Something is eating holes in my green beans

I noticed today that something has eaten little holes in the leaves of my green beans and radishes. What do you suggest? This is my first year as a SFG'er and I have learned so much already! Advice is appreciated. Thank you.

little holes are most likely beetles. I have read several things to try to get rid of them. Last year I used a trap. My experience is the same as what I have read in many places - it attracts them to your yard in greater numbers than the ones that will be killed by the trap.

I have included 2 web addresses here - this first one is the source of the info below, which I love!! The other one also gives very helpful info, but it's a little less dramatic!

http://flying-insects.suite101.com/article.cfm/control_japanese_beetles
Deal With the Problem Early in the Season


Emerging in the middle of June in many areas, Japanese beetles send
out advanced scouts to pick the best feeding grounds. They scent mark
good locations and other beetles interpret this as an invitation to move
in. You can turn their heavy reliance on scent against them, though.
Here's how.
Kill the first Japanese beetles you see in your garden. It's
important that you catch them early, so keep watch for them,
particularly around the second week in June. Fill a bucket with water to
which you've added a quarter cup of dish soap, and dump the dead
beetles into it. Set it in your garden in an area where you've had bad
infestations before, or select a spot that gets good airflow.
In doing this, you are effectively warning new beetles, both scouts
and beetles following scent markers, that this is a poor feeding ground.
Leave the bucket in place for at least a couple of weeks. Don't worry
about attracting mosquitoes. The soap will keep mosquitoes from laying
eggs in the water.
Read more at Suite101: Control
Japanese Beetles Naturally: Rid Your Garden of This Flying Insect Using
Natural Pest Control http://flying-insects.suite101.com/article.cfm/control_japanese_beetles#ixzz0nCiMTgsL



http://www.life123.com/home-garden/gardening-tips/garden-pests/controlling-japanese-beetles-in-your-organic-veget.shtml

Mine look like swiss cheese, and they're rapidly doing the same to the tomatillos! I think it's cucumber beetles and I've been patrolling with a bowl of soapy water and drowning the little suckers! My books say that interplanting marigolds, fragrant tansy and/or catnip deters them. Last year we put some marigolds in there and this didn't happen, but I didn't realize they were helping so much! Someone told me to do it so I did My book also says you can trap them with yellow cards hung above the plants covered in a non-drying glue, and attach cotton balls soaked in allspice, clove or bay oil. They contain a pheromone that attracts the female. I haven't tried that, but I just might!

Two possibilities come to mind. Slugs or bean beetles.

for beetles I found this on gardenweb.com: Try looking under the leaves at the hotter part of the day, between noon and about 2:00. Look for something that looks similar to a ladybug. If you find them, knock them off into a shotglass half full of water and a squirt of dishsoap. Try to get as many as you can over the course of a few days.

For slugs I don't know. My beans have been eaten as fast as I could plant them and although the telltale slime is on the leaves I have not caught them red-handed. I have tried all sorts of trick but none worked. Today I guiltily broke down and bought some slug meal poison and scattered that after fencing off the bed to keep dog and other critters out for their safety.

I've read that copper shocks slugs so they won't cross it, and supposedly bowls of beer will trap them, but thankfully I haven't had to find out first-hand.

Darn it, I saw some black beetles with red stripes as well as the yellow ones with black stripes! I think I need to invest in some floating row covers...

what I found fascinating about the info I posted was the part about leaving a container of dead beetles out near the garden, and it is supposed to deter other beetles. I am quite sure I will have them soon - I had them last year - and I will be trying this!

Thank you all so much! It sounds like dish soap is the way to go. I will report back and let you know how it works. Tomorrow I will read the links you provided and attack! Thanks again. Oh, and I do have marigolds around my boxes.

I'm not sure that just planting them around the boxes works. We planted them right in the boxes with the plants. This year we planted borage and basil in the tomatoes, but I didn't do anything for my poor ravaged beans

Mii-I should have been a bit more clear. I have marigolds planted along the perimeter of the inside of my boxes with the plants and a few in the inside squares. Perhaps my green beans need another marigold.

Or you have persistent beetles In the interest of overkill, I'm going to plant catnip and marigolds! *giggle* There's something satisfying about knocking those little suckers into the soapy water, and I'm not violent by nature!

Glad I have a few catnip and marigold starts sprouting! I will have to remember to get my castille soap out, when the time comes. So far I have seen only one caterpillar, one spider, lots of tiny insects I don't know how to describe, a multitude of ants... and, sadly, only one bee.

That reminds me, I wanted to post about something I saw in a catalog about mason bees! Thank you for the reminder

Something hit my new beans in the last day or so. I'm sure it's not slugs. I looked the plants over and couldn't see any beetles, they are small so there's no place for them to hide. The only thing I saw was a few of the tiny ants. Would they do this? Here are a few pictures:


The plants-



A close up of one of them-



The prime suspect-


Any ideas? Are the ants the cause?

Be careful what kind of dish soap you use - many can burn the leaves of your plants. I prefer the original Ivory as it is very gentle - and it is soap, not detergent. Best wishes with those bugs!!

I don't think ants do that kind of damage, but I could be wrong! I'll be curious to see what someone 'in the know' has to say about it.