Zoller, I looked over the pics and am quite certain that you have a bug problem, not birds. Try some bug sprays suitable for veggies and you should be ok.

Your tomatoes have a pest called "Tomato Fruitworm".

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.avrdc.org/photos/tomato_pests/fruitworm_11.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.avrdc.org/photos/tomato_pests/&h=684&w=1037&sz=161&tbnid=gJCdGHFMhaQJ:&tbnh=98&tbnw=150&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522Tomato%2Bpests%2522%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLG,GGLG:2005-21,GGLG:en%26sa%3DN

There are many products you can use to kill these little buggers.....matter of preference!

Good Luck!

hmm. not sure about that tomatoe fruitworm/corn earworm thing. take a look here and see if you can spot anything. I am still thinking 'not birds' however.

ront

eeeew, those are nasty!

note to self. don't eat maters at zollers house!

If the damage was done relatively quickly, I'd suspect a rodent. Those are big holes for an insect to have done in a short time. Squirrels will usually remove the tomato, nibble it a bit and then leave it. A mouse or rat will chew on it where it is growing.

Also, bird feeders do attract rodents and squirrels, so that's my first guess.

I stick by "Tomato Fruitworms"...If you look at Zoller's pictures...you can see scarring of the tomatoes before the actual holes were made..... This is indicative of fruitworms/and adults. The grazing holes are also very round....critters are not picky that way BUT worms, borers and moths are...as they eat in circles and layers.

Nasty creatures! YUCK!

You could be right, Tindel...

And fruitworms (as disgusting as they may be) would probably be easier to deal with. But, as I wrote earlier, I think the amount of time it took for the damage to occur would be the determining factor.

The big holes in the tomatoes seemed to have a jagged edge, which made me think of gnawing teeth.

Anyway, maybe the best defense would be to apply a pyrethrin and a rodent poison.

Then go out and see what dead kinda things you find after a couple days...

And it COULD be that there are some munches by a worm, some pecks by a bird looking for the worm, some stink bug feeding, some early blight, a tad of canker and a dose of blossom end rot cuz those things look SAD!! at this point it is time to locate a local farmer's market to buy tomatoes for the summer!

ront

hahahah. all the things i thought about too. those are some nasty looking things.