digdirt, Are you perhaps thinking about the squash bug? Epilachna borealis -- which goes by two different common names: squash beetle and Mexican bean beetle -- *is* in the family Coccinellidae, just as are the beneficial lady beetles. But continuing the classification, Mexican bean beetles (aka squash beetles) are in the Epilachninae while the beneficial ladies are in the Coccinellini.

It was a cabbage looper moth! I found a tiny cabbage looper on a melon leaf last week, so they're obviously around. Not too much damage yet, but I'm on heightened alert now.

Well, this is actually more common than you think, so don't feel silly or like you have somehow "failed". You just have to figure out what is eating your green beans and then deal with that particular pest or pests. And, remember that, depending on your age, your grandparents MAY HAVE BEEN more prone to use chemical pesticides than many of us use nowadays. If you are in the Oklahoma City area, could I correctly assume that your yard, or at least the garden, is fenced in and that cottontail rabbits are NOT a problem for you? Because, here in southern OK in a rural area, rabbits are my biggest green bean pest. If your garden is not fenced in with wire fencing small enough to keep rabbits and voles from getting the beans, they could be the culprits. It most likely is insects and there are many that like to nibble on bean plants. Later on, after you get your bean plants established and they are producing beans, there will be a whole different batch of bugs that like to eat beans. Understand that, if you have a vegetable garden, you will ALWAYS have insects, bugs and other pests who want to eat your veggies and there are no quick fixes. ORGANIC VS. NON-ORGANIC OPTIONS: I don't know if you are gardening organically, using only natural pest control methods, or if you garden non-organically and don't mind using chemicals. So, I'll try to address the pest issue both ways, but I am mostly organic myself and am not necessarily current on the names of the mostly recently developed and marketed chemical pesticides. IDENTIFYING THE PEST: CUT WORMS: If your beans are being cut off at the ground level, it could be cutworms. Here in the south, we have two kinds of cut worms. One of them cuts off the plants at or just below ground level and the other can climb as high as an inch or so and cut off the plants. Both cut off the plants by working their way all around the stem. You can thwart them by sticking a twig, toothpick, ice cream stick, bamboo shish kabob skewers (I break them in half since they are so tall) or something similar into the ground RIGHT NEXT to the bean plant stem that comes up out of the ground. I use two...one on either side, and have them extend at least an inch into the soil. ROLY POLY BUGS AND SNAILS AND SLUGS: Check your soil, mulch, etc. for pill bugs or sow bugs. They are one of the pests in my garden that used to give me lots of trouble and they love, love, love green bean plants. If you have a lot of pill bugs and sow bugs (roly-poly bugs), they often are the culprit doing the destruction, especially this early in the season. There are several ways to combat them. I've mentioned snails and slugs here because they eat lots of plants too, although I seldom see them here in southern OK. They may be more plentiful in other parts of the state, and the baits I mention for sow and pill bugs kill snails and slugs as well. My favorite is an organic snail and slug bait that has iron phosphate as the main ingredient. It is sold under several different names, including Slug-Go!, Escar-Go!, Organic Snail and Slug Killer, etc. It is NOT the commonly sold chemical snail and slug killer that has metaldahyde as its' active ingredient. Metaldahyde is a very dangerous chemical and I would never use it, especially since I have pets, as it is very toxic to pets. Please note that the organic, iron-phosphate products are NOT labeled for us on pill bugs and sow bugs, only snails and slugs. However, organic users who use these iron phosphate products have known for a long time that they not only control snails and slugs, but sow bugs and pill bugs as well. I have used it for several years with great success. It is my understanging that the makers of Slug-Go! have a new Slug-Go Plus on the market that is labeled for use on pill and sow bugs, but I haven't seen it yet, haven't used it, and don't know what changes they have made to the original product. You also can keep pill bugs and sow bugs off of plants by surrounding each plant with a small ring of any of the following: bone meal, colloidal phosphate, wood ashes or diatomaceous earth. Or, you can scatter/dust any of the following on the soil around the green bean plants: cedar flakes, hot pepper, or natural diatomaceous earth (with no added ingredients). MISCELLANEOUS CHEWING INSECTS: There are a variety of other medium to large-sized insects that could be eating your plants. Are you seeing any insects in and around the garden? There are to be some sort of clues. For example, if you are seeing grasshoppers around the yard or garden, they might be the culprit. (If so, Nolo Bait is the best treatment for them.) In general, though, you can dust the plants with natural diatomaceous earth and that usually helps with many types of pests. NON-ORGANIC CONTROLS: If I had something eating my plants and wasn't able to diagnose just what it was, and using a chemical control was an option, I'd probably go with something that has relatively low toxicity to humans, like Sevin Dust. You just shake it onto your plants. Be sure to read and follow all label directions. Hope this info helps. And, for what it is worth, the first planting of my green beans usually has the worst problems. I think it is because there are not a lot of other green plants to chew on early in spring. Later plantings have less trouble in the earliest stages, but more trouble with bean beetles and other pests. Dawn

Pest control is sometimes inevitable when we have fruits, flowers and other plants. However, proper storage also plays a crucial part in keeping those pests away. Find out from friends who own similar plantations or research in online forums and blogs on how you can prevent pests from getting onto your plants. There are proper storage methods like plastic sheets, the correct temperature, material of the storage pots and many more that can be considered for a change. Pests are part of nature and we will always encounter them when we are planting, but if there are ways and methods to prevent or at least mitigate their problem, then we should follow strictly. It saves time and effort and also costs.