Beans, Peas, Bunnies, Oh My!!

You should replant. If you can find where they live, I chased mine (groundhogs) away (and skunks one year) with a wash out water of the cat box :) No one likes THAT smell.

I've had groundhog and bunny problems before, they will seriously dine on any plants and groundhogs generally just eat the flower/leaves and leave the stem. I asked one of my friends who is a Master Gardener and she gave me two options ~

1. have my son urinate on the dirt around the plants because apparently that will keep all sorts of critters away.

Unfortunately, my son was not interested in this idea. At. All.

2. Spray the plants with a mixture of chili pepper spice and water.

This one I did try. I bought a cheap bottle of dried chili peppers and a spray bottle. It doesn't hurt the plants at all and it did seem to keep the groundhogs and bunnies from nibbling on them.

Good luck with your gardening! :)

You can also try sprinkling baby powder about a foot or so wide around your garden - have heard they don't like that either and it has worked for me in the past. Just reapply after rain or watering.

Pea greens are yummy, so it doesn't surprise me. Thank goodness crows, raccoons, and squirrels (our garden pests) aren't into peas.

Although they might live, it's unlikely your leaveless plants will prosper. And it's probably too late to start peas, which tend to thrive in cooler weather.

Replanting beans (which sprout sooo fast) should be fine. But you do need to figure out a way to keep out pests. They make bird netting (lightweight plastic netting) you could drape over the plants.

Slugs.
Get Slug pellets from the garden store.
Slugs come around especially when it is rainy.
And they are voracious and eat anything.
Do you see snail trails around? Ya know, the slime trail?

Your plants may very well recover.
Let it be and see if new leaves come out.

Bunnies... would have eaten the entire plant.
We have a pet rabbit. They eat the entire, plant. Stems and all.
So to me, it was not a bunny that ate your plant.
And simply look around for animal prints or poop droppings in the dirt. If you see any, then you can tell if it was a rabbit etc.

Human hair. Does anyone in your house need a hair cut. Sprinkle hair trimmings around your plants and they bunnies won't go near them. Oh and bunnies will just eat the leaves off plants. We have a whole nest (is it a nest) of rabbits a couple houses down and I have seen them eating in my garden from the kitchen window.

Fence and start over. That is what I am having to do. Bunnies ate my entire garden.

You can plant marigolds around the perimeter - bunnies don't like them. You can also buy fox urine spray on line or in major garden centers - it's all natural. Foxes are predators and most small animals will avoid areas sprayed (just spray around the perimeter and not on the plants). The problem is you have to keep respraying after it rains. If there are no leaves on your bean plants, I think you're probably done! I doubt they can recover but you could add new ones and leave the old ones in just to see what happens - if everything lives, then thin out a little later. I think you really need to look at some fencing in the areas where it will fit, or at least some netting that is almost invisible to the eye but still protective. Also, the rain brings out the slugs and they'll ruin everything. So put out slug traps (on line you can find how-to instructions I think using beer) or put ground up egg shells around the plants. The calcium goes into the soil, and the sharp edges of the shells deter the slugs. Welcome to gardening!