How to keep birds/squirrels out of my tomatoes?

Last year ALL of my tomatoes were either ripped off the vines, half eaten and then tossed into the yard by squirrels or all pecked up by birds. I am trying to figure out a way to avoid this problem this year.

My bed are raised wood slats - 4' x 8' x 19" high. As you all well know many tomato plants will get 5-6' tall. So I'm trying to figure out how I could possibly use bird netting on a set up like that since I won't even be able to reach high enough to get netting over the tops of the plants. There must be some way, but my creative juices just aren't flowing enough for me to figure it out. And then the other problem I see is how to get the netting off without damaging the plants when I want to harvest, cause I know that within a few days time the vines will grow through the netting making it near impossible to remove.

Maybe put plastic deer fencing around them.

Bird netting can be a real pain. Instead consider using bridal veil material. It is easy to remove and lets the light in. I bought it quite cheaply at Walmart. You can drape it over the plants and tie them at the bottom to keep the squirrels from climbing up the plants to eat. It will certainly deter the birds. If it's chipmunks they can sometimes be trapped using sunflower seeds. This material is great over berry bushes like blueberries as well. Mosquito or bug netting works well too but is more expensive. Deer fencing would be hard to put over the plants to keep the birds away an squirrels can chew through it if they are determined.

I also tie aluminum pie plates near the tomato plants in hopes that the clattering in the wind will deter the birds. Some people recommend picking the tomatoes just before they fully ripen and let them finish ripening in the house. The squirrels know a ripe one when they see it!

Or also make sure there is water nearby for the critters. The birds are mainly after water. Don't know about the squirrels but it can't hurt. It's probably hot where you are when the tomatoes are ripening. If it isn't raining enough they will seek water in the fruits.

Hope something works for you! That is always so depressing when you find bites taken out of beautiful ripe specimens!

A realistic owl 'scare crow', preferably the one with the moving head (available at Wal Mart, quite reasonable).

Old CD's hung so they twist and turn in the breeze, flashing reflected sun light.

Shiny aluminum cans, also hung where they can swing & reflect light. They can also be cut into decorative shapes, such as birds, butterflies, etc, then hung.

Using CD's and/or cans, you are recycling, too.

Agree with gardadore that they are looking for water. When my neighbor had her garden, they would ignore my paste tomatoes (drier) for her more juicy salad tomatoes. Since she is gone, I've had to put out water (even with a pond right by the garden, they just ignore it) during the summer to keep them at bay.
Any type of barrier you use (bird netting, bridal netting) to keep out squirrels needs to cover everything from ground up, they will climb and find a way through it. And they can squeeze through holes smaller than you would expect.
Around here they laugh at stuffed owls, pie pans, reflective CDs, etc, so I can't recommend them, especially if they are hungry or thirsty.

Thanks for the replies - but wouldn't the bridal veil material cause pollination problems?

the holes of the bridal veil (also called tulle), are still large enough for pollen spores to float through. just not much of anything else ;)

Tomatoes are self-pollinated. They don't need pollen from other sources.

The CD's & owl 'scare crow' work quite well here for birds and squirrels. O'possums are another story entirely. Wish I could find a way to deter them! So far the only remedy for them is trapping and 'relocating'.

I'm not sure I agree that they are self pollinating. They are self fertilizing but that is not the same thing. They still need some motion to move the pollen, and my understanding is that bees are still the #1 way for that to happen.

I may try the tulle on a few plants and see how it goes. Thanks for all the suggestions.

This message was edited Jan 17, 2014 12:00 PM

Okay, so we've got a bit of a "communications" gap here. :>) Everything I've read over the years uses the term 'self pollinating'. I've never heard (or read) the term 'self fertilizing'. In my mind, fertilizing is feeding the plant as a whole, usually through the root system, but can also be accomplished through foliage feeding. So please forgive me if I've used an improper term here.

True, tomatoes need some movement for this act, whatever you call it, to take place. This can easily be accomplished by lightly shaking the blooming plant. Usually the breeze takes care of this quite nicely. And while I have no experience with tulle covered tomato plants, I'm thinking it would not interfere with whatever breezes might be around.

Bumble bees are champion tomato pollinators, but wind works fine. You can also help your tomatoes pollinate by giving the plants a gentle shake. They even sell vibrator wands for tomato pollination in greenhouses.