British Columbia: What (who?) is the culprit - tomato thief!

My planter boxes that my wife built and my daughter and I planted are absolutely thriving! The plants themselves are beautiful. Only problem; fruits and veggies are disappearing just as they are ripening. Tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries all seem to walk away the night before we want to pick them. So here are some more clues:
- Very little visible damage or remnants. Sometimes a few tomato vines fall off their bamboo stands. Otherwise the area is clear of any evidence.
- Cucumber, corn, squash and herbs are untouched.
- Definitely a nocturnal thief since we've observed disappearances from evening to morning.
- Ripe or almost ripe fruits and veggies only.

I'm in North Burnaby and have observed raccoons, skunks, rats, coyotes, all sorts of birds, and a few other two legged varmints who travel my alley checking out recycling boxes.

Does anyone have any thoughts on narrowing down the suspect list? My first thought was the two legged critters but I haven't ruled out those wascally waccoons. Do raccoons even go after tomatoes? Any thoughts please!

 

Homo sapiens?

 

I have known squirrels to take tomatoes, so you can add them to the list. I think the important thing to do is protect the plants with some kind of strong mesh.

 

Squirrels love strawberries. Birds love blueberries.

 

Squirrels and birds are strictly daytime thieves. Raccoons are the usual night time operators. However, I have all of the fruits mentioned; and the local (North Burnaby) raccoons only go after grapes and sweet cherries. We also have a small variety of rat that eats grapes, kiwi fruits and apples; but it also avoids the fruits that are disappearing. That only leaves two-legged critters as the likeliest suspects.

 

I have just had to put put up some loose chicken wire around my corn to stop the raccoons on their annual rampage. My neighbour has really tasty little tomates at ground level, unprotected & they remain safe (even though I am tempted). I suspect peoples may be the culprits.

How about a motion-sensor light for this area? Just temorary if need be. Perhaps one of those signs "Smile! You're on Camera". A donation box? The traditional farmerish solution of a shotgun loaded with coarse salt is probably no longer P.C. LOL.

 

I find it very difficult to believe that a person would come every night to check and pick what is ripe in a very small garden (planter boxes). It would not be worth the risk and the trouble. Additionally, that person would have to use a flashlight to distinguish ripe fruit from unripe, after all we are day-time animals and can't distinguish colours in the dark.

In my garden it is birds that pick up my blueberries. Despite that I have never caught them in the act (unfortunately, I don't have sleeping habits of the early bird) I am absolutely sure of that.

As for squirrels, they, like birds and other animals, like to visit at dawn and at twilight. Even at daylight, being small, they can be noticed only when they run away when I come to the garden. But they have voracious appetite. They like to scatter the picked fruit around though, so probably in your case it is either raccoons or skunks or rats. All of them are nocturnal and will eat fruit.

If I were in your situation I would set up a raccoon trap. I have a small humane trap (Havahart) that I use to catch squirrels and relocate them to an area uninhabited by people. It works. You would have to use a bigger one.

 

Coming at dawn? Not many witnesses around at 6 in the morning!