Well, I'm basically calling it a season with essentially of my fruit getting stolen by squirrels (and maybe mice). My last ditch effort was to spray a repellent I bought on Amazon, but it doesn't seem to have done much. There's still lots of cherry tomatoes on the vine, but they'll get taken before they change color. With 95 degree temps this weekend, the growing season is coming to a rapid end.
I'm considering options for the fall.
For my self-watering containers, I think I'll move them onto my screened-in pool deck. I'll plant only cherry tomato varieties in them. It will be tight, as there's not a lot of area that gets a ton of sun (small lot, close neighbors).
In my raised beds, I'll grow my larger varieties, prune them a bit (maybe 3 leaders each), which will help not only with the disease in Florida, but allow me to closely watch them and bag the fruit as they set. I have read that tulle works well for this purpose, but I know it's still going to be an experiment.
I continue to think about a trap-and-relocate project, but I feel like it will never end. And the thought of waking up every morning and driving a squirrel to work with me to release it doesn't seem realistic.
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