That's of the worst infestations of the Black Bean Aphid that I have ever had the pleasure to see. It doesn't get that bad overnight.

I understand totally about not wanting to use pestides. But that means being extra diligent about keeping a close eye on your crops, ready to prevent a few pests from becoming a hoard!

You might want to aquaint yourself with the common garden pests AND beneficials, as well as control measures accepted by organic gardeners.

Yes, out of control aphids can kill plants. Those black things are not eggs but live, actively feeding aphids.

Thanks for the info. My garden is filled with ladybugs and other beneficials and I hate to use insecticides. I've really had no problem with bugs this year -- until now. The plants looks healthy and happy so far, expect for the few pods covered by these bad boys.... Ugh.

If the aphids are contained to a small area, you can get in there with a fairly strong stream of water from the hose to dislodge a few million. According to the picture, the aphids are all over the leaves and stems, too.

The use of strong sprays of water....along with some good hand squishing techniques....can really put a dent in the aphid problem. And make no mistake, unless you help the beneficials in this particular battle, the aphids may win.

Organic gardening doesn't simply mean "no pesticides "; it's a lot of work. As we learn how to take better care of the soil as well as apply the best gardening practices we can learn, our gardens can evolve into balanced environments that are easIER to maintain.

Thanks again for the information on aphids. This is the first year I've actually seen this kind of aphid attack and also my first experience with southern peas. Early on, I thought what I was seeing was some form of pollen on the pea pods. Fortunately the infestation is limited to one fairly small area.

I'm slowly learning about pests and the challenges of organic gardening. This spring, I was religious about taking a bucket of soapy water out every morning to drown cucumber beetles, which were a problem last year. As a result, I had a beautiful cucumber crop.

This year my lesson is don't plant sweet potatoes and Seminole pumpkin too close together.... and watch for aphids! :)

Here's a video of my garden, if you're interested. Hate to say it's become something of a jungle in the past few weeks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Video walk through my garden

OUCH! I use (and I'm a fan of keeping food) sevin dust at the bottom of the plants every 4 weeks. I've not seen ONE aphid this year so far. I've lost hundreds of crowder peas to aphids over the years trying to stay organic. Now I just push the plants back and dust the ground when before they start to vine. I'm harvesting the last of the field peas for seed this week. (I hate to save them for seed, I dearly love crowder peas but I DO have to have seed for next year)

I get them occasionally and just remove and destroy the pea
The ones I have are moved around by ants and are more prevelent in the red noodle asparagus bean

In order for something to show up and eat these, they have to be there, so this is the hard part. You've got the aphids, the dinner bell has been wrung. Hopefully hungry predators that dine on these will be along soon. With new plants and pests, it can take a few seasons to get a balance established.