What's eating my runner beans?

[marigold007]

They flower, the flowers drop off mysteriously and only a bit of the stem is left and no runners ever appear. Could it be the birds or this little greenish beetle with two stripes on its back that I found today?

[smallblueplanet]

Are the flowers on the ground? Are the leaves a bit pecked? If you've got sparrows then I'd bet on them nipping off the flowers and pecking the leaves - they did for our peas! But maybe its something else and I've got it in for the sparra's!

[marigold007]

We feed the birds around here! :-/

Hi, yes the flowers are on the ground. I suspect the Robin.. It's been hanging around a lot, but that might be for all the nice catapillars that the cabbage white leaves me as presents. the leaves look okay; they are recovering from all the black fly I squashed. The harlequin ladybirds are next on the list of suspects!

note to self: Must.buy.nets.

[Cutecumber]

You probably don't have any pests - runner beans do drop their flowers.

Water well and keep your fingers crossed. The beans should start setting... eventually.

[Flummery]

At the start of the fruiting season runners are notorious for not setting their flowers. Some reckon that misting them with water helps.

Or grow Climbing French beans!

[Two_Sheds]

You don't need to net beans. Don't waste your time & money.

As Flum says, you can mist the flowers to help them set. If the flowers are limp (in hot sun) then pollinating bees can't enter them. Misting swells the flower to allow easy access to the buzzy ones.

[terrier]

I don't know what sort of beastie it is but the one in my patch nibbles through the lower stems of my runners and french climbers. Do slugs go for stems as well as leaves or maybe mice?

[Two_Sheds]

I don't know what sort of beastie it is but the one in my patch nibbles through the lower stems of my runners and french climbers. Do slugs go for stems as well as leaves

yes, slugs will eat whatever they can reach.

[Two_Sheds]

... and remember snails can climb

[terrier]

... and remember snails can climb

Sherpa SLUG!