Hi DL,

If I were you I would consider using galvanized hardware cloth, it is sturdy, comes in a variety of hole sizes and will last a long time. I think the thread you were referring to was one that Ladon posted, and he used hardware cloth. (See the link below.)

If you build it right, you could cover it with plastic to extend your season too, or shade cloth to reduce the heat in the summer time. You might even find you'll want to put a chair in there for times when you want to commune with your 'mater babies! (If your hubby will build it that big.)

Good luck with the project!

Betsy

Here is a link that might be useful: Ladon's Critter Solution. . . .

Betsy,

You are an angel!! Thanks for the link. Hardware cloth covered with plastic sounds like something even the neighbors could come to love!

DL

Try putting out some nice, ripe tomatoes in a shoebox-sized cage made of hardware cloth, and see if the squirrels get them. I built a vole barrier of ¼" hardware cloth, and they bit (or tore) through it in numerous places. I ended up having to order a heavier grade.

I had a crazed squirrel a few years ago - son left a bag of bagel on the countertop - squirrel chewed through screen. closed that window - he came in over the sink the next time, closed that window.

then he was trying to get into the house through the parlor window! No food in sight in that room! I caught him in the act and bum rushed the window growling/screaming. 2 times of that and he hasn't been back.

Good luck with your screen house! Get the best animal resistant screening you can - they are incorrigible!

I built a tomato coop out of chicken wire & a few other things that I had on hand. One tip is if you have free time to start to construct before you need to put it up. It is always a rush to do the clean up of the plant beds in the spring & to get everything in the ground.

If you build it with small enough openings, you will be 'bagging' blossoms and have seeds that you know are not crossed.

Just another thing you might want to consider.

Cindy

To tbird(Chicago 5/6) Purchase a Have-A-Heart trap at an Ace Hardware. Close one end. Place a cracker with p-nut-butter right up to the closed end mid way left to right. Set the trap. Place a brick on top and leave where your friend will find it. Then you can place trap and all in a box in your trunk and take it to the park. I tell them that they will like it there because all their friends and family are there also. Once they find out there is food inside, they will destroy everything to get to the food like a raccoon.

It is an old thread. We have no idea what OP did.

The purpose of tomato cage is to support the plant ONLY. It is not a barrier fo vole, squirrel, rabbit ... etc. So it is mage from wire mesh(CRW) with 4x6" opening so that you can easily reach in. . It come as plain or galvanized . If you buy the material in a role, they come in 4ft, 5ft and 6ft height . These are heavy duty and can last for decades. Height wise 6ft is the best choice for determinant tomato plants.

BTW: practically there is NO way to deter squirrel. To deter rabbit make sure no tomato is lower than 20" from the ground. If there is any, wrap them with nylon tulle.

Seysonn

wondering if these are tree or ground squirrels...does it matter??? I gave two tomato plants to a friend, and the next day they were stumps. Ground squirrel attack. On another note...I have an animal that digs in my lawn (many small 2" deep holes) at night. Is this a raccoon?

Depends on where you are, fireduck, as to what that animal likely is. In my area, the main hole diggers (and plant eaters) are gophers. Other areas of the country have different pests.

Skunks often dig holes in our lawn at night looking for grubs. My husband blames them for wrecking the grass, but actually the grubs are killing the grass by eating the roots, so the skunks are not the bad guys. Usually worse in a dry year.

We have lots of holes in our lawn too. I've seen the Flickers and Robins going crazy digging for worms and destroying the grass in some areas, but these holes seem a bit too big for birds to have caused them. I really hope it isn't a skunk because one of the dogs got sprayed one day last year and, although I bathed her with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, the smell returned every time she got wet!

Fireduck: I used to live in FL and had a mango tree that was 30 feet tall. The squirrels chewed about six mangos down at a time and then went down and took a bite out of all of them. I used the trap and kept track of them on a spreadsheet. I removed 70 squirrels from our neighborhood in one year. I took them to a wildlife sanctuary and a park. They moved in from other neighborhoods as I removed them. They moved in, and I moved them out. They love p-nut-butter on cracker. They have to step on the trip to get to the cracker.

To Labradors: I now live in the country and have armadillos who can make a small hole to a 5" diameter 7" deep. We have a horse that can step in the hole and break a leg. Armadillos are weapon bait. They have moved as far east and north as NC from AZ and NM.

To Labradors: Are you urban or rural? What quadrant of the U.S. do you live? Describe the hole? Armadillos most often dig a small golf ball sized hole that is somewhat cone shaped like their head. Sometimes they can dig something 8 to 10 inches in diameter at an angle going down, typically around cover like bushes, but not always. I purchased a system called "Dakota Alert" which has a receiver in the house and a transmitter outside. They also sell a hand held receiver. They can be set to zones one through four. They can transmit a quarter mile through trees, bushes and other plants. I have four of them spread out. When the armadillos wake me up I can handle them. They are also great security systems.