Leafhoppers on runner beans

[Tyra Trevellyn]

My runner beans (about a dozen plants now about 6-8 ft. tall) are infested with leafhoppers and are fading fast, although they still have some blossoms. Is there an non-toxic solution to this at this late stage that anyone here has had luck with? Is there any point in disposing of the current vines and starting again, or will the pests once again prevail? (In my area, I have blooming/fruiting vines until mid-October, usually.)

Thanks.... Tyra nNJ usa z7b

[Pat Kiewicz]

It's probably too late to replant the runner beans. I would try to rescue the ones you do have. Give up only if the plants show gross signs of viral disease beyond the typical 'hopper burn.' (That is if new, hopper-free growth ends up being distorted and discolored.)

Spray the undersides of the leaves with a fairly good stream of water to knock off the crawlers. Spray them again with a combination of seaweed, soap, and hot peppers. (Hot pepper, I have found, repels the adult hoppers.)

Consider attempting to vacuum up the flying adult hoppers.

Use TOMATO RED sticky traps staked near plants for leafhoppers.

Added note:

My pole beans often fade in the hottest part of the summer (with mild hopper burn or in really dry summers some spider mite damage) and recover just fine with a bit of attention by mid-late August.

[Tyra Trevellyn]

Thanks, Pat....I shan't give up, then, and I'll try the remedies. (I've been doing the water/soap spray for a few days, btw, but the adults simply giggle and dance!) I've had beans with mild hopper burn, as you describe, in the past that went on to become heavily bearing vines. This is the fifth year at this location growing runner beans and the first where the leafhoppers have been so rampant. I wonder if it was that horribly cold wet spring......

Best, Tyra nNJ usa z7