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Do ants eat broad bean leaves

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  • 06-06-2014 6:10pm
    #1
    zagmund
    Registered Users Posts: 2,501 ✭✭✭


    I've noticed a lot of ants crawling around on my broadbeans. I've also noticed a couple of holes being eaten in the middle of them - see photo. I didn't notice any other critters in the vicinity of the beans.

    First - do ants do this sort of damage?
    Second - what can I do to stop them?

    I'm reasonably sure it's not slugs as I check every night and while the slugs hang out near other plants they don't even come close to these.

    Out of maybe 30 plants, I would say 4 or 5 are impacted like this, so whatever it is doesn't seem to be spreading too much. I'm curious as to whether it might be the ants as I've never noticed anything like this before.

    Note from the photos that some of the holes appear in the middle of the leaf - it's not necessarily something chomping the way in from the edges.

    z


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    #2
    Grindley
    Registered Users Posts: 52 ✭✭Grindley


    I've grown broad beans for the last three years- and find them incredibly resilient. They are occasionally nibbled by 'whatever' but it doesn't seem to be a problem /bother them. I'm no expert but I believe that the biggest worry is the wind - make sure the plants are well supported. G


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