Gardeners often discover they are not the only ones with an appetite for tomatoes. The combination of succulent leaves, young stems, and high water content makes them an attractive target for a range of garden visitors. Protecting your harvest requires understanding which animals are causing the damage, as solutions effective for one pest may be useless against another. This article focuses on strategies to deter common vertebrate pests, including mammals and birds, that damage the plant structure or fruit.
Diagnosis: Identifying the Animal Culprit
Accurately identifying the pest is the first step toward effective defense, as different animals leave distinct signs of feeding habits. Deer lack upper incisors, meaning they cannot make a clean cut. They yank and tear at foliage, leaving ragged edges on stems and leaves, often browsing three to four feet off the ground.
Rabbit damage is characterized by clean, angled cuts on young stems and seedlings, appearing as if trimmed close to the ground. Rabbits target the lower portions of the plant, and their activity may be accompanied by small, round droppings nearby. Squirrels and raccoons tend to focus their attention on the ripening fruit itself.
Squirrels typically carve medium-to-large holes into one side of a tomato, often taking bites out of multiple fruits rather than consuming one whole. Raccoons, which are nocturnal, may leave behind half-eaten tomatoes or remove entire ripe fruits from the vine. Birds leave small, shallow peck marks on ripe tomatoes, seeking the fruit for both food and hydration, especially during dry periods.
Structural Exclusion Methods
Physical barriers are the most reliable long-term solution for protecting tomato plants. Fencing is a primary method, but its design must be tailored to the animal it is meant to deter. For deer, the fence must be tall, with a minimum of seven to eight feet generally recommended to prevent them from jumping over.
For smaller, ground-level pests like rabbits and groundhogs, mesh size and burial depth are more important than height. Fencing should be at least two feet high with a mesh aperture no larger than 31 millimeters (1.25 inches) to prevent small animals from squeezing through. To stop burrowing animals, the bottom of the wire mesh should be buried at least six inches deep, bent outward in an “L” shape away from the garden perimeter.
Individual plants can be protected from rabbits and groundhogs using cages made from hardware cloth or chicken wire. This caging is wrapped around the tomato cage or stake, extending slightly below the soil surface to block digging. For fruit protection, lightweight bird netting can be draped over the plants once tomatoes set fruit, secured tightly at the base to prevent access from below.
Sensory and Repellent Strategies
Repellents target an animal’s sense of smell, taste, or fear, complementing physical barriers. Taste-based repellents, such as those containing capsaicin, are applied directly to the foliage and create an unpleasant sensation when the animal attempts to eat the plant. Scent-based products utilize putrescent egg solids, mimicking the odor of decay or a predator’s presence, causing deer and rabbits to instinctively avoid the area.
Topical repellents require diligent reapplication, especially on fast-growing tomato plants where new, untreated foliage constantly emerges. Rain and overhead watering wash away the active ingredients, requiring reapplication. Animals can also become accustomed to a single repellent over time, making it beneficial to rotate between different products.
Motion-activated sprinklers are effective fear-based deterrents against many mammals and some birds. These devices use infrared sensors to detect movement, triggering a sudden burst of water that frightens the animal away. The effective range is typically up to 30 feet, and periodically changing their location helps prevent animals from habituating to the spray. Companion planting, such as placing strong-smelling herbs near tomatoes, offers a minor deterrent by masking the plant’s scent, but this strategy is unreliable as a standalone defense.