Critter bites. Not sure what one, but it doesn't look like rat bites or normal bird damage.

What's the best defense for this? Netting?

No need to drag out the netting for one fruit a bit damaged. ;-) Just look for small young hornworms and if you find them pick them off and squish. If you find many treat the plants with Dipel dust. The tomato will scab over and continue growing.

Dave

I have a friend that puts pantyhose on her tomatoes (the actual tomato, not the whole plant) to keep rats and birds off. I haven't had the problems she has with them so haven't tried it myself, but she swears by it. The things we gardeners will do....

looks like chipmunk bite to me. I had some tomatoes like this last year.

Kevin - take comfort from the fact that this is not the worse thing you will see this season. Damaged or imperfect fruit are really quite common for all sorts of reasons. But getting all perfect fruit NEVER happens. :-)

Dave

I haven't had any more damage since, but I do understand I'm going to have some odd fruit and casualties. Thanks for the advice

You'll have to worry more when they ripen. I have issues squirrel eating mine even after offering them almonds. I protect mind with paint strainer bags, some how it dissuade them to bite through it.

Max - thanks for the suggestion, as I do think it is squirrel damage, he came back and took a couple chops out of it.

I'm open to suggestions everybody.

I can't complain to much, just as long as it doesn't get out of control, I have 26 tomato plants, so I'm in for a lot of tomatoes.

Kevin: I'm open to suggestions everybody.

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/5-best-squirrel-recipes/

I'm actually thinking it's a mouse now, I caught one last night in my garden. I'm going to set traps and see what I get

Uh oh. Did it look like an especially fat mouse? If so, you have voles, and the only thing worse than a squirrel in the garden is a vole.

It was pretty big, I've been reading up on what to do, but not sure yet. Do you have experience with them. What should I do? He also got to some of my garden beans, took bites out of them, nibbling away.

Do you see vole "runways"? They're like grooves they wear in the grass or undergrowth that they make as they tread the same paths to and from their nests.

It's hard to tell since I have shredded mulch in most of my garden, but my dogs do seem to want to get underneath one of my planters made from pallets and last night I'm pretty sure that I heard rodents under that pallet. The good thing is I didn't get any damage last night in my garden, so I'm gonna see what happens tonight, either way I'm going to buy some traps today and lay them.

If it is voles, it's good to lay traps along their runways because then you know they'll encounter the traps. Voles are creatures of habit and use the same paths to get from place to place.

Kevin - if you are going to change your user name then why not also finish your profile page so your zone/location is also included in your posts? See how it automativally comes up with all of the rest of us? EX: gorbelly(6b/7a | Sunset 32 | SE PA)

Dave

Alright Dave, I think I changed it, so hopefully it will show. I just joined these forums a couple weeks ago. Thanks for all the advice and look forward to getting more. Thank You