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Pole beans eaten alive #868896

Asked May 17, 2024, 1:24 PM EDT

I don’t know what is destroying my blue lake pole beans. I have sprayed them with soapy water and spread coffee grounds around them. I haven’t seen any slime residue or bugs. The rest of my garden(other beds) are doing fine. What could be doing this and how can I stop it(hopefully organically).

Anne Arundel County Maryland

Expert Response

This looks like classic slug/snail feeding damage. You can look on the underside of the leaves for their slime trails, though sometimes they are not readily visible. Management options are included on the linked page. The plants might outgrow this damage if further slug damage can be prevented. (Damaged leaves cannot heal, but untouched buds nestled against the stem might still sprout and resume growth.)

We do not recommend any home remedy pesticide alternative, like sprays using household soaps or detergents. At best, they will not work (even pesticide-grade soap sprays need to directly contact the pest to be effective), and at worst, they risk causing phytotoxicity (plant tissue damage from chemical exposure). Soaps not specifically formulated for use on plants can strip the protective waxy layer off of foliage, causing "sunburn" or desiccation damage, especially on sunny or hot days. The linked Penn State page above about home remedies provides more reasons why they are potentially ineffective or damaging to the environment.

Spent coffee grounds can make a good compost additive but should not be applied directly around plants. In some studies, coffee grounds have stunted plant growth, so they might be having a phytotoxic effect on roots for sensitive plants, at least before they are fully composted and broken-down.

For any other issues that might arise later in the growing season, our Growing Beans in a Home Garden web page may be useful.

Miri

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