Raccoons are becoming more common where humans live. Not only are these animals living and surviving around humans, but they are thriving around humans too.

These animals can usually be found going through your trash cans, the braver individuals in these populations may even make their way into your garden, so are your tomatoes safe? This article explores the question of ‘do raccoons eat tomatoes’

Yes, raccoons do eat tomatoes, this fruit is an easy meal for raccoons living in suburban areas and close to farms. Raccoons will gladly eat these juicy fruits and will benefit from the vitamins in the fruits including vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, antioxidants, and fiber.  

Do raccoons eat tomatoes?

Raccoons eat and enjoy a variety of crops, they eat trash but this is only because they have no other food options available to them. They prefer fresher foods like peas, potatoes, corn, melons, strawberries, and even tomatoes.

These animals aren’t picky with what they eat and your juicy tomatoes are definitely something that these animals will enjoy.

Tomatoes are healthy for raccoons:

Not only are tomatoes juicy-looking, energy-packed fruits to raccoons, but they are also a good source of vitamins and minerals for this animal.

Tomatoes offer raccoons vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, antioxidants, lots of fluid and, fiber. 

Tomatoes are easy for raccoons to get

Tomatoes are an easy meal for raccoons, once the animal gets into your garden it simply needs to find a tomato tree, grab the fruit with its paws which are very dexterous and agile, and make off with the fruit.

The animal is very resourceful and crafty, it will get its food by any means necessary 

Signs of raccoons eating your tomatoes:

There are a variety of animals and bugs that may be stealing and eating your tomato plants.

You’ll know that raccoons are eating your tomatoes by the telltale signs, these being: paw tracks, scratches on your trees and fences, signs of trash being looted, and raccoon fecal droppings  

How do I stop raccoons from eating my tomatoes? 

Raccoons can be pretty frustrating, you can’t always be there to scare these animals away but you can find ways to keep them away from your plants in your absence, here are ways to do this:

Barriers:

Installing a barrier around your tomato trees is a sure-fire way to keep raccoons out.

Ammonia:

Raccoons may be able to eat out of the garbage but these animals are not fond of the smell of ammonia. Keep raccoons away from your tomato plants by soaking a rag in ammonia and leaving it in a saucer close to your tomato plants.

You can also create a barrier by soaking a rope in ammonia and placing it around your tomatoes 

Loud noises:

Raccoons do not like loud and obnoxious noises, you can use this to your advantage to keep raccoons away.

Do this by placing a small radio near your tomato plants, keep this radio on all day and night and this will keep raccoons away. 

Bright light:

Raccoons prefer to be out at night, because of this, they are not used to being out during the day with lots of light.

Use this to your advantage and keep a couple of flashlights on, around your tomato plants 

Motion-activated sprinklers:

These will switch on and scare raccoons off when the animals decide to visit your garden for a quick meal.

This solution will keep a variety of garden-feeding animals away from your plants. 

Live raccoon traps:

If all the solutions mentioned above do not keep raccoons out of your garden, then you may have to use live raccoon traps.

Once the raccoons have been caught it is advised that you release the animals three miles away.

Your local or state laws may have certain rules when it comes to releasing raccoons, it’s best to follow these  

What animals eat tomatoes at night? 

Raccoons aren’t the only animals that eat tomatoes, a variety of other animals also enjoy this food and will ruin your garden to get to them, other animals that enjoy tomatoes include: 

Deer:

Deer may be pretty animals but these animals have no problem eating your tomatoes. Just like raccoons, deer will eat your tomatoes at night.

These animals will not only eat your tomato fruits, but they will also eat the whole vine, this is a major sign that deer are eating your tomatoes.

If deer are eating your tomatoes don’t expect much damage at the bottom of the plant, you’ll usually see damage in the form of large bites at the top of the plant. 

Skunks:

Both skunks are raccoons are opportunistic feeders, they will venture into your garden to eat some tomatoes.

Tomatoes aren’t the preferred food for skunks, they prefer tomato hornworms, Japanese beetles, and cutworm larvae over tomato fruits, but they will eat the fruit if they need to. Skunks will eat low-hanging tomatoes if they have to eat the fruit. 

Rats:

Rats are another animal that has no problem eating up your tomatoes at night. These animals will generally eat tomatoes that are close to ground level.

Signs of rats eating your tomatoes include rat droppings, which are either a quarter-inch or half-inch in size, along the trail they took to get to your tomatoes 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, yes, raccoons do eat tomatoes, tomatoes are an easy meal for raccoons, this food is both fresh and delicious to raccoons.

Tomatoes can deliver a variety of vitamins and minerals into the raccoon’s body including vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, antioxidants, and fiber.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other raccoon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do raccoons eat turkeys?, Do raccoons eat insects?, Do raccoons eat onions?