No, Bt is for caterpillars, not beetles. That's why I mentioned it for loopers above. It isn't a beetle control pesticide. Sorry for the confusion. Want organic or chemical control? Chemical control is Sevin (carbaryl). I use only the liquid, never the dust, of it and only as a very last resort as it also kills all the beneficials. Keep in mind that your leaves can tolerate a lot of damage before it affects any production. Organic controls linked below. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Organic bean beetle controls

I will second Civil84's observations regarding ants on yardlongs. The ants' presence on them is benign, unless the ants being attracted are carpenter ants (which can be destructive) or they are farming aphids. Something else is chewing the plants... beetles (Striped or Spotted Cucumber, Bean, or Colorado Potato) would be my first guess. Cucumber beetles are doing a number on my entire garden this year. All cowpeas (yardlongs are just a sub-species of cowpea) have pads on their flower stalks, one for each set of blossoms. These produce a substance that is very attractive to several types of insects; wasps, ladybugs - and ants. There is obviously some evolutionary reason for nectar production _outside_ the flower; perhaps for the symbiotic protective relationship with ants suggested by Civil, perhaps for some other organism in their native environment. The ants are certainly very protective of the plants. But on a side note, the wasps that feed there seem very docile; I have never been stung, even while harvesting. They appear to be intoxicated. Ladybug adults also feed from the pads, in large numbers. It has been mentioned on other threads how hard it is to keep ladybugs (especially released ones) within the garden. Providing them a good food source is helpful - I believe that the large population in my garden each year is due (at least in part) to the large numbers of yardlongs & cowpeas that I grow. So to make that long(bean) story short, don't be too hasty in pulling up your yardlongs. They keep many beneficial insects in the garden. In fact, try to plant them as early as possible, from transplants if necessary... they will not begin attracting ladybugs, for example, until they bloom. As for the eggplant... ants are not normally attracted to them, so I suspect that they are carrying aphids there. Inspect the leaf undersides; if you find aphids, refer to the thread below: Here is a link that might be useful: Holy Cow - It's a microscopic zoo!

MomesqNY, I am having the same problem. I just tore down all my pole beans today and have to replant. This has been going on for a month now. I had perfectly healthy plants and started noticing that entire poles were missing leaves (whole leaves chomped off). Sometimes just the top leaves and then the bottom leaves would be gone the next day or vice versa. The beans were left completely untouched and intact. I am certain it is an animal and think it may be a rat! I've seen a rat running along the fence on that side of the yard several times. I purchased a rat trap 2 weeks ago, but have yet to set it up. I think that is the only critter that is capable of climbing the poles without dragging the whole plant down. We also have squirrels, but I haven't seen them in that area during the daytime. It is definitely a nighttime creature! I checked for droppings but didn't see anything, but I am not ruling it out. Does this sound like it may be what's eating your leaves as well? I'd hate to admit that there are rats on my property, but I am at a loss as to what it could be. We also have skunks, raccoons, coyotes and opossums but they would be much too big to climb the bamboo tepees I set up!

Damage that severe - and that widespread - would most likely be deer or a woodchuck. Both will leave bare stems. If your fence is too high for deer to jump over (at least 6 feet high) then I would look for a hole under your fence. I am battling a woodchuck right now; in the past, live trapping has been effective. Which reminds me to go check my trap... I had to reset it yesterday when I caught a possum.