Holes in runner bean an bok choi leaves

[mhrfm]

I have come across the first of my veg in my new raised beds that have been munched on. There are a few holes in the leaves of my runner beans and one of my baby pok choi plants has been completely levelled.

i don’t see any slug or snail trails.

Need help in identifying the culprit please.

[Mr Bones]

Looks like slug damage. They don't always leave visible trails, maybe go out at night with a torch and you'll probably find the culprit.

Edit .. PS commiserations on the Bok Choi, I know how you feel when that happens.

[mhrfm]

Looks like slug damage. They don't always leave visible trails, maybe go out at night with a torch and you'll probably find the culprit.

Edit .. PS commiserations on the Bok Choi, I know how you feel when that happens.

It’s annoying. I’m new to gardening and this our first ever large veg patch. I put some copper rings I had around the bok choi- I’ll continue to monitor the situation.

I’ll set some traps today and also do a torch run.

[peanut]

It's amazing how plants ever grow given all the nasties above and below ground that are out to munch on them. I agree it ilooks like slug damage, snails will be about too. They can be tiny things, really hard to spot. As plants get bigger they can usually survive a bit of nibbling.
In the past if I have used some sacrificial plants, lettuce leaves are a good one, either sown yourself or lettuce from the shop (I used to lay out a few leaves at a time) to place around your precious plants, the slugs and snails can munch on those and you can easily find them as they're enjoying their dinner trap!

[Ewa]

After years of fighting slugs and damaged veg this year for the first time I'm trying Strulch to see if it works and protects mostly my cabbages and strawberries. Maybe it's worth to try it under your Bok Choi?

[mhrfm]

Thank you. Some great advice. I’ll also lay some snail traps.

[mhrfm]

For the time being, this appears to have been a one off incident.

[Mr Bones]

For the time being, this appears to have been a one off incident.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you M. We've just treated 20 beds with slug nematodes, it'll be interesting to see how they work out.

[mhrfm]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you M. We've just treated 20 beds with slug nematodes, it'll be interesting to see how they work out.

Good luck.

I’ve got some wireworm nematodes which I hope will work too.

[ameno]

Good luck.

I’ve got some wireworm nematodes which I hope will work too.

They'll work on wireworm. They won't work on slugs. Completely different species.

That is definitely slug or snail damage, though (they're about the only thing that will eat runner beans, anyway). Keep an eye out for them, but at that low level of damage you probably don't have too much to worry about. It's probably just one relatively small slug or snail doing the rounds.

[mhrfm]

Thanks Ameno. Each morning a new leaf is damaged. I’ll try and find the culprit and rehome it far away from the patch.

[burnie]

It's tough at the front battling the bugs, but part and parcel of food production, glad you have some environmentally friendly options to try, I hate slug pellets with a passion, they do so much damage to the wildlife.

[mhrfm]

It's tough at the front battling the bugs, but part and parcel of food production, glad you have some environmentally friendly options to try, I hate slug pellets with a passion, they do so much damage to the wildlife.

We want to be as sustainable and green as possible. This is our first year of growing, so everything's a bit of a challenge.

[burnie]

I try to grow using organic methods, not all my seeds are organic and I doubt my compost is all that organic either, but I don't use poisons anymore, it means a lot more labour intensive, but after a while even picking caterpillars off the brassicas can become quite therapeutic lol.

[mhrfm]

Still can’t find the perpetrator in the veg patch.

No shortage of snails elsewhere though.