Pea beetle

[Nicky]

My peas have been decimated. Eaten from the edges inwards. They've been netted to stop the mice and I've looked for slugs and there are none that I can find. The chap on the plot next door has the same problem - whatever it is has eaten through 3 settings worth of his peas. He said it's the 'Pea beetle'.
Questions are.... what is a pea beetle? where does it live? e.g. does it live inthe ground like someone on the plot said so covering in fleece won't help
What can I do about it? I've got some guttering to try and start my peas off in the greenhouse away from the pest like Carole suggested on the BBC2 prog about veg but will this be enough or do I have to resort to chemicals?

[multiveg]

The critter is the pea and bean weevil - it likes to hide out in the top of my broad beans (in the curled leaves) as well as munching my peas. I caught so many last week on the soil between pea/bean rows. I squished 100s this month, either by fingers or by grinding them with a stone. Derris may work, though I haven't tried it myself. Hopefully, the peas/beans will outgrow them.

[Paulottie]

Hi there Nicky,

I have been discussing the possibilities of killing these little blighters in the pests forum. They are really bad this year. Hoeing round the plants helps but really there isn't that much you can do without nasty chemicals.(Derris helps a bit)

They definately cause more damage/death to seedlings -so employ the gutter method for sowing and put out mature plants . Also shake plants onto a plastic bag and slaughter them- very satisfying.

They are about 6mm long and brown quite difficult to find at first, They tend to drop of when they see you.

Sorry!