Many gardeners love to grow beans. However, in some cases, you may find that your bean crop has been eaten down by insects. The discovery of bugs chomping on your plants can often be a hassle. Learning what natural solutions you have for your pests is a great way to reduce the risk of resorting to strong pesticides and chemicals. Green beans are so deliciously addictive that your family and friends will devour them with gusto. That is, until the bugs get a taste! Then they want to kill the nasty villains who ruined their food. No worries though, we’ve got some natural ways to mend your garden’s bounty.

Natural Pest Control For Green Beans

Aphids on Green Beans

Aphids are soft-bodied insects that suck the sap from green beans. They like young succulent plants, so if you have aphids on your bean plants, it’s a good idea to check the undersides of any leaves for them. Aphids can be green, pale green, brownish green, red or yellow and they have pear-shaped bodies with long antennae coming out of their heads. If you see one or two aphids on your bean plant and don’t want to use pesticides, try spraying them with water from a garden hose or spray bottle every few days until they disappear.

If an infestation is too large for this method to control—or if there are many different types of bugs on your beans—consider using neem oil as an organic pesticide instead (it will kill other insects in addition to aphids).

Flea Beetles

Flea beetles are common pests of green beans. They are very small, about 1/8-inch long, yellowish-brown and have a black head and legs. Flea beetles feed on the undersides of leaves by eating small round holes in them. Damage from flea beetles can be very severe if not controlled early; therefore, it is important to treat as soon as you see signs of infestation (tiny black specks).

Flea beetle damage is often found on young plants with newly formed leaves or they may be found feeding on the flower buds during mid-season when the flowers start to form on your plants. After mating with other fleas, females lay eggs in clusters near plant stems or in soil crevices where they will overwinter until spring sprays begin again when you put them back into your garden after winter storage!

Bean Weevils

Bean weevils are tiny black beetles that attack the leaves of bean plants. They’re difficult to spot and can be found under leaves and within the pods, eating away at beans. The best way to control bean weevil infestations is by using crop rotation with other plant families that are not susceptible to these pests.

Crop rotation is especially effective if you have a large garden or farm because it prevents any one crop from being planted in the same place year after year, which allows other plants time to recover and defuse pest populations naturally. Crop rotation also helps prevent diseases caused by soil-borne fungi and bacteria from spreading, since they don’t survive over winter in one area like insects do; instead they must move into new fields every season so as not to die out completely due to lack of food sources during colder weather months.

Thrips

Thrips are tiny insects that look like slivers of rice. They suck the juice out of plants, causing silvery patches and sometimes twisted leaves. You can control them with insecticidal soap.

Bean Leaf Beetles

Bean leaf beetles are small yellow beetles that can be a problem for beans, especially in the south. They will feed on the leaves and even bore through pods to get to the beans inside, but the biggest problem is the damage they do to the pods. These pests will chew holes in them and leave them looking like lace, making it difficult for you to harvest all your beans at once.

If you have an infestation of bean leaf beetles, there are several things you can do about it:

• Pick off any damaged pods as soon as possible so they don’t spread disease or attract other insects/pests
• Spray with insecticides if necessary

You can control pests without using chemicals.

Using a homemade spray will help control the pests without harming the plants or pollinators. You can make a spray with 1/2 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of dish soap and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Mix together in a spray bottle and use it to lightly coat all areas of your crop.