Do you feed the birds and squirrels also? I've fed both for years and place the feeders away from my veggies. They also like to dig around in my compost piles where I throw out old dry cat food,veggies scrapes,etc. Keeps them busy and out of my gardens most of the time. The squirrels are starting to build their nests for winter now and are gathering like crazy. Best of Luck! I know how disappointing it is to grow something and wait only to have it eaten or destroyed. This spring I planted some oriental lillies but not deep enough and the squirrels dug them up and had a feast.

I don't feed the birds or squirrels. I have a bird bath. I make sure they have fresh water.

My husband has the same problem with his tomato plants-$%^& squirrels! He complained to a farmer about it, and was told there's no way to keep squirrels away. They can jump 15 feet. The only suggestion was to build a cage completely around your garden. Include a door for yourself, of course. unfortunately, my DH is not a DIY-type.

buy a bag of peanuts and feed the squirrel, he will prefer the peanuts to the tomatoes, trust me, not one tomato has been eaten by the many squirrels I have in my garden.

Stella

I tried hanging CD's on the vine to scare the birds away. They still seem to find a way to get to the tomatoes. My DH suggested that I put some netting over the plants. I will try that next.

I was going to suggest putting food out for the birds and squirrels. There were a bunch of sparrows eating the bugs from my dad's tomato's but i don't think they were eating the tomatos themselves.

Like the other's said, try leaving bread crumbs and peanuts and other things to keep them away.

Wallmart sells a bb gun with scope for about thirty dollars. Impact expanding pellets sold separately, of course. Good for squirrels and those pesky neighbor kids.. ;)
I'd rather give them cracked corn myself.(the squirrels,that is) Or deer netting surrounds.

Problem solved.......I bought some screen from Home Depot and covered the plants. It worked very well. No more problems with critters.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Will shooting one or a few deter more from coming?

I used fruit nets this year, but I found that the cherry tomatoes get very caught and I can't get the ripe ones out easily!

Tom, when you say does shooting one or a few deter the rest, are you talking about squirrels or pesky kids?? LOL!

My husbands' grandma used to trap them in a humane trap and set them out at the local park (this park shall remain nameless as there apparently was such a big influx of squirrels at this park that it made local news.)