Squirrel or other rodent?

I did not have any problem with squirrels, apart of their annoying habit to dig in my pots.
However, today I found one of my tomatoes and one courgette in very bad conditions and I assumed it must have been a squirrel?
I have never seen any other rodents in the garden, but for a dormouse, which could have done the courgette but lacks the jaw span to bite a tomato that size like that, leaving two bit marks on top.
It neraly looks like ti tried to carry it away, perhaps it took it for a giant nut? :D

Any opinion very welcome!

 

Hello @Aldo I would say 98% a squirrel as done that... as they used to go at some of my plants just for the nectar and I've noticed over the years they go for this after they've been eating properly...it's a shame to see your fruits destroyed

 

Thanks @Gail_68, for the moment only one tomato was affected, which was hanging quite low, plus that corgette and, I discovered this morning, three cucumbers.
Actually, for the cucumbers it was my fault. We went on holiday and in a meanwhile one vine grew a lot and went hiding behind a pot, where it made three cucumbers, pretty much on the floor and easy prey to the rodent.

I was wondering why that plant had stopped producing :D

 

@JWK Thanks John, I had missed that thread and actually it made for an interesting reading.

I considered birds, but, while from the photo this does not show very well, the two marks on top of the tomato are actually very simmetrical and square shaped, so probably due to the front teeth of some rodent. Actually, birds would be easier to keep at bay with netting, like you suggested.

Well, I can only hope the problem stays limited, otherwise I will need to think something up.
I have made a compost heap time ago, but at the moment is not well maintained, just a bunch of stuff which I will need to chop better and start turning often.
Perhaps unwelcome guests might have nested in there, in which case I will drench it with water to make less of an ideal place for them.

I can only hope that they will not go for my mushrooms, if and when they manage to grow. Preparing the woodchips took me lots of work..

The squirrels never went for my strawberries I think, but they do have a very annoying habit to dig in my pots, just today I found they knocked out of the soil a strawberry plug, it must be the third time I had to plant it back and it does not look happy at all.

I just noticed that yesterday night peppers have been nibbled on too. That plant affected is the only one I planted directly in the ground, so quite low and easy to reach for whatever pest is raiding the garden..

 

Actually, I could try and throw some netting over the pots the squirrels love to dig.
I put some on the strawberries months ago, against birds, and the squirrels did not dig there, but went for the pot just just aside, with a few uncovered alpine strawberries.

Maybe they enjoy it so much because I mixed some perlite with the soil, so it is very soft and easy to dig in. I just put some black mulch on some pots, perhaps that will make it less attractive to the critters.

I tried and google "Do rats eat mushrooms", but I could only find people willing to feed the stuff to their pets :D
I guess I will find out if the mushrooms eventually come out in autumn..

(But I just found out that squirrels not only can eat mushrooms, but they adapted to eat poisonous ones too.. I think I need a cage :D )

 

That must be awful.. We do not have too many, I think just a few, but definitely a few too many
The black mulch did not stop them completely, so I enclosed one basket in netting. It's not strong material, so I guess they could break their way in, but perhaps it will be a deterrent.

 

I just spotted my very first mushroom!
My joy was somewhat hindered by the fact that something, squirrel or mouse, who knows, munched away half of it..

I can live with finding the occasional half-eaten tomato abandoned on the grass, but the mushrooms are sacred! At least until I manage to fry a few..

Bit of a pain, but it sounds like I'll have to erect cages around all my mushroom beds.

 

Slugs love mushrooms

 

@Scrungee Thanks for pointing that out. I had no clue they did, and that would be a problem because the hop enclosure I was thinking of making should stop rodents but will do little to keep slugs away.

 

This is what slugs can do when they beat me to the local puffballs (you may need to click on he attachment link to view the pic)