Whats eating my runner bean flowers?

[tiggy]

I have no flowers at all on my scarlet runners, the few that appeared vanished as soon as they shewed a bit of red.something also ate all the tops off and some miserable sinner pulled up a whole plant! Prime suspects are a gang of sparrows which busy themselves around the place, the blackbirds probably did the uprooting but what can I do? has this happened to anybody else? Help!

[pumpy]

don't know about that one. we're surrounded by bird's,deer,etc. couldn't be rabbits,maybe?

[MINESAPINT]

I have noticed a lot of the flowers have disappeared but assume this is a normal occurence, stress of weather etc although I have also noticed some half inch long runner beans just starting to form. Heres hoping.

[snapdragon]

my previous culprits on the flower eating have been earwigs, but am having such a time with slugs just now that many of my plants never get to flowering

[Odsox]

Yes, I would agree that earwigs would be the prime suspect ... I really suffer from them.
I wish I knew how to control them other than upside down tins filled with hay. That works but doesn't seem to make any impression on their numbers.

If it's birds, I think you would see bits of flower scattered all around and would be obvious.

[horneteer]

It's the gang of sparrows.

I've got exactly the same problem and have watched them do it.

I've netted the plants now and hope that they will recover. So far the 10 beans that I have, have worked out more costly than buying them in M & S!

[tiggy]

Horneteer you got them bang to rights! the local sparrows aka "the spanners" are an evil gang of avian hooligans. I now feed them in a tree in the front yard in order to distract them from my space and plants.In the 11 years we lived here we concentrated on habitat provision rather than gardening, now we need to alter the balance a bit without losing our birds. I have been working on bird scarers but they just laugh.Net time beckons I think .Moving the seed feeders has shifted their main area of operation.They were never scared of the cat. I admit I miss the closeup view of their less antisocial behavior but I would like some beans.

[horneteer]

The nets are doing their stuff and there are now lots of new flowers and lots of frustrated sparrows

I've just picked the 10 beans and will have them for dinner later :lick

[horneteer]

Some pics of my beans. The sparrows now leave them alone, even though the plants have escaped the net.

[Shirley]

Looking good Horneteer!

[tiggy]

Oh horneteer you are now the cause of runner bean envy. Total beans so far for us , 2 and they are only tiny but safe under their net.Next year we hope for better things but have been eating our good friends surplus beans which just makes me even more keen to try again next year.