ants on my green beans!

[StonyCreekCC]

Ants are killing my bush beans! What do you recommend to kill ants without harming my plants?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Ants don't eat the plants, but they do take aphids down and milk them, then bring them back. Kill the aphids and you'll get rid of the ants. The aphids will drain the energy from the plants. Look on he back side of the leaves.

 

[StonyCreekCC]

I have no leaves! Suprisingly they are still producing beans. Is it the aphids?

 

[MagicChicken]

Ants don't eat the plants, but they do take aphids down and milk them, then bring them back. Kill the aphids and you'll get rid of the ants. The aphids will drain the energy from the plants. Look on he back side of the leaves.

Plants in my yard are routinely stripped of their leaves by ants. Usually leafcutter ants. You can watch them marching off in a long line, carrying the leaf bits. They're incredibly efficient and can strip a small tree overnight. If StonyCreek's plants have no leaves, I'd bet the ants are getting them. Unfortunately I do not have any great advice for dealing with the ants. Just a lot of sympathy. Food grade diatomaceous earth around the garden might help deter them. No guarantees though.

 

[StonyCreekCC]

I have DE and I've used it in the garden before but with the current weather it seems almost like a waste with the chance if rain every day. I'll keep an eye on the weather and will apply DE when there's a break in the chance of rain.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Virginia is not in the range of leafcutter ants. That does not mean the problem is not leafcutter ants. I'm not supposed to be in water moccasin range either, but I've had some. But the recognized leafcutter ant range supposedly stops around the Louisiana/Mississippi area to the East. Arizona is in their recognized range.

I have different things that strip the leaves from my beans. One is deer. They will eat the leaves overnight. Another is grasshoppers. My beans seem to explode with grasshoppers when I walk by. The leaves look like they have been stripped. I've had groundhogs eat the leaves from my beans, closer to the ground, not all over.

I had a strange one earlier this year when the bean plants were just getting started. From what you describe I'm pretty sure this is not your problem, but I had rats eating the young bean plants. They started at one end of the row, near where their nest was, and would eat one or two bean plants every night until I finally got rid of them. The point of the rat comments is that it could easily be something else. Many things like beans.

The ants are probably farming aphids on the bean plants. I'd certainly treat them for aphids. But I really think something other than ants is eating your bean leaves. I would not stop looking for an answer.

Good luck with it. I've been there, both with the rats and the groundhog. It can be frustrating and just hard to figure out at times.

 

[StonyCreekCC]

Thanks for all the info! I do have a problem with grasshoppers on my butterfly bushes but my garden is no where near those bushes. It could be deer, rabbits, or rats. I have a ton of deer and rabbits in my area so I'm sure rats are out there too. Due to my dogs (who are fenced) and the large number of stray/loose dogs I do not see many deer near the house but it is certainly possible that this is a night time invasion. I do not check my garden daily. I think I might start.

Thanks again for all the info.

 

[chickencoop789]

Pour soapy water on the plants...ants hate soap.

 

[HHandbasket]

I concur with other posts... make a solution of 1/2 to 1 teaspoon or so of preferably Ivory dish soap to 1 quart of water in a spray bottle. Spray your leaves lightly with this solution, being careful to avoid the centers of the flowers so as not to wash away any pollen. This helps deter them. Also, we use DE in our garden, as well.

Good luck, and I hope your plants continue to recover.

 

[StonyCreekCC]

Just a little update. I haven't put any DE or soapy water on my plants yet. I went out to water the garden the other day and noticed new leaves on all the bean plants. I'm thrilled they are still growing and producing without any intervention on my part. I will continue to monitor them.