black flys on me beans

[billy]

Help!!!!!! ive just found lots of small black flys on my broad beans whats the best thing to kill them off with? will they eat the beans if you leave them? not sure i want to use any chemicals on them as i intend on eating the beans. thanks

[Muddypause]

Yeah, ya gotta deal with them. Broad beans seem particularly susceptible to black aphids. They attack the soft growing tip, and will stunt the plant.

Some say pinch out the affected growing tips, but you need some flowering heads present before you do this, or you won't get any beans. Some use a spray of detergent and water (you can actually get horticultural soap for this, but the more traditional way is to use simple washing up liquid), but last year I had limited sucess with this. You could also try simply blasting them off with a hose.

Other than that, I fear it is some sort of chemical. Derris is probably the stuff, if I've learned anything from this forum.

[flower]

how many blackfly?

they usually start to appear on the tops of the plants first. If they have not yet overtaken you may have time to pinch off the tops (burn them now they're infested) and spray the plants with a soap soluton for good measure.

for future reference, next year pinch the tops out as soon as the lowest flowers set. Then you can stirfry the bits you've pinched off or check out hugh fearnley wots-his-face sites for a 'beantop tart' recipe.

In my (very recent ) experience, once they start moving down the plant you're pretty much doomed.

[Andy Hamilton]

I have managed to keep them at bay despite moving down the plant. I just kept on spraying with washing up liquid. Also watch out for ants 'farming' the aphids for their poo. It's true thats what they do well sort of, funny old world.

If you see ants with the aphids then put a dollop of jam down the ants will go for the jam instead of farming them and then will attack the aphids incase they nick the jam. (that's my favorite bit of advice).