bird feeders. No effect on the birds but did the job on squirrel, racoons and opossums. I do the lead poisoned deal with the pellet rifle now. Where I cannot watch the garden closely, I have an electric fence. Low wire for the short creatures and one above that for the deer. worked perfect. If I was closer, I would watch and take-home dinner. 

How To Make & Use Hot Pepper Spray - Stop Pest Damage Naturally! (thisismygarden.com)

 

[Dutch]

Will a wounded squirrel if it survives come back to the place where it got popped or is their brain too small for remembrance?  I prefer to pop in a non lethal area thus I don’t have a corpse to throw out.

[BilletHead]

3 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Will a wounded squirrel if it survives come back to the place where it got popped or is their brain too small for remembrance?  I prefer to pop in a non lethal area thus I don’t have a corpse to throw out.

      Kind of mean, aren't you?     I would think a squirrel hit anywhere would damage it enough It's going to die unless by a shotgun smaller shotgun pellet in a muscle area. I don't think a hit with a .22 is going to survive and make it back. 

[Quillback]

On 8/13/2023 at 10:09 AM, Dutch said:

I have a fountain and a bird bath that is out there.  They used to eat seeds off the ground by the bird feeders and drink from the bath then leave.  Now they make another stop on the way out.  Will they go in a live trap?  

I have live trapped them before, but it hardly seems worth the effort and they replace their losses quickly.  Had the same problem, squirrels never bothered the tomatoes, then one year they decided they liked them.  When I grow tomatoes, I get some nylon netting and wrap (loosely) the tomato frame deal with it, from the ground up.  

[rps]

Just red this thread. This year has been just as Dutch reports. The squirrels have taken nearly my entire crop.