Found mysterious holes in your tomatoes? Don’t panic! A damaged tomato doesn’t mean your entire plant is doomed—and it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve failed as a gardener. Several common garden visitors may simply be enjoying a snack. The key is looking at the shape of the damage and checking the plant for other clues.

Tomato fruitworms are small caterpillars that can bore neat, round holes into tomatoes, often near the stem. Tomato hornworms are much larger and can damage both leaves and fruit, usually leaving larger, irregular holes along with tiny droppings. If you notice shallow, jagged pecks, birds, squirrels, or chipmunks could be responsible.

Then there are the nighttime visitors. Slugs and snails often leave ragged holes and may leave behind a telltale silvery slime trail. Once you identify the likely culprit, you can decide whether the damage needs attention or whether the tomato can simply keep growing. In many cases, the plant is much tougher than it looks.

So before you pull out the damaged fruit or worry about your entire garden, take a closer look. 🌱🍅 Nature is full of tiny creatures looking for their next meal, and sometimes your tomato plant just happens to be on the menu. A little observation can tell you far more than panic ever will. And if only one tomato is affected while the rest of the plant looks healthy, there may be no reason to worry at all.