Runner bean help please

[tjoyd]

Hi everyone, can anyone tell me what might be eating my runner bean stems. The beans are netted all the way around. No mouse holes anywhere or slug/snail trails. I can’t see any amphids on the leaves or any beetles. They had grown right to the top and were producing the first crop of beans. I’m at a total loss !!

[Jungle Jane]

Is the main vine still ok with all that growth,maybe slugs/snails have eaten some side shoot? They usually eat the bottom leaves,sometimes you find a big snail sleeping halfway up the cane waiting for darkness. If you have a look tonight with a torch you’ll find them,they don’t always leave a trail on plants.

[nickdub]

Hard to be sure as the photo really needs to be of the part of the plant which shows the damage best, i.e. some sort of close-up. On general principles my money would be on mice or shrews, but I wouldn't rule out snails - as has been said already a quick trip out with a torch in the dark might provide an answer

PS netting will keep out birds but it's useless against small rodents unless its very fine metal mesh type netting.

[ameno]

My money is on snails.
Never assume it's not slugs or snails just because there is no slime. They very often don't leave a trail, especially snails.

[bikermike]

My money is on slugs/snails too I'm afraid.

[roitelet]

Béer traps??

[Plot70]

I can see leaves on the ground that have not been eaten.
I have seen a few damaged leaves on one of my bean plants.
In my case they are under an overhanging hawthorn tree and are not netted.
Due to the layout of sheds and trees one plant gets quite a few leaves ripped off by the wind.
The leaves fall to the ground and obviously wilt immediately.
I often get trouble with slugs stripping the bark off early in the year and have to put down traps bated with slug pellets while the plants are small enough to be covered by these traps.
I find that covers with slug pellets under them for a week spaced at about 4 feet will do the job if more than a leaf or two get slug damage.
The slug trap waste can be buried about an inch below the soil without anything digging it up again.