"none" ""lionel\"@(none)" wrote in message
...
My dad always said that hilling the beans helped to keep away the bean
fly. It doesn't seem to make sense but I still do it. Only ever had a
couple of beans die from bean fly.

Lionel.
Hi Lionel,
Hilling does not keep away bean fly. If the plant is hilled, when the bean
fly larva eat the inside of the stem the plant puts new roots out above the
main damage. This, in many cases, and especially if the infestation is not
too bad, allows the plant to survive and give a reasonable crop.
Here in North Queensland it helps, but unless we have had very cold weather
for this part of the world, some insecticide is necessary or the plants die.
Thanks for your input,
Dan