Something's eating my tomatoes (living, rated, best)

[steiconi]

I have a glorious tomato plant in my greenhouse, started from cuttings from a plant that gave me pounds and pounds of ripe tomatoes last winter.

But I haven't gotten a single red gem this year because SOMETHING is eating the green tomatoes.

It carries the tomatoes (up to 2" diameter) to a ledge and nibbles them to bits.

I put out a sticky trap; it took the bait, got stuck on the trap but freed itself.

mice are too small to do these things. Rats maybe, but I'd think they would have been stuck on the trap.

Mongoose maybe?
suggestions for getting rid of them?

[Hemlock140]

That sound like rats, though normally they wait until the tomatoes have started to turn color before eating them. If you reall want to know, Amazon has wildlife trap cameras for under $100. What other creatures do you have there? Here squirrels are the worst, followed by deer. I grow my tomatoes in a greenhouse to keep them from being stolen by the wildlife. You need to figure out how they are getting in. My door and opposite window have 1/2” wire screen so only bees can get in. Sticky traps are not the best for rats, look for the battery operated traps that electrocute them.

[Jungjohann]

I suspect it's more than likely one of these;

http://www.togomeetings.com/13751/at...the-posters-13

A more than common occurrence on the Bigger Island. Of course, no one wants to talk about it. Nothing worse than a carnivorous tomato with cannibalistic tendencies. I suspect it all stems from the age old question, 'Tomato, fruit? Or vegetable?" Cannibalistic tomatoes with personality conflicts, could it get any worse???

Hawaii, it's never safe

[TerraDown]

I was hesitant to respond to this thread, as I don't live in HI. But I do have a similar climate. My first thought with the description you gave, is exactly as Hemlock140 puts it. Rats. We have them too. Squirrels were my second thought. I don't know if you guys have them, but here, they will also damage fruit.

Sticky traps are cruel. Please just use a reg. snap trap and kill them right away. Not personal, just think about having to chew your own leg to escape. Not a pretty thought.

[steiconi]

Hawaii doesn't have a lot of small mammals, just rats, mice, mongoose, cats, dogs--no squirrels, 'possums, or raccoons. There shouldn't be any deer here, but I heard some hunters have tried to import some.

I'll try a different rat trap and see if that solves the problem.

[steiconi]

TD--good point about sticky traps. Sometimes it's hard to feel empathy for a rotten, thieving, tomato-eating RAT, but they're living creatures, too.

[hotzcatz]

About your only critter choices would be between mongoose and rats if it's a mammal. Birds, maybe? Wouldn't they fly off with them if they could?

[steiconi]

birds can't get into the greenhouse, so that's out.

[hotzcatz]

Try some rat baits around the greenhouse and then see if your tomatoes start surviving? Unless you want to rat proof the whole greenhouse?

[steiconi]

one rat caught in the big snap trap, but all the peanut butter was gone from the trigger, so I think there may be more. Reset it, will see tomorrow.