Let me reiterate:
Homesteading isn’t 100% rainbows and sunshine; bad things happen, we adapt and overcome.
I planted over 60 green bean seeds with more to go, and I might have 20 plants left.
Now, this isn’t terribly tragic; as a matter of fact, I wasn’t too worried at all! This is a cheap, easy fix, truth be told.
I’m used to these situations, and I generally over-plant and prepare ahead of time.
This time, I got got.
Well, my green beans got got, technically.
Now, the damage had me a bit confused, but I think I’ve figured out who the culprit is.
There Are Two Potential Pests Attacking My Green Beans: Slugs, and Rabbits… But Which One Is It?
Damage similar to this is caused by one of two pests. Either:
- The wild rabbits are nipping the tops off during the night, leaving only the stems or stems and cotyledons, or…
- Slugs are devouring the tender young leaves (and sometimes cotyledons) during the night.
Green bean plants are a favorite snack of rabbits. We have tons of wild rabbits on our property; I can rarely go outside without spotting one. They’re simply all over the place! We also have tons of rabbit-friendly forage, and approximately 3/4 of an acre in brush and woods. It’s rabbit haven here, especially since we don’t hunt them in any way. As long as they leave my garden alone, they’re welcomed here! Others frequently have issues with keeping rabbits out of their gardens, but we don’t have much of an issue on our current homestead. For the most part, I’ve never had much rabbit damage, because they have so much to eat.
But why now? Why would they just now choose to attack my plants?
As for slugs, we’ve always got slug damage. Slugs aren’t the worst pests we have, but they are a true pain. Especially in my strawberry bed. They do damage the berries, but most damage is able to be cut off or avoided by picking the berries in a timely manner. If the berries are left on the plant for too long, the slugs attack- but the berry must be very ripe before they’ll touch them. I have not had slugs attack beans before, but we also had lots of wet weather as they were sprouting; we didn’t when I planted beans in previous seasons.
My Thoughts: I’m Pretty Sure I Know Who’s Eating Them!
I noticed a particular pattern among the seedlings; the seedlings would come up, then overnight, many would be gnawed down.
Those that made it? Most would continue to grow. Once they gained a bit of size (say, a week old), they were left untouched. Whatever it is that was eating them, prefers them young and tender.
At first, I was 95% positive that it had to be rabbits. After all, rabbits frequent the spot I planted them in, they love tender young greens, green bean plants are a favorite food, they invade at night, and they can eat a lot of food. They also nibble the seedlings down to the stem.
But Was It Rabbits? I’m Now Thinking Otherwise…
I thought it to be odd that the rabbits began leaving the young plants alone; then, I noticed the seedlings that were very late to germinate were being left alone. It’s as if the guilty party just vanished one day; and, I can tell you right now, those rabbits don’t just vanish. I’m more likely to walk outside and see a rabbit than to see one of my barn cats walking around. Day or night, rain or shine! They know our land is a safe zone, and we’ve accidentally disturbed way more nests than one could imagine to prove it. Our bunnies provide prey for surrounding wildlife, meaning our chickens are left alone. That works for me.
So, even with being so sure that it had to be rabbits, I gave it some time to be 100% sure. Homesteading involves a lot of guessing and theories; you have to be prepared to do some research and observation, because you’ll be proven wrong more times than you can count. Besides, it’s easier to control slugs than it is to control rabbits.
What Changed When the Seedlings Were Left Alone? The Weather!
Around the time that the green bean slayings stopped, the temperatures were averaging upper 80’s for highs, and upper 60’s/lower 70’s for lows. We’ve had a small heat wave. No, who am I kidding? Summer has arrived a month early! In combination with this heat, we’ve had rainfall perhaps once since the seedlings germinated.
Thus, I’ve come to the conclusion that the little pests are actually slugs. Slugs become inactive when temperatures begin to reach into the 70’s consistently; they also hide in dry conditions. With such warm, dry weather lately, the slugs can’t come out to feed without risking death. They could shrivel up in the heat!
What further confirmed my suspicions was my strawberry bed. At the time that the damage stopped on the beans, I also noticed that most of the strawberries were undamaged, too. This lack of slug damage coincided with the lack of damage on my bean seedlings.
This careful observation and attention to detail is how you solve these mysteries on the homestead. I’m sure there are hundreds of people out there who are scratching their heads, confused over the damage that they’re finding on their green bean plants; hopefully, my experience will help others to determine the source of damage, too.
So, What Will I Do to Protect My Green Beans, You Ask?
I will use a few of the slug control tricks in order to minimize damage with the next planting. There are lots of methods that work, they just take a bit of planning ahead:
- I will hill my rows, keeping loose dirt mounded around the seeds and seedlings. Slugs have a difficult time navigating this loose soil.
- Beer traps will be used on the perimeter of the bed. The video below is excellent evidence that this works.
- Pulverized egg shells will be piled in a 1″ circle, directly above the planted seed.
- Diatomaceous Earth will be sprinkled in this same spot just as they begin to germinate.
- If damage still continues, I will place rings around the seedlings; these will be made of water bottles. This will keep the egg shells and diatomaceous earth in, while discouraging the slugs.