How to Keep Squirrels Out of the Garden

In a discussion on the GardensAll Facebook page one community member asked, “Do squirrels eat tomatoes?” 

Yes! You bet they do! Not only do squirrels eat tomatoes, but they choose the ripest juiciest ones, take a bite or two, toss it and then pluck another.

We love animals, and watching the squirrels interact and play in our woodland yard is entertaining and enjoyable. But… when the garden is in full swing, we hate that they eat our tomatoes. Now we’re glad to share, and have tossed tomatoes under a tree they frequent as peace offerings.

Not only do they eat tomatoes from the vines, they often choose the ripest… soon-to-be-picked tomatoes. But they don’t stop with just one.

We’ve literally watched a squirrel jump onto the low roof of our stove house and perch there, about six feet from our office window. He took a few bites of a big beautiful red tomato. Then he tossed it to go back for another one until I ran out of the office door and created a ruckus of noise — shouting, clapping and stomping — that scared him away. Until the next day.

Instead of eating the tomatoes we leave for them, the squirrels pluck new tomatoes from the vines, take a bite or two, toss it and go for a new one.
~GardensAll

Hey, We Don’t Mind Sharing, But…

So we’ve been on a pursuit for how to keep squirrels out of the garden. It’s not that we don’t want to share, mind you. It’s just that we work all spring and summer to nurture tomatoes from seeds to seedlings to transplants.

We spend time constructing support systems such as tomato cages and trellis supports, pruning, treating and dealing with powdery mildew, etc. As any gardener knows, you really have to work for a good crop of tomatoes.

And it’s not just about squirrels eating one tomato. No, it’s about squirrels taking a bite or two, tossing it aside and grabbing another prized, nearly ready tomato to take a few more bites. Yeah… that wasn’t an isolated incident. We’ve found too many tomatoes lying around the garden grounds with a few bites taken. Oh man!!

To see a squirrel biting into the most prized tomato specimens—often, days before harvest—that hits you where it hurts.

The Squirrel Buffet

Living in the woods, we had no choice but to make our garden under trees. Subsequently, squirrels live in the trees all around us and our woodland garden. It’s like we’re the downstairs eatery to their fancy loft location and our garden is their favorite local eatery. Very convenient for the squirrels. A problem for us.

We’ve even tried leaving them a stash of tomatoes right near the bottom of their favorite trees. However, it seems they love the game of the hunting and gathering more than the easy handouts.

The squirrels think our garden is their all-you-can-eat buffet.
~GardensAll.com

How to Keep Squirrels Out of the Garden

We’ve tried a number of solutions for preventing the squirrels from eating our tomatoes. Most have come up short, and even the best need some reinforcement. But with all of these things together, we do end up with the bulk of our harvest. So sharing here our best solutions for how to protect your tomatoes and keep the squirrels out of the garden.

The Best Tip for How to Keep Squirrels from Eating Your Tomatoes?

2022 UPDATE: This came from a reader, and it’s appears to have worked for us last year.

She said that the squirrels are eating tomatoes for the water when they’re thirsty, so that we needed to add a water source for them. Indeed, we did not have a water source nearby, so we set up a large shallow container, the size of a large birdbath and kept it filled with water, near enough to the garden.

Lo and behold, the squirrels did not eat our tomatoes last year!!!

Motion Activated Sprinkler System

This is one of our motion-activated sprinklers at our cabin garden. The building in this photo houses our water stove and solar panels plus other storage. The cabin is to our back in this photo. Since it’s a rental cabin we have to remember to let our guests know about the motion-activated feature of this sprinkler. 😀

If you’re planning to visit the NC Piedmont area and need a place to rent, check our this mountain cabin.

At least one cabin guest that we know of who was visiting along with his family decided not to tell them about it. It seems there’s a prankster in every family! 😜

Scarecrow Sprinkler

Sometimes called a “Scarecrow Sprinkler”, these are our best solutions for squirrel repellent.

These sensor sprinklers also deter other critters, such as birds, rabbits, cats, dogs and deer. We had two of the Hoont Motion Activated Sprinkler Systems, and they’ve worked really well, so we got another one.

Last year we added another Hoonts, but it was defective, so we returned it and upgraded to an Orbit Motion Activated Sprinkler. Our other two Hoonts’ are working fine, and we’re also really liking the Orbit.

Another Squirrel Repellent that Works

So the sprinklers work. That said, we want to make extra certain that no squirrels find a way into our tomatoes. We have actually seen them trigger the sprinkler, dodge back while it activates and then when, there’s a five second pause, they dash to another point of cover. Eventually, they make it to the tomato patch.  Clever little varmints, and they seem to be having fun gaming the sprinkler.

Our woodland garden is especially vulnerable. It’s so close to the trees, that the squirrels are emboldened to dash down and grab a tomato knowing there’s cover for a quick escape nearby.

Our “upper garden” only has one water scarecrow and a lot of ground for an interloper to cover before reaching the garden. So our new Orbit sprinkler will be placed to strategically take care of a “back door” alley that was missed by the two we already have. But… we’re taking it to the next level.

To be certain no squirrels find a way to our tomatoes before we do, we’ve added an extra measure of protection.

Squirrel Proof Your Garden

The issue with making a cage is keeping the varmints out while still allowing easy access.

We already had the cattle panels, which we used last year as tomato supports. We also had a bunch of 1″ PVC pipe from when our well pump was replaced.

Also on hand was a leftover roll of chicken wire and  several lengths of concrete reinforcement wire. After some preliminary trials (and errors) we designed what you see in the video.

The top cover using arched reinforcement wire with a covering of chicken fencing and a roll down screen for the sides. The plastic chicken fencing is more flexible and far easier to roll.

And we’re still in “tweak mode” but confident this will be the best “squirrel proof” system yet. Can’t wait for the test-runs! Okay Scrappy the Squirrel: we’re ready for you now, buddy! 😃

Additional Resources for Keeping Squirrels out of the Garden

That covers a number of options that we’ve used. We don’t want to overwhelm you with choices, but we do want to provide options so you can assess which seems like the best solution for you and your situation. Also, if one doesn’t work, you’ll have a go-to list for the next—or multiple—things to try.

To help with that, here’s a fuller list of things to keep squirrels, rabbits and rodents out of the garden, because, yes… squirrels do eat tomatoes!

A GardensAll community member, William, is planning on trying electric fencing, so we looked into that and included a few video links below. Meanwhile, if you’ve tried electric fencing as a squirrel deterrent, please let us know your experience of that. 

Here are a few videos by folks using that.

Electric Fencing to Foil Squirrels – Videos

This video shows a demonstration of a squirrel being repelled by an electric fence around a tree.

 
Meanwhile, this chew-proof fencing from Gardener’s Supply may be a fit for you. There are some on Amazon using the same polyethylene netting that may work.

Do squirrels eat tomatoes? YES!… and they choose the best for themselves! So protect your precious garden bounty, and send us a note on what works best in your garden.

Happy Healthy Harvests!