[Dawnte]

The Good News is....that I've eaten my first runner beans and courgettes of the season! YUMMY!

The Bad News is....the runner bean plants seem to be growing their own blackfly colonies...   I spray them with soapy water which I think helps (it would be much easier to tell if the b***dy things would fall off!) but obviously it's not sorting all of them out.  Any recommendations?

[Paul Plots]

I've given my runners a couple of blasts with the soapy water spray - as you say it's hard to tell if it's worked or not 

So...... next best thing is as I hold the watering can in one hand dribbling it on the beans I wipe the black-fly plastered stems between my finger and thumb with my other hand  Gritty!!    but it removes them dead or alive...

Just another few miles of stems to do and I will have beaten them 

I also gently squash any leaves where I spot the dread bf - it doesn't seem to harm the leaves and sure gives the bf a head-ache!! 

[Dawnte]

EEEEW! 

I get the feeling I'm going to have to do that myself.   (will let you know if I manage without gagging. )