Runner bean outrage

[gwynleg]

So I was quite pleasantly surprised that my plot wasn't completely overrun with weeds as I haven't been up there for a while because of the rain. However just before coming away I looked at my runner beans and they have been eaten big time! It looks more like a bird has eaten and bitten off lots of each bean all the way over. It doesn't look like slug damage.

Does this sound right? More importantly do I need to cover my runners? I feel outraged - Ive never had to cover them before!! Or are there any good ideas for frightening birds away?
Thanks

[gwynleg]

[Beersmith]

Could well be birds. There was discussion recently about pigeons attacking young beetroot seedlings. I'd not experienced this before. Seems like they will try almost anything if food is short.

[TEL]

I have to net my beans as birds have had a go at them.

[galina]

Pigeons could well do this sort of damage.  I had sweetcorn damaged and wondered whether the pigeons did it.  More glittery and bangy things needed to protect them. 

[laurieuk]

Not knowing the area makes answering such queries very hard but id you have any rabbits in you are they love runner bean and sweetcorn. I had a young starter rabbit have a go at my beans once bot they did leave enough for the plants to break and get away. We  now have badgers which will  each almost anything  and what they do not eat will dig up to find worms  etc.

[cambourne7]

Has anyone else had problems?

[gwynleg]

Hi thanks for all the comments. I had a look around and no one else's runners have been attacked in same way, as far as I can see. There are bits of leaf around on the ground by the beans. I have a little similar damage to my mangetout and sweet pea plants. I've covered the beans which are still recoverable and am going to put some shiny and noisy things around as soon as I find something suitable!

I'm still going with birds ( pigeons or pheasants) as imagine a rabbit would have taken much bigger chomps of the plants rather than pieces.

It does seem that over time I'm having to cover most of my crops!

[TEL]

We have a lot of rooks around here & there to blame for the beans & a lot of other things.

[Borderers1951]

I've had the same.  I had three lots of pea seeds eaten by mice and pea seedlings have been stripped of their foliage.  The neighbouring plot-holder had his runners eaten.  This is going to be a bad year for peas and beans here so I have bought as many brassica seedlings as possible to try to compensate, planting under cloches with edges well dug into the ground and spiked with plastic forks.  So far so good.

[Tiny Clanger]

I've heard of sparrows being destructive and pecking, but not had the problem myself. Do squirrels cause damage? 

[woodypecks]

Yes, me too...again ! It's rabbits here...caught a couple of babies scarpering out under a gap in the chicken wire that surrounds my vegetable beds .. I have now secured it much tighter and also put chicken wire around the bottom of my bean wigwams  and as Laurieuk said hopefully some of them will recover and re-shoot out from the remaining nibbled leaf joints .
    Debbie 

[Vinlander]

I can't grow red runners here - some bee species cut into the nectar supply and destroy the flowers - but white ones have fooled them for the last 10 seasons - pink are OK too.

Maybe other pests are drawn by red flowers and make a note of where they are?

I prefer white beans anyway - we always have a few dried ones around (the second sowing of frenchies is way nicer than the last of the runner pods) - guests don't notice if you put huge white beans in a stew - but weird black mottled ones? That might trigger a WTF moment.

Cheers.