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 because they are thirsty.

Adding a birdbath 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 from 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 another 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 mothballs into an empty plastic water bottle and stand it up close by. They will run away. Animals can’t touch the mothballs and get hurt since they are in a bottle, but the smell deters them. While the mothballs are not on the ground, we don’t actually recommend this method, as rain can drive the moth ball toxins into the ground and affect your crips.

Anti-Bird NettingElectric Fence Energizer PlusScarecrow Horned Owl

More ways to prevent squirrels from eating tomatoes

• 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 noisemakers

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

Scare TapeSparkly Holographic Pin Wheel Spinners Scare Off Birds and Pests Aluminum Pans

Squirrels are not the only problems tomatoes will suffer in your garden. Check out these common tomato problems and learn how to fix them. 

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