So... what do you do with the critter once you catch the #@! varmint? I have a similar problem, though I suspect mine is a rat. :x

Christine

[QUOTE=cdbva;223311]So... what do you do with the critter once you catch the #@! varmint? I have a similar problem, though I suspect mine is a rat. :x

Christine[/QUOTE]

Good question! Around here, there'd be no point! It'd be like wading into the ocean and trying to relocate the water with a bucket!!!

I forgot about these guys, but in [URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=19068"]another thread[/URL] it looks like you found a Yellow Striped Army Worm hiding in the soil by a tomato plant. One of those would be just as bad as a hornworm and could have done the damage in your pic. They hide in the soil near a host plant during the day and climb up at night to feed on foliage and fruit.

More info:

[url]http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/leaf/yellowstriped_armyworm.htm[/url]

[url]http://bugguide.net/node/view/78515/bgimage[/url]

I know I am waaaaaay late but........

If I had to bet on it, I would say that this was done by a vole. I had a major major problem with them last year. I lost about 2 dozen green/semi ripe tomatoes to these little buggers. I finally got the upper hand after I purchased a few rat traps.

I wound up catching almost two dozen of those voles.

Looks like either a squirrel or rat. I lose a lot of tomatoes the same way to squirrels every year. They have slacked off on my tomatoes for the last month because pecans are their favorite target right now. I have two neighbors with pecan trees and the squirrels have gotten way more pecans this year than the humans.

Don't get me wrong. I love animals but when it comes down to them eating my tomatoes, it's war!

:x

[QUOTE=Too Tall Toms;239726]I know I am waaaaaay late but........

If I had to bet on it, I would say that this was done by a vole. I had a major major problem with them last year. I lost about 2 dozen green/semi ripe tomatoes to these little buggers. I finally got the upper hand after I purchased a few rat traps.

I wound up catching almost two dozen of those voles.[/QUOTE]

Voles can climb? holy cow. I have tons of those in my yard.

What about snakes? My neighbors 3 doors down told me they caught several of them red-handed (or is it toothed?) wrapped around their plants eating tomatoes. They wrapped chicken wire all around the plants (on the deck) and actually found a few dead ones caught in it. In fact, I tried to steal a few last year when I was in charge of watering while they went away and had the darndest time trying to grab a few cherries that were perfectly ripe with all that wire around them!

[QUOTE=lakelady;239834]Voles can climb? holy cow. I have tons of those in my yard.

What about snakes? My neighbors 3 doors down told me they caught several of them red-handed (or is it toothed?) wrapped around their plants eating tomatoes. They wrapped chicken wire all around the plants (on the deck) and actually found a few dead ones caught in it. In fact, I tried to steal a few last year when I was in charge of watering while they went away and had the darndest time trying to grab a few cherries that were perfectly ripe with all that wire around them![/QUOTE]

Well I've never actually seen a vole climb the tomato plants but they were the only animals that hung around my tomato plants. I found out that they had a tunnel from the base of one tomato plant to the inside of a window well. They would go from there to the louvered window coverings into the crawlspace under my house.

Speaking of climbing animals I did actually witness one little chipmunk crawl up a cherry tomato plant to snack on the semi-ripe/ripe tomatoes