Gardeners often face the frustration of finding their ripening harvest destroyed overnight, with the culprit frequently being the masked bandit: the raccoon. Raccoons are highly adaptable omnivores found in many environments, known to consume ripe tomatoes and cause extensive damage to surrounding plants. These nocturnal visitors are opportunistic feeders, exploiting easily accessible food sources. A cultivated tomato patch presents a tempting meal, and raccoons often inflict far more destruction through their foraging behavior than the amount of fruit they actually consume.
Raccoon Dietary Preferences and Tomato Attraction
Raccoons are omnivores, maintaining a varied diet that includes insects, nuts, small vertebrates, and plant matter. When they enter a garden, they are drawn primarily to the ripeness and high water content of the tomato fruit. Ripe tomatoes emit sugars and a noticeable scent that appeals to the raccoon’s palate, making them especially attractive during dry seasons when other water sources may be scarce.
The destruction is often disproportionate to the amount of food consumed because these animals tend to sample multiple fruits instead of finishing a single one. Raccoons typically take a few bites from a tomato before moving on to the next, which can decimate a significant portion of a harvest in a single night. While they prefer the sweet, ripe fruit, the entire garden environment provides easy access to food.
Distinguishing Raccoon Damage from Other Garden Pests
Identifying the specific culprit is necessary for effective prevention, as raccoons leave distinct evidence in a garden. Raccoon damage is characterized by general messiness and destruction, often involving entire plants being pulled down or knocked over during foraging. They tend to crush or mangle the fruit rather than taking a clean bite, leaving partially eaten tomatoes scattered on the ground near the plant.
The most telling sign is the presence of their tracks, which resemble miniature human hands with five long, distinct toes. Deer damage, in contrast, is identified by rough, torn edges on stems and leaves due to the lack of upper incisors, and feeding occurs higher off the ground. Squirrels leave cleaner, smaller bite marks, often cutting the entire fruit off the vine to carry it away, and their activity occurs during the day.
Effective Strategies for Exclusion and Deterrence
The most reliable method for protecting tomato plants involves physical exclusion barriers, as raccoons are adept climbers and diggers. A low-voltage electric fence is effective, requiring two strands: one six inches above the soil and a second at twelve inches, to deter both climbing and crawling. For non-electrified solutions, fencing or netting must be robust and secured tightly to the ground, potentially buried a few inches, to prevent digging beneath the barrier.
Environmental deterrence focuses on making the garden area less appealing and accessible. Securing all outdoor trash cans with tight-fitting, locking lids is a necessary first step, as garbage is a primary food draw. Motion-activated sprinklers can be positioned near the garden entry points; the sudden burst of water startles the nocturnal visitors and encourages them to seek food elsewhere.
Further discouraging their presence can be achieved by applying scents they dislike, such as a perimeter barrier of cayenne pepper or commercial predator urine products. These scent deterrents require reapplication, especially after rain.