My sympathies! I wonder if some of the things designed to frighten birds might help: mylar balloons bobbing in the breeze, shiny pinwheels, flapping bright ribbons, or plastic hawks or owls.

There are a couple of forums that might have other suggestions to help, the Tomatoes forum
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/tomato/
and the Tomatoes Pests and Diseases forum, linked below

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomatoes Pests and Diseases forum

This post was edited by nhbabs on Tue, Aug 12, 14 at 19:54

Hi Jenny P,
Sorry to see your tomatoes were destroyed,..your need to Vent is understandable,..i guess the birds from last year passed around the word that tasty morsels were to be had this year,..i tend to Vent in the presence of my dog who quickly goes indoors just in case its something she thinks she has done.

Philip

Hi Jenny, I feel for you, sooooooo frustrating. If you can get your hands on some used CD disks (new if you have to) and string them on fishing line, they move and flash, this kept the birds away from our blueberries should work for tomatoes.

Annette

Oh Annette - you beat me to the used CD's - great idea. As are cats and a chihuahua. Birds think twice at least. My bane was once chipmunks, because I lived close to the bush and the cats couldn't keep up. Another time it was the neighbouring farmer's chickens getting loose and yep, one peck in each tomato. Grrrr....I feel you pain but try the CD's.

Nancy.

Buy artificial fruit and tie them to the plants. Apples work well, as the birds don't know the diff. They will discover that they get nothing from the "fake" tomatoes. You can pick the tomatoes once they start turning white/yellowish. Just put them inside, but not in the sun. You can test a couple by cutting them in half. If you can cut through the seeds in the tomato, it is not mature enough to pick.