Not only the beans, but some of the first leaves of squash plants had been eaten.  This is clearly bug damage, but what bug?   I replanted the beans twice, hoping that whatever it was would have come and gone.  Then I was talking to a friend and he suggested earwigs. Earwigs come out at night so of course, I would not see them during the day.  Putting lime around the most desirable plants was one solution, but I had a bag of diatomaceous earth.

Diatomaceous earth is the fossilized remains of diatoms, a hard shelled algae.  It is mostly silica and although the diatoms are microscopic they are very sharp and cut crawling insects apart, killing them. It feels just like very fine lime to the human touch.

I sprinkled it all around the beans and squash.  Now I don’t know whether the earwigs have gone, or whether I have killed them.  Either way my beans are finally starting to grow.  I love green beans. And wax beans.  And summer squash. Has any one else had trouble with earwigs?