What's Eating my Beans???

Bush beans, growing in pots on the deck. ("Florence Green" and "Orca", even though varieties are not important, I think ...)
Something has been going to town on their leaves, chewing them right down to the stem 😠 The damage seems too severe and on less than tender tissue, so it does not seem like slugs to me ...
Any ideas? THANKS!!

Hi Niko,
looks to me like it could be ants. I had the same problem with young plants (of any vegetable kind) which were sitting on the ground on a deck, terrace or similar. There are many species of ants that cut young leaves and stems. Have a look around on your deck if you can see any traces of ants (dirt or gravel being thrown up between tiles is a sure sign of a hive building) .

Easiest sustainable way (not using chemicals) is get the plants to much higher ground, and harder to reach.

My vote would be either grasshoppers or deer.

Our garden is fenced against deer, but rabbits occasionally get in .... and that's the effect they would show on our beans.  As others have noted, if these are on a low deck, try moveing them to a higher point like a deck railing or table.  If the new location is away from deer and rabbits and *still* occurring, I would suspect squirrels or similar.

I'd guess deer or rabbits.  If there's anything left, maybe set up a trail cam to catch the perp in the act.

On a deck in pots, my money would be on slugs or caterpillars more than deer. Deer would probably knock the pots over going for them. Check under the rims and bases of the pots at night with a torch, slugs love hiding in the drainage holes during the day. If it's clean cuts with no slime trails then something with teeth is more likely.

Outdoor be “army worm” caterpillars, or rabbits if they are in reach of rabbits.

Do the leaves have a lot of holes in them, or was it just the stem that was cut? It kind of looks like rabbits even though they might typically shy away from climbing onto elevated decks.

Mark Land wrote:Hi Niko,
looks to me like it could be ants. I had the same problem with young plants (of any vegetable kind) which were sitting on the ground on a deck, terrace or similar. There are many species of ants that cut young leaves and stems. Have a look around on your deck if you can see any traces of ants (dirt or gravel being thrown up between tiles is a sure sign of a hive building) .

Easiest sustainable way (not using chemicals) is get the plants to much higher ground, and harder to reach.

Oh wow! Never thought about that. YES. many ants around. I will investigate that line of inquiry, THANK YOU

John Weiland wrote:Our garden is fenced against deer, but rabbits occasionally get in .... and that's the effect they would show on our beans.  As others have noted, if these are on a low deck, try moveing them to a higher point like a deck railing or table.  If the new location is away from deer and rabbits and *still* occurring, I would suspect squirrels or similar.

Really?? Squirrels? There are many of then around. I thought the ate nuts etc.
Hm... if it is squirrels, what do I do???

Joao Winckler wrote:On a deck in pots, my money would be on slugs or caterpillars more than deer. Deer would probably knock the pots over going for them. Check under the rims and bases of the pots at night with a torch, slugs love hiding in the drainage holes during the day. If it's clean cuts with no slime trails then something with teeth is more likely.

Thanks for your thoughts!
Could slugs eat/cut the stems like that?
I would have thought that it is too chewy/hard for them...

Niko, I hope you will let us know what it was when you figure this out.

Bird netting might prevent squirrels, rabbits, deer or other animals
from going after plants.

Might work for grasshoppers, too.

i have a lot of leafcutting ants, you can usually tell their damage because they have consistently half-circle shape cuts.
I also have grasshoppers and the damage is much less regular, but always on the leaves and not the stems.
You look like something ate through the stems, which to me looks like a browsing animal (deer, rabbits, etc).

Niko Lourotos wrote:

John Weiland wrote:Our garden is fenced against deer, but rabbits occasionally get in .... and that's the effect they would show on our beans.  As others have noted, if these are on a low deck, try moveing them to a higher point like a deck railing or table.  If the new location is away from deer and rabbits and *still* occurring, I would suspect squirrels or similar.

Really?? Squirrels? There are many of then around. I thought the ate nuts etc.
Hm... if it is squirrels, what do I do???

Sometimes squirrels bite off plants, especially flowers and vegetable seedlings, but are less likely to actually eat what they bite off compared to rabbits. You bean looks on the bigger side so I'd lean more towards deer or rabbit than squirrels but who knows.

I came across this older discussion and wanted to add that if you're still having trouble, it could be worth checking for earwigs as well. They can cause significant damage at night, and you might miss them during the day. Try using a damp rolled-up newspaper as a trap to see if you can catch any culprits. Wondering if you've found any more clues since this was last discussed?