What's eating my beans?

[Davy Crockett]

And how can I stop them?

I'm trying for the fourth time to get a few green beans but something is taking the tops off them.

I don't think it's deer and suspect rabbits or groundhogs but never see any in the garden regardless of the time of day or night.

(I do go out all hours of the day and night)

Yesterday I sprinkled tobacco, cayenne, moth balls and deer/rabbit repellent spray.

This morning more of the tops were cut.

They never seemed to bother the wax beans or peas as much but they're eating them all now.

Bugs of some kind?

[obleo]

HUGE, no kidding, grasshoppers ate the bejeebers out of mine this year and nothing I tried stopped them. On 20 plants, a beautiful hanging arch of vine and I got 12 beans this year. They are as long as my pinky and just as fat. They took out my blue kale and beets...now I got those big ugly black and yellow caterpillers on my tomatoes...it just doesn't seem to end this year, does it? The stink bugs, green ones, didn't quite destroy my Chinese Red Noodle beans...those did okay.

Was talking with the mail lady today and she said everyone she talks to on the route has had similar problems and then some...they say it's been years since the bug population has been this bad for gardens.

Guess I better get my greenhouse up and running soon for next year as growing stuff outside will be "iffy" next year...looks like.

We're all gonna be on a wing and a prayer for spring of next year.

[Davy Crockett]

Not a good garden year for me.

I do see some small grasshoppers in the garden.
Maybe that's it

[Summerthyme]

sprinkle some flour along the rows and look for tracks. It does sound more like rabbits or woodchucks. It would take some BIG grasshoppers to nip the entire top off the plants (I'm not saying they don't exist, but they're pretty hard to miss!)

Summerthyme

[Davy Crockett]

got a remedy, Summerthyme.

Everything I put on seemed to make it worse or at least not slow 'em down

[Liberty]

A high strong fence partially buried in-ground at the bottom is the only way to stop them all. Its probably ground hog.

[Davy Crockett]

There's a lot of groundhogs around.

I'm going to see if I can smoke 'em out and shoot them

[Summerthyme]

Davy... go to www.snareshop.com and buy a dozen snares. They'll cost you around $20, and if you have woodchucks (or rabbits, especially if you can find where they live under a porch or shed) they'll pay for themselves over and over.

No noise, and you don't have to spend hours watching and waiting. SLIGHT risk to neighborhood dogs or cats, IF they hunt chucks, but since you set the snare right at their hole, presumably you don't have any of those, or you wouldn't have such a big problem with woodchucks!

I decided to preempt my problem this spring, and set 6 snares in woodchuck holes which were all at the edge of my big garden (used for corn, potatoes and pumpkins and winter squash this year). It was almost funny... while I was setting them, a half grown chuck (I figure it was from a very late litter last summer) poked it's head out of a hole next to the one where I was setting the snare. Dixie was 'helping', but didn't see the chuck. I pointed it out to her, told her to "get it" (she hasn't been the chuck hunter I'd hoped for, although English Shepherds are bred to hunt as well as protect and herd) and she immediately dove halfway down the hole and grabbed it. She shook it until it was dead, and I praised her lavishly.

The next day, I found what was probably a litter mate of that one in a snare- caught around the belly, so it was still alive. I had a heck of a time getting the snare off while Dixie was shaking it to death. Boy, was she proud of herself.

Two days later, we were building a round pen for training dogs and horses, and she suddenly went on alert, ran out the pen gate, all the way around it and 300 yards down the field- where she had seen a large, adult chuck. That one took a little more work; she had to circle it over and over to avoid it's sharp teeth before she finally managed to grab it. She shook it like before, then trotted back to us, and proudly deposited the chuck in hubby's lap (he was crouched down stapling wire to a fence post). The problem is- it was still alive! Whoops. He jumped up, told her to "get it" again, and she finished it off.

I caught SEVEN chucks in snares around that small (1 acre) garden piece by the middle of May, and haven't caught one since.

The danger to domestic animals is pretty small... any dog which has been tied before won't struggle and strangle. The biggest problem is with cats, but most simply don't bother with woodchuck holes. I've never caught anything except my target species.

At least in NY, chucks are considered varmints and any means of hunting or trapping them is legal at any time of year. You'll probably want to investigate PA laws, although most states allow you to protect property from almost any animal which isn't on the endangered species list.

It takes a bit of practice to set snares they can't go around, but because of their habit of following the same path into their holes, they are one of the very easiest species to snare. A really good "starter".

Our dogs won't eat them unless I skin and cut them up. I figure they'll be a really good protein source for the dogs if TSHTF.

Summerthyme

[Davy Crockett]

Good suggestion, Summerthyme.
I tried a couple leg hold traps down in a couple of holes I found but they nay have been a little small because they didn't hold
I should use a bigger one.

But these snares seem interesting.

As a side note, my moth balls, tobacco, cayenne pepper, deer/rabbit repellent spray seemed to slow down the munching.

I got some gopher gassers to try, too

[Patches]

This just has not been a good year for gardens period. I'm doing the Back To Eden, so water was not a problem, must have been the heat. Didn't put up half the beans I usually can. I sure hope the winter garden does better. I have row covers over most of it or the grasshoppers and cabbage worms would eat everything down to stems in a matter of days.

These days are so uncertain and when the garden doesn't do what I think it should, well.......it gives me pause.