kate wrote:
Amos Nomore wrote:

In article ,
Paul Cassel wrote:


Of the four tomato plants we have, one is being attacked by an
unknown animal. It only eats the tomatoes themselves but takes rather
large bites out of them. My wife (the gardener) says the bites may be
caused by a hornworm (?) except there are no other signs of hornworms
so she rules that out.

She thinks it may be a rodent. I suppose there may be mice around. Do
mice eat tomatoes? These bites are roughly 5 mm x 3 mm. Any other ideas?


I would suspect snails or slugs.

http://tinyurl.com/62zfgt

A product containing iron phosphate, such as Sluggo, would be the best
treatment option in terms of efficacy and safety.

Depending how dry your area is right now, it could be squirrels, rabbits
etc. You could try leaving water out in a pan so they would have it
available and not try out your tomatoes for much needed liquid.

Kate in Mid TN - hasn't rained in awhile and squirrels and rabbits are
tasting peaches

I'm in central New Mexico and we've had a lot of rain lately. We are in
a snail area. Many around, but I didn't think they could eat those big
chunks.

I'll check for snails. No squirrels in my area.