You know, I just wadded up some deer netting around my cukes when they were little and nothing messed with them. Apparently the critters didn't like walking on the netting...they'd get tangled up.
Now that won't keep birds off. You could drape the netting over the plants and then weight it down with bricks round the bottom. Problem with that is the maters tend to grow up through the netting and it messes up the plants when you try to pull it off.
We build an entire enclosure around our maters a couple years ago...remember that? With PVC pipes and bird netting. That way the netting was kept off the plants.
It was a hassle, but it worked great and I still have tomato sauce from that year!
Our current tomatoes are not covered at all, except for the patio tomatoes. We haven't gotten a single tomato off them, even though they're producing. Something eats them before we can get to them. Except for the patio tomatos...they're doing great in the enclosure.
I don't think netting is going to get it. If it's not metal, sthe squirrels will just chew through it.
I put out bloodmeal all over theraisedbed.
