What is eating my bush beans?

[sandyullom]

I just put out some bush bean starts last week and already something is devouring the leaves. Every leaf on a dozen plants (even the newest leaves) have little holes all over them. I have looked at the plants and don't see any bugs, but clearly something is eating them. What can I do to stop this?

 

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

Does this look like it?:

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=25681

I think that this may be slugs, as I found one on their leaves yesterday.


I heard that putting coffee grounds around the base of the plants helps.

 

[vfem]

Well the real issue is trying to find out WHAT is it eating your plants?! Different things kill or deter different pests. I know the populat choices are Food Grade DE or Neem.

I would try to go out super early in the AM and try to catch who's actually doing it though. You'd have a better idea of what to use.

 

[Greenthumb18]

It could be slugs, they usually come out when its raining or at night, i've had a few that destroyed pepper plants i have, the only way i find out was when checking at my plants near dark, when i check them in the morning i didnt see the pest. They only come at certain times.
For slugs crush eggshells and sprinkle them under the plants close to it so the slugs can't find an alternative path to get dinner.

Good luck!! :happy_flower

 

[me&thegals]

I'm wondering about flea beetles. They are so tiny they can be mistaken for specks of dirt but they leave tiny little holes everywhere. I waited for a day when they were blown off my kale and choy, then put on floating row covers. As has been mentioned before, they rarely kill a plant but just leave it looking pretty ratty.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I took this from a site I found, but the advertising content at that site could be deemed inappropriate so I'll just do an excerpt. There are several things that could be causing your damage. Hope this helps.

Living factors such as insects can wreak havoc on plants, and it can be hard to detect which insect is causing the damage. Location and type of damage are two important clues that will help a gardener determine if the damage is caused by an insect and which insect. An insect's lifecycle also plays an important part in identifying which insect and finding a solution to the plant destruction.

Plant Inspection for Chewed Damage

If the entire leaf has been consumed, with only the middle vein remaining, look for caterpillars, canker worms, or webworms. Notches that appear to be cut from the leaf are a sign of adult black vine weevil, while circular holes might be caused from lead cutter bees. Smaller holes in a random pattern are the work of beetles, weevils, grasshoppers, or chafers).

On leaves that have veins showing and little else, a gardener should look for slugs, elm leaf beetle, beetle larvae, and thrips (a small sucking insect). Leafrollers (insects who make nests by rolling up in leaves) are the offenders of leaves that are rolled up or joined by silken threads.

An insect that feeds between the upper and lower surfaces of a leaf is the leaf miner. If a gardener holds the leaf up to a light, they will be able to detect these insects inside the damaged area of the leaf. Small moth or sawfly larva can burrow into the petiole (a thin stem which supports the leaf blade), causing the leaf to drop off in early summer. These are detected by splitting the petiole for inspection and identification of the specific larva that may exist.

Insects that girdle (continuous section cut all the way around a twig or small branch) are usually a vine weevil or twig girdling beetle. Borers that feed under the bark can be detected by holes in the branch, a decline in the plant overall, and even frass (debris or excrement produced by insects). Know culprits are the pine Zimmerman pine moth, beetle, and raspberry crown borer.

 

[patandchickens]

If they are teensy holes, like someone shot coarse sand out of a shotgun at your plants, it's flea beetles. You won't likely see the actual critters b/c they are tiny and black and round and fall off the plants at the first hint that someone is nearby. I wouldn't worry about them unless your plants get MASSIVELY defoliated, like 50% or more. Healthy plants tolerate 'normal' flea beetle damage pretty well.

If the holes are bigger, like a quarter of an inch across, they are probably from slugs or mexican bean beetles. Look carefully, perhaps at night, to try to find the culprit b/c the solution depends on exactly who it is.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[sandyullom]

The picture you linked me to Andy looks very similar to mine (I somehow missed the pests and diseases section and realized I should have posted this there). The holes are definitely bigger - 1/4" or so. I went out tonight after dark and saw nothing, but put some beer traps out to see if I could catch any slugs overnight...I remember my grandmother using that trick on slugs. I will try to check early tomorrow morning to see if I can see anything on the leaves. Thank you all for the help on this.

 

[sandyullom]

I'm still baffled by this. I have yet to find any sign of slugs around although I will continue to check. This morning I saw some little tiny things on the leaves that looked like gnats and a couple things that looked like miniature black beetles (about the size of a pinhead). I have looked at some pictures of black vine weevils and the damage doesn't appear to be what they normally cause.

I was going to attach a picture, but couldn't figure out how...any help with that?

Also, is there a way to move this thread to the pest and diseases section where it probably belongs?

 

[vfem]

I'm still baffled by this. I have yet to find any sign of slugs around although I will continue to check. This morning I saw some little tiny things on the leaves that looked like gnats and a couple things that looked like miniature black beetles (about the size of a pinhead). I have looked at some pictures of black vine weevils and the damage doesn't appear to be what they normally cause.

I was going to attach a picture, but couldn't figure out how...any help with that?

Also, is there a way to move this thread to the pest and diseases section where it probably belongs?

Click on the uploads option at the top between messages and Recent posts.... there they will show you your usage and let you browse to find a file to upload and use.