FAQ: What is eating the leaves of my snap beans?

"Something is eating the leaves of my snap beans and chewing holes in the beans. What is responsible for this?"

A likely culprit is the aptly named Mexican Bean Beetle. These beetles eat the underside of the leaf, leaving an intact surface which dies and gives the leaves a distinctive lacy appearance. Both the adults (which are orangey-brown with black spots) and the cream colored larvae do the damage.

Japanese beetles can attack beans, as well. They chew holes all the way through the leaf, ultimately leaving only the vein structure behind. Control is the same for Mexican Bean Beetles and Japanese Beetles.

WHAT TO DO:
Growing fast maturing varieties sown in spring and fall may help you evade the pest, as they are most active in summer.

FAQ: My azaleas' leaves are pale. What's wrong?

That's the handiwork of the Azalea Lace Bug. If you look on the underside of a leaf, you may see the adult of the culprit species, a 1/8" long insect with transparent wings marked with a lacy pattern in a grayish brown. The suck sap from the leaf, causing light stipple marks, and a heavy infestation will pretty much suck the color out of the leaves. If you don't see an adult, you're sure to see lots of diagnostic black dots which are either cast of skins of the larvae or excrement deposits. Evergreen azaleas are their main target, although they will attack deciduous types, too. Azaleas planted in sunny sites are victimized much more than those in shade.

HOW TO CONTROL:
Control consists of using repeated foliar sprays containing acephate, horticultural oil, a pyrethoid like bifenthrin or cyfluthrin, imidacloprid, or disulfoton. (Don't get scared by all that jargon!) The last two have a systemic action, which means they're absorbed by the leaves into the plant's system to give longer protection. Pesticide containers always list the active poison on the front label, so look there for any of these chemicals alone or in combination.

Spraying should begin in early spring when the overwintered eggs start hatching (around the first week of April is a good rule of thumb for Middle Tennessee), followed by another application about 10 days later, and then once a month or so to catch any interlopers that come in on the breeze.