In terms of their normal food, they're in-between summer food and fall nuts and berries right now. That would be my guess for why your tomatoes are suddenly on the menu. And maybe they're starting to stash away available food for the winter and therefore eating things like your tomatoes for their day to day survival.

I cover my more prized tomatoes with cloth bags, pantyhose, etc. This works really well for me, but the squirrels in my area aren't particularly desperate. Or, if I have one variety that they're more attracted to and it's a prolific plant or a cherry tomato, I let them have some of those, and they don't bother my other plants.

Green-when-ripes are less attractive to both birds and mammals as well, although I don't know why mammals would care--most mammalian pests are color-challenged or color-blind and go by smell, but I guess there's something different about the odors of GWRs.

Here is a thread from several years back.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2168951/squirrels-eat-tomatos

So the takeaway from that thread is that nothing short of killing or capturing them works. Everything else works for some people, but not others.

Basically, yes, Boris. Squirrels are clever, and it's hard to stop a determined squirrel. You just have to try different things to see what works against your particular squirrels. And what works one year may not work the next.

There is a difference between urban and rural squirrels. The former are gangsta squirrels. Nothing scares them. They'll look you straight in the eye, wait until you go away, and invade your crops. Spices, smells (including predator urine) mean NOTHING to them. Killing or trapping are your only removal options. They are pretty smart about traps as well, I have to say.

Tight fencing is another option, but your plants have to be completely covered with fencing, and squirrels are notorious for fitting through tiny gaps and digging underneath. They'll go over anything and everything.

You could assume that squirrel removal is like bailing the ocean. In that when you remove one, another will just quickly move in to take its place. Not so. At least fox squirrels mark territory for a season. Once you get rid of them, they'll be gone until next year.

They will start going after tomatoes and melons when the weather gets hot, and they're looking for liquid.

Urban squirrels generally have a lot to eat and drink, if you mean squirrels in the city proper. Stuff like discarded human junk food that's far tastier than tomatoes. My friends who grow on urban rooftops, balconies, etc. hardly ever complain about squirrels. They are, indeed, fearless, though. I've seen them mug people for food in parks.

My rural and suburban friends, OTOH, are always complaining about squirrels raiding their gardens.

Squirrels in rural environments don't have different taste buds. They're just used to people, and urban/suburban squirrels aren't scared of things that rural squirrels are afraid of. Lived in both places. The difference is clear. Yep, urban/suburban squirrels often get handouts of food from people. People mean food.

I'm definitely in a suburban area. The squirrels are just barely afraid of us. If I open the door to my deck, the squirrel will jump to a nearby location and come back as soon as I leave. We have oaks and conifers, and wild blackberry (which they also eat green) on are property.

I have had great success with putting a bird feeder on the opposite side of the yard. I keep it filled with seed all summer and the squirrels much prefer the seed to the tomatoes. The birds love it also and stay away from the garden.

daninthedirt: Squirrels in rural environments don't have different taste buds.

That's not what I said. I said that urban squirrels have lots of readily available high-energy/high-calorie junk which makes someone's rooftop tomatoes a much less attractive option.

Put out a bowl of apples and let your hungry kid in the room. The kid will eat an apple. Then repeat the experiment at the same time under the same conditions the next day but put out some ice cream next to the apples. The kid isn't going to eat an apple, even though it's the same kid with the same taste buds.

We were talking about human junk food being tastier than tomatoes. Urban rooftops and balconies are largely inaccessible to squirrels, so the fact that gardeners in those locations don't have problems with them isn't surprising. I lived with a balcony and an indoor cat. The cat got to eat cat food on the balcony. Squirrels all over the place, but they never got the cat food, and not because of the cat, which spent 95% of the time in the house. Never saw a squirrel on my balcony.

My point is that squirrels living in close proximity of humans tend not to fear them as much. They don't fear anything that much. The idea that you can sprinkle cinnamon or garlic around plants and repel urban squirrels is just hilarious. Ain't gonna happen.

Put out a bowl of apples and hungry kids will eat them? I wish. More likely they'll complain about not having more satisfying food.

One thing I haven't thought about. Is it safe to eat fruit that were "handled" by squirrels? Ones that were "picked" and/or have scratch marks, not ones partially eaten, I mean.

<One thing I haven't thought about. Is it safe to eat fruit that were "handled" by squirrels? Ones that were "picked" and/or have scratch marks, not ones partially eaten, I mean.>

I just cut away that kind of minor damage from scratches, etc. and not from teeth. I'm still alive.

I find the issue is more that damaged fruits will start to rot before they get fully ripe, as squirrels generally go after fruit before it's fully ripe. If the damage is so minor that the fruit can ripen OK and not start rotting, then it's minor enough to cut away the damaged parts and eat the fruit, IMO.

Do you have an air rifle?

If your balcony is on the 4th floor, no, you won't get squirrels there. Rooftops of large buildings? Can't see that. Suburban rooftops and balconies, sure.

daninthedirt: If your balcony is on the 4th floor, no, you won't get squirrels there.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3304571/Look-Daredevil-squirrel-jumps-21st-floor-Toronto-building.html

Not all cities have high-rises. Most residential buildings in NYC, for example, are 5 floors max and made of brick or stonework that squirrels scale about as easily as spiders. There are lots of old trees in NYC, too, that make getting up onto buildings even easier. And most residential buildings are relatively old and don't have elevators or fire stairwells. The fire escapes are on the outside.

I've seen squirrels on 5th floor roofs, balconies, and fire escapes. All the time.

Agree that a squirrel is probably not going to scale a glass and steel building. But that's largely not what cities look like here in the NE.

Off thread but perhaps related to the topic; there are history sites out there that claim that in the 1800s squirrels were popular house pets.