Sorry to hear of your troubles.

Just thinkin out loud but could you fashion a cover from chicken wire?

Not expensive, very light, would fold up for storage and would help with squirrels too.

I'd be investing in a bb gun if I were you. What kind of birds are they?

Abby

Why don't you buy bird netting meant for fruit trees and drape it over the plants?
Carla in Sac

thanks for the sympathy. I don't know what kind of birds they are but they are black, sort of like the red headed cardinals we have here in Hawaii. I'm pretty sure that there is a ringleader who is out and about recruiting thugs for his tomato-pecking gang. I see them scoping the area once in a while. And my husband and sons have left a pellet gun for me so that I can aim and shoot at a hanging pie pan that I've hung near the plants. I don't want to actually hurt the birds (although in my dreams I have, uh, DONE THINGS to them!) Just want to scare them into oblivion.

I have resorted to using those little brown paper lunch bags to cover the entire fruit and secure them with twist ties. Hope they work. However, these thug-birds have also been pecking at my green tomatoes, too. If I cover the green tomatoes, will their ripening process be affected? Do they need exposure to the sun to even begin ripening properly?

If the bags don't work, I may try the netting over the plants.

Thanks, all of you, for your help. I just want ONE unblemished, unpecked tomato!

Hi, sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm thinking the birds are after the moisture. Your little bags should deter them quite nicely. I have a birdbath right next to the garden to keep the birds watered and it seems to do the trick. If that doesn't work then I'd work on my aim and dispense with the pan. Kidding. A whirligig or two, like you get at carnivals, will scare them as long as there's some wind. Not all that reliable. Green tomatoes will ripen off the vine if kept out of the sunlight. Hope this helps you a bit. Best Regards.

I bet the paper bags work, if not, the netting surely will. I understand your frustration, have had some in the past but not that bad.

Some say keep out water and a bird feeder and it will help keep them satisfied, but I have had them pecked when both were in abundance. It might work in some cases and not work in others, who knows how a bird brain works. ":^).

ai would also bet that some of us could mount a care package drive and see that you do not go completely without home grown maters for the entire season. I know, they would not be like those you grow in your garden, of course.
Bill P.

It's very frustrating because it's not for lack of water that they are attacking the tomatoes. It just rained this morning, for heaven's sake! Well, I just hope that I get to experience the joy of a ripe Cherokee Purple. I hear so much about it. Maybe the birds can tell me what they taste like 'cause I certainly don't know!

Birds are not innocent creatures of nature! They are devious and malicious. I adopted a cat who was naive when it came to hunting and killing..... and a Stellar's Bluejay adopted her as target to stalk, which he did morning, noon and night. Divebombing, chattering and "the evil eye" were a way of life for my poor cat. This guy must not have eaten, honestly, because he had no life but that of stalking my cat. I used to chase him down, batting him with my broom, but he always got away. I could always tell where my cat was in the neighborhood because I could hear the chattering. In the morning, he would perch out on the chair outside the sliding glass doors, watching for my cat, and when she would eat her breakfast by the sliding glass doors, he would start his incessant chirping and harassment. Broomstick whack, miss, whack, miss, whack, miss. And then one day he divebombed her as she was walking across the yard, and she jumped straight up into the air, claws extended, missing him by a millimeter..... he got away, but never bothered her again.

We lived in a house with a lot of fruit trees, and every summer when the Japanese plums ripened the birds would peck at each one, ruining them. I'd have a tree full of beautiful pecked fruits.... no rhyme or reason for that, just malice. Needless to say, I have a very poor opinion of birds. Oh, but my naive cat became a very good bird hunter after driving her nemesis away, so all's well that ends well.

Lelia - Interesting story and I know it's true. Bluejays are notorious for that behavior. One of them tried that on my old tom cat that was laying peacefully on the deck railing. The cat never even opened his eyes, just lay there like he was dead. That gave the jay confidence to get even closer while screeching at the cat. Next day all there was left were a few feathers. Let sleeping dogs lie. (cat's too).

I have heard good things about this Bird Scare flash tape. I've not tried it myself yet though. Apparently it moves in the slightest breeze and scares the birds away from whatever it's near.

Bird Scare Flash Tape

I have heard good things about this Bird Scare flash tape. I've not tried it myself yet though. Apparently it moves in the slightest breeze and scares the birds away from whatever it's near.

Bird Scare Flash Tape

Here's a thought:

I heard last year that if you hang red glass Christmas ornaments on your tomato plants, the birds will peck those, thinking they are tomatoes. When they get no satisfaction from pecking those for so long, they will learn to leave them alone.

I bought extra after Christmas this year but have not had to use them...yet.

Good Luck!
Beverly

Scarecrow.

Seriously, they work. Move it each day and the birds will stay away unless they're starving.

Hopetheylive, sorry for your troubles. I'm emotionally invested in my plants as well.

Yesterday I decided to leave one large beautiful almost dead ripe tomato on the vine for just one more day, since the birds had left them alone so far this year. This morning I checked on it and found a bird had "sampled" it. Grrrr....

We have lots of Cardinals here and when I see one of them near a tomato plant I know to go quickly looking for hornworms. Cardinals are mostly beneficial seems to me. Now if I see Mockingbirds hanging out around the tomatoes, I'm sure to find pecked fruit.

Beverly, I'd love to know if the red Christmas ornament trick works. Maybe you can post later this year and let us know.

I seem to be fortunate that the local birds don't seem to like tomatoes. Maybe they don't like the cages the tomatoes grow in.

But I would put cages around the tomatoes and drape them with netting. Denying access always seems to work better than scaring them away.

Opal52,
If I have to put out the ornaments, I'll try to let you know what happens. So far the birds aren't interested, and neither are the culprits that nibbled on my tomatoes last year...don't know if it was a squirrel or an oppossum, but they haven't tried to take a nibble yet.

Happy Gardening!
Beverly

I hope the paper bags are working for you! I too have tomato thieves, but in my case I think it's squirrels. I use organza favor bags, like for wedding favors, because they have drawstrings sewn in so I can tie them on. I also don't even try to let anything ripen fully on the vine - I pick 'em when they're partially ripe. Counter-ripened is better than none at all...

I bought some hybrids at a nearby store to give me some tomatoes till my lovely heirlooms come on. Yesterday I saw the first "baby" fruit on one of my heirloom plants and was so excited. So yes, it is an emotional journey as mentioned above. Would I be upset, if after watching this little tomato grow, to have it taken from me by a marauder you bet!

I hope some of these suggestions work for you and you are tasting your first Cherokee Purple soon, good luck. :)

This is my first year tomato planting. I bought an Eva Purple Ball, Sungold, and Stupice. I will need to container garden. What is the smallest container that I can get away with for each?