Discovering damaged green tomatoes in your garden can be frustrating. These unripe fruits are a frequent target for various garden visitors seeking sustenance or moisture. Knowing which animals are responsible and how to prevent damage can help preserve your harvest.
Common Culprits Eating Green Tomatoes
Several animals find green tomatoes appealing, each leaving distinct signs of their presence. Squirrels are common daytime culprits, often leaving small to medium holes or partial bites in multiple fruits. These agile rodents may even take a whole tomato occasionally, though they are more frequently observed taking just one bite and then moving on. Birds, such as robins, mockingbirds, and jays, are also known to peck at green tomatoes, leaving small, neat punctures or shallow gouges on the surface, often in search of water during dry periods. Unlike larger animals, birds typically leave the fruit attached to the vine.
Deer can cause extensive damage, consuming both green tomatoes and the plant’s leaves and stems. Their feeding often results in ragged, torn edges on foliage because they lack upper incisor teeth and use a pulling motion to eat. Deer prefer to feed during early morning and late evening hours, and damage may be observed higher up on the plant, around 3 to 4 feet from the ground. Raccoons and opossums, primarily nocturnal foragers, can also inflict significant harm, often taking entire fruits or leaving larger, more destructive bites. If damage occurs overnight, these mammals are likely suspects.
Rodents like mice, rats, chipmunks, and groundhogs are also known to consume green tomatoes. They may leave small gnaw marks or even carry the fruit away to eat in a more secluded spot. Slugs and snails, though smaller, can also damage green tomatoes by chewing irregular holes and leaving characteristic slime trails.
Protecting Your Green Tomatoes
Protecting green tomatoes from animal damage involves a combination of practical and humane strategies. Physical barriers are highly effective and non-toxic methods. Draping lightweight bird netting over plants or constructing cages from chicken wire or hardware cloth can prevent access by birds, squirrels, and larger mammals. For burrowing animals like rabbits, fences should extend a few inches below the soil line. Raised garden beds, particularly those 18 inches or higher, can also deter smaller ground-dwelling pests.
Scare tactics can provide temporary relief, though animals may adapt over time. Reflective objects such as old CDs, aluminum pie pans, or reflective tape hung near plants can startle birds and deter them. Motion-activated sprinklers, which spray water when triggered, can surprise and repel deer and other skittish animals. Placing decoy predators, like plastic owls or rubber snakes, can also be tried, but their position should be changed frequently to maintain effectiveness.
Repellents, both commercial and homemade, work by targeting an animal’s senses of smell or taste. Sprays made from hot pepper (capsaicin) or garlic can make tomatoes unappetizing to many pests. Some gardeners find success with the scent of dog hair or predator urine, which suggests a larger predator is in the vicinity. Companion planting, such as growing mint, marigolds, basil, or alliums near tomatoes, can help deter certain pests with their strong scents.
Additionally, providing an alternative water source like a bird bath can reduce the likelihood of birds pecking tomatoes out of thirst, particularly during dry spells. Maintaining good garden hygiene, such as promptly removing fallen fruit, also reduces attractants for pests.