If you live in a town where there are raccoons, skunks, and opossums all year round, it can become quite a challenge to have a pest-free garden.
Opossums, skunks, raccoons, and squirrels do eat tomato fruits (a bite out of each one and that’s it). They won’t attack the plant itself.
Do Skunk Eat Tomatoes in the Garden?
Skunks do feed on tomato fruits because they enjoy eating sweet-tasting fruits. A tomato plant with fruits hanging close to the ground, within a skunk’s reach will make for an easy meal.
See also Do Skunks Eat Chickens, Ducks & Turkeys ?!
Skunks are lazy hunters and are opportunistic eaters. So, while a skunk won’t necessarily hunt for tomatoes, it would still take a few bites if it comes across one.
ALSO SEE: Do Skunk Dens Smell?
Do Skunks Eat Tomatoes Off the Vine?
Being an opportunistic eaters, Skunks will eat Tomatoes because they prefer sweet-tasting fruits. And tomatoes make for an easy meal.
See also Do Skunks Hibernate, Migrate or Adapt? Where, How, When, & Why!
How To Protect Your Tomato Garden against Skunk Attacks
- Set up proper fencing.
- Block off any entries/holes
- Get a motion detector sprinkler installed
- Pick your tomatoes just before they ripe.
- Set up a live trap, like Hav-A-Hart trap
How to Tell If A Skunk Is Eating Your Tomatoes
Observe the affected tomato. If the tomato bitten is close to the plant’s base, while the rest of the fruit remain untouched, then there’s a very good chance that a skunk is a culprit.
See also What Does A Skunk Smell Like When It Sprays?!
That is because skunks do not like to work for their food and are opportunistic eaters. If the tomatoes closest to the ground are untouched, while the ones near the top or middle have been eaten, then you may be dealing with another animal entirely, such as a raccoon.
Now, if the bottom tomatoes remain untouched, the culprit could be insects, birds, raccoons, squirrels, and rabbits (if they eat the leaves).