Pea and Bean weavil.

[Paulottie]

HELP. went up to lottie with a gutter full of peas last night and saw the state of mine and everyone's broad beans, esp. those who planted in spring. Brought peas back and planted here (prob not so bad but still evident.)

They look very small and annoying to catch by hand -keep dropping off. Does derris dust work? won't be much good for my BB's as they are in full flower- don't want to hurt bees. but might it help pea seedlings?

Any suggestions?

Paul

[Protea]

Bean and pea weevils are the bane of my lottie too you are not alone!

Derris dust is unlikely to touch them unfortunately, pyrethrin containing pesticides might, but its probably not approved and is certainly not selective (will affect any natural predators and bees).

If you're beans and peas are sturdy plants they will more than likely survive the attack and still crop sufficiently. My broad beans i planted out several weeks ago are notched but still looking healthy, however i know there is no point in sowing direct - the seeds won't stand a chance. I sow my peas into guttering and then plant the whole row out - this gives them a fighting chance.

[Paulottie]

Thank Protea. erm.. well ..snap! I have been shaking them off the large bb's onto a plastic bag with my daughter and killed loads; very satisfying and got us into practice for asparagus beetle season! however doesn't help either of us sow direct (i am using the guttering method too.)

Tell me they don't go for french or runners please... I've never seen it B4 but?

[Two_Sheds]

I had a few of the little blighters last year, but this year!!! Mine gott! They are multiplying faster than I can kill them. As they jump off, perhaps do the flea-beetle trick, but in reverse:
cover a piece of card with grease/double sided sticky tape. Hold under the plant while you shake the weevils off to a sticky death.

[Paulottie]

I guess they must be TS cos It seems that most of them i find are at it!

[serenity]

my broad beans are getting nibbled too Had a good look yesterday and I can't see anything on them at all so am going to try and sneak up on them today and try two sheds method. Hope it works as this is my first try at broad beans and am really looking forward to tasting them

[mikk100]

What do these weavils look like? I've got some very small peas which are growing through plastic bottles in the ground right now, I have seen something like a black fly or flea beetle inside the bottles and the leaves are a bit nibbled.

[Protea]

here's the culprit!

[serenity]

I have really looked hard to try and find the culprits but I have not spotted a single insect anywhere near my broad beans and they are starting to look quite bedraggled.

[Paulottie]

Serenity. Have you tried shaking them of onto anything. They're small blighters... if its weevil the edges will be notched, the damage in the middle of leaves is more likely to be snails.

[multiveg]

stoned the blighters yesterday. The worst affected were the peas and broadies that were sown in guttering and planted out. Might do a seaweed foliar feed on them to say sorry for not being vigilant enough. A number of the weevils were erm "at it" - squashed pairs of them in "mid-action". I didn't see them before Easter (and went away for 5 days), but saw them last week.

[mikk100]

I've just been up to water my allotment and my peas look very pathetic now, the leaves are all funny shapes it looks like someone's taken scissors and cut them bits out of them, I looked v. carefully and couldn't see anything moving at all. I have the start of some salad leaves coming through nearby and they are all suffering the same fate. Oh dear I'm getting very depressed. Does that sound like the weavil? will a spray of soapy water do the trick, I heard that was good for aphids.

[Frankiebaby]

Grrrrrr. Those bean weavils! My broad beans look like they might survive (I started them indoors) but my poor peas . The peas I sowed under pop bottle cloches seem ok but I didn't have many and the other peas were just sown in the ground and have all been eaten

So it sounds like all I can do (staying organic) is to try and kill the ones I find and sow more peas inside. Any more ideas?

[multiveg]

Hmm, if salad leaves are affected, perhaps slugs/snails. Pea & bean leaves get notched by the weevils.

[Flummery]

How about flea beetle? I know they notch and shred holes in leaves - I lost a tray of rocket to them. The organic way is to smear vaseline on a bit of board and tap the leaves. The beetles jump and get stuck.