Vertebrate Pest on Tomato

Vertebrae pest have less impact on tomators that on many crops, but some species may require management or at least vigilance. Voles or (meadow mice) can be a significant problem in tomatoes;they cause damage in the filed and , more importantly, they frequently are pickup mechanical harvester, resulting in serious contaminant problems at processing plant. Birtd, especially horned larks, can reduce stand of direct seeded tomatoes by feeding on your seedling. Rabbits, jackrabbits and ground squirrels are occasional pest in some areas.

The key to managing vertebrae pest is to anticipate problems and to lay out strategy in advance to deal with them. The first step is to survey the land surrounding the filed; few vertebrae pest live year –round  in plowed fields. Most rodent and rabbit infestations begin in nearby crops , pastures aor natural habits, or in weedy febcerows or databanks.

Some vertebrae that damages crops are protected by law and you may need to get special permits before you control them. It is important to identify vertebrates correctly in order to choose suitable control measures and to avoid killing protected species. As you rlocal agricultural commissioner , farm advisor or  an experienced pest control advisor for help in identifying pest species if you are not certain

Pison baits are part of management strategy for certain vertebrate pest. Only permitted number of bait materials currently are available for control of field rodents. These materials fall into two categories : acute poisons that require a single feeding to kill the target pest, and anticoagulant poison that require multiple feeding over several days to kill the target pest. Acute poison baits generally are less expensive than coagulant;however , animals that receive a sub lethal dose ay become nait shy, making any follow –up treatment less effective unless sufficient time passed before the follow-up. Anticoagulant poisons that require multiple feedings are more expensive to use because more bait is needed, but they do not produce bait shyness. If used according to labels directions , hazards to domestic animals and non target wildlife are minimal for both types of baits