A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Comfrey? John? Longy? Peppereater? Help!

What's eating my maters? Hornworms? Chipmunks? Birds?

I vote "other". That looks like one, clean bite mark? You sure the new puppy hasn't discovered a new snack? I'm sorry, I don't mean to joke. I know its frustrating. Isn't your yard fenced in? No deer can get in, can they?

I vote critter of some sort, Not a bird....You sure Willy hasn't been doing this?? Thats a pretty big bite area for small critters like squirels or chipmunks...Turtles leave places like that though. Any neighbor kids close by that can get to your garden...maybe they took a bite????

I know it's not Willy - 100% positive!!
Here's a couple more pics of another tomatoe I just found. You can see how whatever this is doesn't look like a human or dog bite because of how it's eaten through the inside.

I don't know Christina.....I think Comfrey's right. Looks an awful lot like Willy could've done it.

What ever it was it is not a little critter...How about a groundhog/woodchuck???? They ate my cantaloupes last year and could even carry them off..they left big bites if it wasn't ripe enough for them???

So...are you both quite certain this isn't the making of a hornworm?
I know I have chipmunks living in my shed though I can't catch the lil' buggers! But you'd think the chipmunks would take them right off the vine? These are tomatoes that I had to reach in through all the branches for...then when I got a hold of them, my thumb ended up right in the hole.....ewww!!
Just please trust me...take my word for it...it's not Willy. She gets blamed for most things but in this case...she's not guilty.

BTW..where is Peppereater?? He hasn't posted in a few days???

I vote for slugs or ants....
A couple of them can clean out a soft spot
on a tomato in a night...

*When did you find it Christina, and how,
was it still on the vine or on the ground?*

They're on the vine.

I just found them today.

Slugs and ants will still travel up the
vine/stem to get at their dinner...
Late at night and much...

Go out late at night with a flashlight and
see if you see any action going on...
*or even the veryyyy early morning hours,
while there's still dew out*

Christina, on all of the photos I've seen of hornworm damaged fruit, they all look similar in that the worm never eats that deep into the fruit and it is mostly confined to unripe, green fruit. Both of my fruit that were damaged were green. You can look for the hornworm poop on the plant leaves. That's a dead giveaway that they are close by. That's how I found 3 of mine. If I had to bet, I would guess the chipmunks. I've trapped 7 of those little rats this year.

John, I haven't spotted any hornworm poop or eaten leaves....and trust me...I've looked!

How did you trap the chipmunks and (I hate to ask) but what did you do with them when you caught them?

I have GOT to post this link...

check this out

Christina-that looks like my tomaotes that the raccoons got to! They take a bite and eat the inside and leave the tomatoe behind. Did this happen overnight? They got a bit lazy after a while and didn't even bother to take them off the plant-just bit right in! I tilled 'em in!!

Christina......
That is just one big EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Netty..yes this happened overnight! Perhaps it is those chipmunks...never seen a racoon in my yard...or here in the city...only out on the county roads.

Weezie..you can say that again! Isn't that disgusting? It has to be a joke or sumthing...one could not possibly eat those!

I can tell you what is eating those tomatoes. It's those little devils themselves, squirrels!

I found one the other day chomping away and it looked just like that. Since I have found two more big ones more than half devoured. I caught the squirrel in the act again just this evening.

I been growing tomatoes since I was ten, thats over twenty years. I have never seen/had problems with squirrels eating tomatoes in the past. What is up with that?

Looks like the perfect new Gazpacho(sp?) ingredient!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by johnCT:
[QB] Looks like the perfect new Gazpacho(sp?) ingredient! [QB]

What a wonderful idea. Shall I mix them right in or just use the Gazpacho as a dipping for the them? Either way, you'd enjoy that nice chewy texture that we all love so much.

Erm, Christina, a raccoon is NOT a rodent, it is a member of the bear and panda family and although it is has dentition like a carnivore, is in fact more of an omnivore. I've had pet raccoons for much of my early life and found that they dearly loved any kind of food from cookies to hamburgers, to insects to crawfish to Fireworks ?! and I have even known them to eat tomatoes.

Seriously Christina, I use rat traps baited with peanut butter for those destructive little varmints. Very effective.