The first people to notice a squirrel eating from your garden likely felt like they just lost their tomato crop. Here are 11 tips for keeping the pesky critters away!
Squirrels are a nuisance that many people encounter. If you want to keep them away, then there are 11 easy ways to do so.
It’s possible that some of the links in this article are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link, I may get a commission. In addition, I receive money on qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. —
Have you noticed that something has been eating your tomatoes lately? When you’re not around, there’s a high possibility squirrels may eat your tomatoes.
Squirrels are abundant in many regions, and you’ll almost certainly have a lot of them in your yard looking for food. If you’re planting tomatoes, they’ll function as a beacon, attracting squirrels.
You don’t have to put up with squirrels eating and destroying your tomatoes, however. There are several things you can do to improve the situation.
Continue reading to discover how to keep your tomatoes safe from the local squirrel population. If you follow the methods correctly, you’ll soon be able to eat wonderful tomatoes without worrying about squirrels nibbling on them.
1 – Try to get rid of anything in your yard that attract squirrels.
Squirrels will be attracted to your yard by a variety of factors. For instance, if you leave garbage out in the open, squirrels may search through it seeking for scraps of food to consume.
If you can keep items like this from bringing squirrels into your yard, you’ll have a better chance of not having to worry with squirrels destroying your tomatoes.
Securing your garbage cans will prevent squirrels and raccoons from getting inside. It’s typically preferable to get garbage cans with a lockable lid that locks.
Squirrels might be attracted to bird feeders, therefore you should get rid of them. It may be preferable to do this if you’re already producing veggies since birds might be an issue if they want to devour the plants.
If you do decide to maintain the bird feeders, make sure they are not accessible to squirrels. It will also be vital to wipe up any spilled bird seed since squirrels will attempt to claim it after some time has passed.
Cleaning up your yard may also assist since your trees and shrubs may be dropping items that squirrels like eating. Continue to keep your yard free of nuts, berries, fruits, and seeds that can attract squirrels.
Although this may seem like a lot of effort, being proactive will assist to safeguard your tomato plants. This is the greatest method to start preventing squirrels from considering your yard as appealing.
2 – Keep Your Tomato Plants Safe
When you know there are a lot of squirrels in the neighborhood, protecting your tomato plants is a good idea. To restrict the plants from being readily accessed, you may use bird netting, cages, or coverings.
When you want to make sure squirrels can’t access to your tomato plants, this is a great solution. It may not always be 100% effective, but it does a fantastic job of keeping squirrels away from your tomato plants.
When tomatoes are ripe, squirrels are more inclined to attempt to eat them. Wrapping ripening tomatoes with bird netting is a great way to take use of this knowledge.
Although the squirrels would most likely overlook the green tomatoes, it’s still a good idea to use cages or bird netting to cover the whole area if possible. It adds a little additional labor to your day, but it ensures that squirrels do not steal your tomatoes.
Plant some mint near the tomato plants as a third option.
Squirrels hate mint plants, did you know? For whatever reason, the aroma that mint plants emit deters squirrels from approaching them too closely.
Many people take advantage of this by planting mint plants near patios, gardens, and other locations where squirrels are not welcome. Mint plants are easy to grow near the tomato patch and may assist to discourage squirrels.
It’s a really natural and straightforward technique to discourage squirrels from becoming a major issue. This isn’t a foolproof method for preventing squirrels from taking your tomatoes, but it may help a lot.
4 – Dogs Can Assist
Dogs are great at frightening squirrels away and chasing them away. If you have a lot of squirrels in your yard, you might consider allowing your dog to spend some time outside.
The majority of dogs will have an urge to hunt tiny creatures like squirrels. The squirrels will be justifiably terrified of the dog, which will keep them away from the tomato plants.
Some folks even keep their dogs outdoors all of the time to keep an eye out for pests like these. You might construct a doghouse outdoors, and your dog could serve as the protector of your tomato plants.
Of course, in certain regions, dogs should not be left outdoors all of the time. If you are concerned about other predators or the weather becomes too cold, it may only be viable to keep your dog outdoors during specific times of the day.
Apple Cider Vinegar (No. 5)
Squirrels are remarkably adept at staying away from objects when you use apple cider vinegar. Because of its potency, many animals despise the smell of apple cider vinegar.
This implies you might go out and get some apple cider vinegar to assist you in resolving your squirrel issue. It is quite inexpensive, and all you have to do is soak cloths in vinegar.
After you’ve soaked some rags in apple cider vinegar, you’ll be able to spread them strategically across your yard. You’ll be able to keep the squirrels away from your tomato plants if you put them strategically.
This one is worth your attention if you’re seeking for low-cost squirrel deterrents. It works wonderfully, and it’s simple to wet some rags and place them in various locations.
