Dave:

Could you give me any idea what insect could be preying on my pea plants. They are up about 5″ and where fine until just recently..The leaves are chewed badly on just about every one of the four rows of about 10′.. I live in Washington state in the Seattle-Tacoma area.

It could be a variety of things, have you noticed anything on the plants in the act or just the damage? It could be some kind of looper or cutworm. Loopers are a caterpillar that are mostly green with white stripes on their sides. They loop their backs as they move across the plants, hence the name “looper”. They usually chew characteristic holes in the leaves.

It could be a bean leaf beetle. They eat rounded holes through the leaf and chew the stems. This insect is probably the least likely to be the one affecting your peas as I doubt the adults are out yet.

It could be woolly bears, which chomp on the foliage.

It could even be garden slugs, which chew very large holes or even eat the whole leaf during the night. They are inactive during the day and usually hiding under debris.

So, I think the first thing that you need to do is get a better idea of what is lurking around your garden in order to narrow down what it is and how to stop it. What kind of damage are you seeing to your pea plants (i.e., small round holes in the leaves, entire leaves defoliated, chewing on the stems)? Do you see any larvae hiding underneath the leaves or on the sides of the stems? Do you see slugs hiding underneath potted plants or other debris in the garden? More clues will help narrow down better answers Let me know what you find.

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