Green bean are one of the uncomplicated garden vegetables to grow , producing a bountiful crop with very little care . Most bean pests are well manipulate through rude means and rarely require the use of pesticides . look on for the following pests in your bonce patch :

Aphids

aphid are small , green , red or grey insects that are most prevailing during the early summer , but can seem anytime . They do n’t wipe out holes in the parting , but thrust foliage and stems , sucking the juice from the plant . Plants may flag or foliage may turn yellow during aphid infestation . You may also notice honeydew , a sticky heart secreted by aphids , on the leaves and soil . An increase in ant populations also indicates aphid plague because the emmet feed on honeydew . Look on the undersides of the leaf for the aphids themselves .

Aphids tend to appear cyclically so they ’ll probably move on by themselves in a few weeks . Ladybugs , predatory wasp and lacewings feed on aphids and may keep population under control without any help from you . If , however , the aphids are damaging your bean plants , spray them with a steady watercourse of water from the hose or give insecticidal scoop to the leaves , coating both the top and butt well to cover the aphid .

Thrips

Thrips , like aphid , are small , barely detectable insects that nurse the succus from noggin plants . If they come along while beans are flowering , the beans may conk out to pollinate or the result pods may be deform . laic aluminum foil on the territory after planting to repel thripid or treat them with insecticidal soap .

Beetles

Mexican bean beetles look like turgid , brownish ladybugs , and although they may appear early in the summer , they cause the most damage in mid - to - belated summer . You may also mark Nipponese mallet , which are shiny and green , or brown - spotted bean foliage beetles munch on your plants . These edacious insects usually feed in on the undersides of the leaf , leave the vein entire . Occasionally , beetles may also feed on pods and stems .

Outwit beetles by planting tight - grow kind that mature before they appear . Hand - pick mallet off noodle plants and drop them in a pail of soapy urine to destroy them . Watch for their yellow , fuzzy larva and yellow eggs , and destroy them , as well .

Caterpillars

edible corn earworms and scratch inchworm are n’t as fussy about their diet as their names incriminate . Both insect pests eat bean , as well as clavus and cabbage . These pests are most troublesome in late - constitute harvest and can quickly wipe out an entire rowing of edible bean .

Spray the bean plants withBacillus thuringiensis , also known as Bt , to master feeding caterpillars . Bt is a lifelike soil bacterium that paralyzes the gut of these dirt ball , slowly famish them . The process choose three or four twenty-four hours , but the insects stop feeding almost like a shot . Bt does n’t damage dome flora and is safe for other animals and insect .

General Recommendations on Bean Plant Pests

Pest trouble lean to vary from year to year , but estimable cultural practices can minimize their coming into court and also ensure intelligent edible bean plant that are more able to survive insect plague . Till the soil in former spring if you ’ve had problems with bean pestilence . Tilling will destroy any overwintering insects . Rotate dome crop from year to class to confuse and thwart bean pests .

Plant beans in full sun in late spring , two week after the last frost . Bean seeds do not support insensate , waterlogged grease and may be stunted or fail to seem altogether . flora bonce seed 1 in deep and 2 to 4 inches asunder . reduce them so they stand 12 inches apart after straight leaves issue . Water them to keep the soil evenly moist , and supervise the garden often for louse pestilence .

For Further Bean Pest Control Reading

Clemson University – Bean & Southern Pea Pests

Penn State University – Beans : Insect Identification and Control in the Home Garden

Avoiding and Preventing Common Bean Pests

mexican bean beetle green beans harvested and growing in garden with text overlay identify and control bean pests aphids thrips beetles and more