6 – Urine of a Predator
Predator urine has the ability to drive squirrels away, and it’s suggested that you use it if you’re experiencing serious squirrel issues. Squirrels are frightened by the urine of coyotes, owls, foxes, and other predators.
Squirrels have evolved to recognize predator scents, and they’ll recognize that smelling predator urine means predators are around. Spray some predator urine around the tomato garden to make it seem to the local squirrel population as a very scary location.
You don’t have to go out of your way to gather predator pee in an unusual manner. It’s sold in a variety of items that may be found online, in department stores, and in specialist hunting stores.
Predator Decoys (number 7)
Predator decoys may also be effective in scaring squirrels away. You may actually purchase hawk and owl decoys to scare the squirrels away and deter them from getting too near to your garden area.
These decoys may be placed near the tomato plants to deter squirrels from heading in that way. Their innate instincts will warn them to flee when they perceive the silhouette of the predator decoy.
The issue is that the predator decoys aren’t going to last forever. The squirrels may eventually discover that the decoys aren’t a danger after some time has passed.
This may be mitigated by moving the decoys around and altering their placements on a regular basis. To keep the squirrels confused, some folks purchase many decoys and rotate them in and out every few days.
8 – Repellent Sprays for Squirrels
Squirrel repellent sprays may be used to keep squirrels away from certain items. These are really easy to operate since all you have to do is aim a spray bottle at the liquid and pull the trigger to discharge it.
This repellant should deter squirrels from approaching the items that have been sprayed with it. To keep the tomato plants safe, you may spray the area around them, and it won’t be difficult to do so whenever required.
The repellant should persist for a long time, but the rain will ultimately wash it away. You’ll probably be irrigating the tomato garden as well, which means that the area around the tomato garden may need to be treated with this squirrel spray on a frequent basis.
It’s up to you if squirrel repellent is effective in keeping squirrels away from tomatoes. It works rather well, and squirrel repellent sprays aren’t too expensive.
Ultrasonic Repellent Devices (nine)
Ultrasonic repellent devices are effective in scaring squirrels away, but they may also be used to keep other animals at bay. These are handy small insect deterrents that you can plant in the ground.
The ultrasonic repellant gadget will produce noises that are inaudible to humans. Squirrels and other animals, on the other hand, will be able to hear the noises as clearly as day.
This kind of device will play predator sounds or perhaps simply unpleasant sounds that squirrels dislike. It should make them desire to avoid the noise source since they will see it as a danger.
Many individuals have found that installing an ultrasonic repellant device near their tomato crops produces positive results. You may put one in the ground to keep squirrels at a safe distance.
It’s also wonderful to know that, for your convenience, these gadgets are generally solar-powered. They should be able to work continuously just by being exposed to sunshine every day.
10 – Radios Could Be Useful
Squirrels don’t like noise in general, and they’ll be frightened of any sounds emanating from electronic equipment. This implies that an ultrasonic gadget isn’t required to frighten squirrels away.
Place a radio near the tomato garden and listen to rock music or anything similar. Even if you chose to play your favorite tunes again and over, the squirrels are unlikely to be fans.
A radio may simply be placed near the tomato plants to deter squirrels from approaching them. It’s something that won’t cost you anything if you already have a radio that you can use.
The disadvantage is that you don’t want to annoy your neighbors, and you also don’t want to be listening to music all day. Nonetheless, this is a viable strategy for preventing squirrels from coming too near to the plants.
11 – Sprinklers with Motion Detection
Squirrels may be deterred from running about in your yard with motion-activated sprinklers. You might install a sprinkler system that activates whenever it senses movement.
This implies that if a squirrel rushes across the yard, it will be doused with water as a reward for its efforts. It’s an efficient approach to keep squirrels away from your property.
You should be cautious about doing anything like this too near to the tomatoes since you don’t want to water them more than they need. This can still work as a deterrent, but you’ll need to think about how to put it up.
This kind of sprinkler has even been reported to deter burglars from entering houses. It will be more difficult for a prospective thief to enter into a property if they can’t slip across someone’s yard without getting soaked.
Last Thoughts
You now have a better understanding of squirrels and how to keep them out of your yard. There are a variety of strategies for getting rid of squirrels, and combining a few of them should fix your issues.
When you take the proper precautions to keep squirrels away from your tomato plants, they will be lot safer. It’s unlikely that you’ll need to employ all of these strategies at the same time, but combining two or three of them might be the ideal solution to keep bothersome squirrels away from your tomato plants.
Squirrels are a nuisance and they can cause lots of damage if they get into your garden. The “how to keep squirrels from eating pumpkins” is a solution that will help you keep the squirrels out of your garden.
Related Tags
- squirrels eating tomatoes blood meal
- do squirrels eat tomatoes at night
- can you eat a tomato that a squirrel bit into
- how to protect tomato plants from being eaten
- are tomatoes bad for squirrels
