Hi all,
I live in the ACT and my dwarf stringless, butter and purple king climbing
beans are all being attacked by weevils. I caught one and it looks like a
"vegetable weevil" but a lot of sites say they don't attack beans. Anyway,
is there an organic method to deal with this problem? I currently don't use
any poisons in my garden and I don't want to start. Also, do you know if
they move on after maturing or do they hang around for next years crop? All
information is appreciated.

Tellurian
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"Tellurian" writes:
I live in the ACT and my dwarf stringless, butter and purple king climbing
beans are all being attacked by weevils. I caught one and it looks like a
"vegetable weevil" but a lot of sites say they don't attack beans. Anyway,

You are finding a green or grey grub inside your string beans? I don't
think there is anything you can do to get rid of them apart from using
a chemical spray. Because the grub is inside the fruit, it will probably
be unaffected by anything unless it is systemic.

any poisons in my garden and I don't want to start. Also, do you know if
they move on after maturing or do they hang around for next years crop? All
information is appreciated.

You'll have them every year. Just something to look forward to. :-)
Though some years they might be worse than others.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

Thanks for the response. We have actually found both the green larvae and
the adults. Since we don't use poisons we have been picking them off and
using the old fashioned "squash" technique to try and limit the numbers for
next session. After much thought we realized the problem is partly because
we had to remove some large shrubs near the vegetable patch and now the
Willy-wagtails aren't visiting to feed on the pests in my veggie garden. I
have planted new shrubs but unfortunately it may be a few years before the
little birds will feel safe enough to feed there so I guess we'll just keep
squashing till they come back.

--
Tellurian
*** Please remove the nospam from my e-mail address if you reply directly to
me ***

"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
"Tellurian" writes:
I live in the ACT and my dwarf stringless, butter and purple king
climbing
beans are all being attacked by weevils. I caught one and it looks like a
"vegetable weevil" but a lot of sites say they don't attack beans.
Anyway,

You are finding a green or grey grub inside your string beans? I don't
think there is anything you can do to get rid of them apart from using
a chemical spray. Because the grub is inside the fruit, it will probably
be unaffected by anything unless it is systemic.

any poisons in my garden and I don't want to start. Also, do you know if
they move on after maturing or do they hang around for next years crop?
All
information is appreciated.

You'll have them every year. Just something to look forward to. :-)
Though some years they might be worse than others.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

"Tellurian" writes:
Thanks for the response. We have actually found both the green larvae and
the adults. Since we don't use poisons we have been picking them off and
using the old fashioned "squash" technique to try and limit the numbers for

If you are able to pick them off, then apparently I was wrong to guess
that they were inside the bean pods. If these are grubs on the leaves,
and they are a type that will turn into moths, then you should be able
to get rid of them using Dipel or the new improved formulation that
Graham Ross (of Ch. 7's Ground Force) recommends, Success.

These are not pesticides, they are a bacteria that attacks grubs that
are programmed to turn into moths or butterflies. The bacteria is said
to be harmless to everything else, including humans.

The main pest that I've seen on beans here is the green shield beetle.
These are often found on the plants "stuck together" in a distinctive
tail-to-tail position, begetting more of their ilk I guess. ;-)
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)