What's eating my maters? Hornworms? Chipmunks? Birds?



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I vote critter of some sort, Not a bird....You sure Willy hasn't been doing this?? Thats a pretty big bite area for small critters like squirels or chipmunks...Turtles leave places like that though. Any neighbor kids close by that can get to your garden...maybe they took a bite????

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I don't know Christina.....I think Comfrey's right. Looks an awful lot like Willy could've done it.

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John - Zone 6

So...are you both quite certain this isn't the making of a hornworm?
I know I have chipmunks living in my shed though I can't catch the lil' buggers! But you'd think the chipmunks would take them right off the vine? These are tomatoes that I had to reach in through all the branches for...then when I got a hold of them, my thumb ended up right in the hole.....ewww!!
Just please trust me...take my word for it...it's not Willy. She gets blamed for most things but in this case...she's not guilty.
Am I gonna' have to camp out in my garden tonight in order to catch the culprit?

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I vote for slugs or ants....
A couple of them can clean out a soft spot
on a tomato in a night...

*When did you find it Christina, and how,
was it still on the vine or on the ground?*

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

quote:

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Here's a couple more pics of another tomatoe I just found

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I just found them today.

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Christina, on all of the photos I've seen of hornworm damaged fruit, they all look similar in that the worm never eats that deep into the fruit and it is mostly confined to unripe, green fruit. Both of my fruit that were damaged were green. You can look for the hornworm poop on the plant leaves. That's a dead giveaway that they are close by. That's how I found 3 of mine. If I had to bet, I would guess the chipmunks. I've trapped 7 of those little rats this year.

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John - Zone 6

I have GOT to post this link...

check this out

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Christina......
That is just one big EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

quote:

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Originally posted by weezie13:
Christina...... That is just one big EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

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Originally posted by ChristinaC:
Weezie..you can say that again! Isn't that disgusting? It has to be a joke or sumthing...one could not possibly eat those!

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Looks like the perfect new Gazpacho(sp?) ingredient!

quote:

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Originally posted by ChristinaC:
How did you trap the chipmunks and (I hate to ask) but what did you do with them when you caught them?

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John - Zone 6

[QUOTE]Originally posted by johnCT:
[QB] Looks like the perfect new Gazpacho(sp?) ingredient! [QB]

What a wonderful idea. Shall I mix them right in or just use the Gazpacho as a dipping for the them? Either way, you'd enjoy that nice chewy texture that we all love so much.
Shall I post my recipe in the recipe section??

Woodland, I'll be keeping my eye out. I think we've all narrowed it down to some sort of rodent, whether it be squirrel, raccoon or chipmunk. Now once I figure out what it is..what will I do with them? I'll trap them and mail them to John. Maybe he'll have a recipe for them that he can post. Served along side my hornworm gazpacho.

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Seriously Christina, I use rat traps baited with peanut butter for those destructive little varmints. Very effective.

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John - Zone 6

quote:

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Originally posted by ChristinaC:
BTW..where is Peppereater?? He hasn't posted in a few days???

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I talked to him a couple days ago. He said he's having computer issues and may be scarce for a bit.

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John - Zone 6

I had something eating my mators, close to the ground, it had to be a turtle.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.

Yes I had a turtle also eating my lower hanging tomatoes...In fact it was still under the plant where it had dug down into the damp garden soil under the shade of the plant and was resting, after taking a bite out of at least 3 different tomatoes.

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