How To Keep Squirrels Away From Tomato Plants

Have you ever gone to pick your tomatoes, only to find out your neighborhood squirrels cleaned you out? You are not alone, and today we’ll look at what you can do to keep squirrels away from tomato plants.

Why do squirrels eat tomatoes

While squirrels love ripe tomatoes in general, they’ll attack both green and ripe ones if they are thirsty. There’s a fairly easy fix for this: just place a water source away from the garden. That way, they won’t be eating tomatoes just becasue they are thirsty.

Adding a bird bath will do double duty: let the birds bathe and water for the squirrels.

How To Keep Squirrels Away From Tomato Plants

So, now you put a water source by your tomatoes, but squirrels are still feasting on your harvest. What else can you do to stop squirrels form eating your tomatoes?

I asked my Facebook followers, and here are some of their ideas: 

1. solar electric fencing
2. bird netting
3. sprinkle hot pepper on them, or Tabasco sauce (cayenne pepper is good too)
4. hang a plastic owl on a plant hook near the tomatoes: it’ll swing around in the breeze and the squirrels will stay away
5. cage your tomatoes 
6. get a Jack Russell Terrier (or other dog): dogs keep all squirrels, deer, and rabbits out of the yard! I think just their scent on the property does wonders.
7. put out food for them as well as water: they are most likely hungry and especially thirsty with the heat of summer
8. fence your tomatoes or garden in with 2 ft of one inch chicken wire
9. buy cheap feed and give them scraps (be careful if you do this: they’ll get used to it and come to expect it
10. put dog hair around all  your plants ( I personally don’t like this, as I don’t want dog hair around my food, but may work for others)
11. place moth balls into an empty plastic water bottle and stand it up close by. They will run away. Animals can’t touch the moth bolls, and get hurt, since they are in a bottle, it but the smell deters them

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More ways to prevent squirrels eating tomatoes

Placing some noise makers in your garden is very beneficial.

• I have a friend who keeps an outdoor radio playing all summer long in his garden. HE never has trouble with rabbits, squirrels and deer.
• wind chimes are also great noise makers

Try adding some shiny objects around the garden: pinwheels, metal tape, disposable aluminum baking tins, etc.

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