Hi Mark,

Thanks for the follow up and tip on hotpepper wax. I will bookmark the
site.

Here is a silly question for you: did you mean you put the hpw right on
the tomatoes? Were you able to wash it off or did it affect the taste
when it was time for you to eat them?

Glad you found a good solution (and shared it w/us)!
Heidi



Mark wrote:

In article ,
(Patskywriter) wrote:



actually, if your squirrels are like our squirrels, what they're doing is
taking a bite or two out of the tomatoes and sucking out the water because
they're thirsty. they don't really like the tomatoes. what we used to do is
set
out peanuts and bowls of water for the little critters and they left our
crops
alone. try that and let us know what happens!

pat




[Followup]

Pardon me for the delay, but I wanted to give it enough time to be sure
if it worked ...

I started out by sprinkling chili powder and ground red pepper on the
ground around the plants. Then I treated the leaves and fruits with
Hot Pepper Wax http://www.hotpepperwax.com/default.htm.

The product is 0.00001125% capsaicin. I believe that it is primarily
used for insect control, but according to their web site, it is also a
"registered animal repellent effective against rabbits and tree
squirrels." It is around 10.00 for a 22oz. spray bottle at the local
nursery.

This seems to be working great, as I have had only one small bite mark
out of 15-25 tomatoes since late August. It also seems to be
controlling insect pests (but I do wonder if it is deterring pollinating
insects, as well).

Anyway, I just wanted to drop back by and say that I think I've found a
relatively benign way to keep the squirrels away from my tomatoes.
Thanks again for all of the great tips!

I once read an article in Southern Living that if you put red
christmas balls on your tomato plants at the beginning of the season,
the squirrels will try to eat them, will of course fail to eat them,
and then will leave the tomatoes alone when the real things arrive.
It might be worth a try. I don't get enough sun to grow tomatoes, so
I haven't tried it!

if you put red christmas balls on your tomato plants at the beginning of the
season, the squirrels will try to eat them, will of course fail to eat them,
and then will leave the tomatoes alone when the real things arrive

wow, that sounds hilarious -- and definitely worth a try! thanks!

pat

Heidi,

I tried to spray the tomatoes, rather than the foliage (and blooms),
because the product is advertised as an insecticide, and I was worried
about discouraging pollinating insects. I also sprayed the fruits
directly because I had been having a problem with some type of boring
pest. I also sprayed the lower stalks liberally and sprinkled ground
red pepper on the ground around the plants.

I don't think the pepper wax is able to penetrate the skin of the
tomatoes, so taste was not affected, as far as I could tell. It seems
like a fairly weak solution and it seems to readily wash off (the name
is pepper 'wax,' but it has the consistency of water and leaves no
residue that I can see).

One problem though, is that I started to get a lot of cracking. Perhaps
a combination of the recent cooler nights and spraying the fruits
directly?

I think that I was able to keep squirrels out of the whole area by
application near the ground, so from now on, I am spraying the fruits
very lightly or not at all.

So ... my methodology needs a little fine-tuning, but I would have to
say that my squirrel issues are over! I definitely feel like the
product is effective, because I was also able to get squirrels to stop
digging in potted plants on the back deck by spraying just the pots.



In article ,
Heidi wrote:

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the follow up and tip on hotpepper wax. I will bookmark the
site.

Here is a silly question for you: did you mean you put the hpw right on
the tomatoes? Were you able to wash it off or did it affect the taste
when it was time for you to eat them?

Glad you found a good solution (and shared it w/us)!
Heidi




--
Mark
Raleigh, NC USA

Heidi,

I tried to spray the tomatoes, rather than the foliage (and blooms),
because the product is advertised as an insecticide, and I was worried
about discouraging pollinating insects. I also sprayed the fruits
directly because I had been having a problem with some type of boring
pest. I also sprayed the lower stalks liberally and sprinkled ground
red pepper on the ground around the plants.

I don't think the pepper wax is able to penetrate the skin of the
tomatoes, so taste was not affected, as far as I could tell. It seems
like a fairly weak solution and it seems to readily wash off (the name
is pepper 'wax,' but it has the consistency of water and leaves no
residue that I can see).

One problem though, is that I started to get a lot of cracking. Perhaps
a combination of the recent cooler nights and spraying the fruits
directly?

I think that I was able to keep squirrels out of the whole area by
application near the ground, so from now on, I am spraying the fruits
very lightly or not at all.

So ... my methodology needs a little fine-tuning, but I would have to
say that my squirrel issues are over! I definitely feel like the
product is effective, because I was also able to get squirrels to stop
digging in potted plants on the back deck by spraying just the pots.



In article ,
Heidi wrote:

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the follow up and tip on hotpepper wax. I will bookmark the
site.

Here is a silly question for you: did you mean you put the hpw right on
the tomatoes? Were you able to wash it off or did it affect the taste
when it was time for you to eat them?

Glad you found a good solution (and shared it w/us)!
Heidi




--
Mark
Raleigh, NC USA