Tomato munchers
 

I'm finally getting a few ripe tomatoes after a cool, rainy summer but every
tomato that's ripened so far has holes eaten in it. Today I found the
culprits - it seems to be sowbugs munching the holes. Does anyone have a
suggestion to preserve my remaining crop??
Thanks for any help.

I've only seen sowbugs at ground level. Are your tomatoes not supported in
cages or some such thing?

"snafu" wrote in message
...
I'm finally getting a few ripe tomatoes after a cool, rainy summer but
every
tomato that's ripened so far has holes eaten in it. Today I found the
culprits - it seems to be sowbugs munching the holes. Does anyone have a
suggestion to preserve my remaining crop??
Thanks for any help.

"madgardener" wrote in message
...
it certainly sounds like your tomato's aren't supported because Sowbugs
are
natures garbage men.....they clean up dead debris and diseased plant
matter.

OK....you and I have the same theory. Now....for a quick solution: I'd get
some plastic window screen, slap together some quick frames, and have ready
some foot-tall chunks of rock, wood or cinder block to put under the frames
and get them off the ground. Slide the frames under the plants carefully,
lift, and raise the whole thing up a foot.

Unsupported, if the sow bugs didn't attack, rot would've done just as much
damage. At the very least, there should've been a really thick layer of
straw.

"snafu" wrote in
:

I'm finally getting a few ripe tomatoes after a cool, rainy
summer but every tomato that's ripened so far has holes
eaten in it. Today I found the culprits - it seems to be
sowbugs munching the holes. Does anyone have a suggestion
to preserve my remaining crop?? Thanks for any help.

the sowbugs are opportunists, not the culprit. holes in
tomatoes could be : tomato hornworm, chipmunks, squirrels,
slugs, mice, voles...
go look at the tomatoes at night & see if there are slugs.
cool, rainy summers are slug heaven.
lee

If it's damage during the day, then I'd guess squirrels. But if it's at
night the it's probably mice or dare I say rats.

enigma wrote in
:

"snafu" wrote in
:

I'm finally getting a few ripe tomatoes after a cool, rainy
summer but every tomato that's ripened so far has holes
eaten in it. Today I found the culprits - it seems to be
sowbugs munching the holes. Does anyone have a suggestion
to preserve my remaining crop?? Thanks for any help.

the sowbugs are opportunists, not the culprit. holes in
tomatoes could be : tomato hornworm, chipmunks, squirrels,
slugs, mice, voles...
go look at the tomatoes at night & see if there are slugs.
cool, rainy summers are slug heaven.
lee