Good Question.

I'd never thought of that. If we're low on tomatoes, we cut off the damaged portion and eat the rest. If we have a lot we let the damaged ones stay in the garden to try to keep the birds and bugs away from the other tomatoes.

I'm not sure if the bird germs would travel through the tomato. Are there an microbiologists on the list that can answer that question?

Birds have been a minor problem here. I put a loose baggie over the tomato, that stopped them in their tracks.

-Ed

It might be they're just looking for a drink. Try putting a tray of water out or setting up a bird bath. We have a feeding station with sunflower seed and a few suet blocks. Birds usually leave our veggies alone, but the baggie trick is good insurance.

-Ed

I have multiple bird feeders and 2 bird baths, and my tomatoes (and peppers) are being pecked to death this year. I give what's left of the pecked ones to my dogs, who love tomatoes! I usually hang the red Christmas ornaments on my cages to deter the birds, but didn't this year. Hmmm, I'm starting to think it must have worked in the past. I finally put up bird netting a few days ago, it is working but it is a real pain to then pick your tomatoes!

Last year I tried wrapping the semi-ripe tomatoes with a paper towel held in place with a rubber band. It worked, but was too much trouble. Here in Florida, we get such intense sun that a screen enclosure would provide a little shade and keep birds out. Maybe a screened roof with removable chicken wire sides. Sounds like alot of trouble and materials. I should just plant more.

Hi First post and this is the first time I came across someone else with birds eating tomatoes, yes only red ones! This will be our third year using not bird netting but deer netting, smaller openings. We have a raised bed and in each corner tall pole and the deer netting is draped over entire bed, the netting does not touch tomatoes or anyother veggies and works great. Not a single peck in tomato plants with that system. good luck

Just to chime in...I have the same problem but my tomato culprit is not a bird...it's my pug. Yes...my best friend is a pug canine who loves to grab just the red tomatoes and dash off to eat them! Often times he picks a few then eats just one! I cut off the "teeth" marks and eat the rest! Gross huh? Well,....really...all ripe tomatoes within 1' of the bottom of the plant are "his!"

I am not sure about eating it if it were a bird though! I would say drape a netting over the plants and remove it to pick them! A pain in the butt but better than pecked tomatoes!!!!!!

My problem is my chickens---they just love the cherokee purples !! they have good taste--They keep the bugs down so I like having them--I bought a roll of 1" X 2" by 4 feet high screen cut about 5 feet of it- ( it stays curved so it fits around the tomato plant) pain to store when not in use---but keeps all birds from eating my maters !!

Birds plagued me for years until we visited an old timey place in the wilderness where they had a garden as it would have looked in the pioneer days. In the garden was a length of 1" black rope with white stripes painted every six or so inches...........SNAKE!! So I went to a reptile place and bought a couple nice size snakes and put them in my garden. Scared the sh.. out of my daughter, and a squirrel crossing the neighbor's yard in back of my garden paused, took a long look at the snake and moved on. So far the birds respect it also. Another gardener has posted a big owl on one of his tomato stakes. Whatever works!!

I do mean phony, rubber snakes. I've repainted the white stripes on mine several times since they're out in the weather all the time and about 5 years old.

I cut out the pecks and eat em!
Only time I have ever had trouble with wildbirds pecking my tomatoes was during drought. When water is none existant and food is scarse as a result, they seek any food they can find and any available water, poor things.
For years I have used cheesecloth and white sheets secured with clothes pins to cover my tomatoes (and berries). Easy to lift and get to the fruit and doesn't hinder the growth of your plants.
Only the very resourceful birds figure their way under and around the covers to ge to the fruit.

Funny about the dogs eating tomatoes. I had a Saimese cat named Velcro who just loved tomatoes. For weeks I thought a turtle was getting at my tomatoes on the lower branches, and then one day I happened on Velcro out in the garden just munching down! Funny kitty.

~ SweetAnnie4u

bump

I guess I'm lucky not to have much bird-pecking. I have 2 small ponds and one has moving water with stones for birds to stand on. They don't seem too interested in my veggies.

" I cut out the pecks and eat em! " LOL ! I had to re-read that post ! At first I thought you ate the bird !!!

I have a pond. I have birdfeeders. I have the first ripening tomatoe that something got to before me. I have birds a plenty, and I like them, but I also have tons of squirrels. They seem to be more desperate this time of year. They tend to cultivate for me. We have lots of pecan trees, and although I took what I thought was all of the buried pecans from the beds where my tomatoes grow, I find the squrrels constantly dig holes where they know pecans to be stored. So, although my tomatoe looks like it is damaged by a bird, could it be squirrels instead?

I pose the question that was posed earlier, are animal damage tomatoes safe to eat? Many fruits have their own anti-bacterial properties -- tomaotes have a high acid content. Would this project the consumer?

My tomatoe ripens in the window waiting for the answer!

Heck, I might just brave it.

Before our current bird-pecking problem (thanks for some solutions, BTW), we had whole tomatoes that would just disappear. One day they'd be just about ready to pick and the next day when we planned on picking them - poof! - they'd be gone. Completely gone!

One day, by accident, we discovered the culprit: our Lab mix pooch. She was quite sneaky about it too. As we peeked out a window from the house, we discovered that she often had at least 1 tomato as dessert after dinner. She'd go out into the garden and sniff each tomato, passing over the green ones and the semi-ripe ones until she found one at the peak of ripeness. Then, she'd carefully, get the whole thing into her mouth and gently tug on it until she dislodged it from the vine. Afterward, we could see that she was quite proud of herself!

She's now passed over Rainbow Bridge and our current dogs show no affinity for the tomatoes. We kinda miss her antics...

I have not tried this but I read that tying round red Christmas ornaments to tomato plants is effective. I suppose the idea is that the birds peck at the ornanaments and decide there is nothing good to eat in the garden. So they tend not to return. Has anyone ever tried this?

We have the same problem about birds pecking at our red, ripened tomatoes, so my 7 year old daughter had posted notes on twigs to warn off the culprits :-)

It didn't work when the rain hit hard and her notes were reduced limp and unreadable on the ground :-)

We will try the bird bath and feed tray, as well as the rbuber snakes, even the red Christmas decors and see what will certainly help us get our red, sweet tomatoes from our garden to our tables for dinner!

Good luck to everyone, and thank you so much for the helpful posts.

martin the fireman I USE old cds with fish string tide to a close line over the plants the cds turn and the shiny cds turn with wind birds fly .