Something is shredding my pole beans and zucchini

Question: Garden is generally doing very well. Chard, beets, kale planted end of April is best ever. Same w tomatoes (in ground mid-June). 
Broccoli transplants (early June) good, but something is chewing holes in leaves, not too bad. I have been using spray of dish soap and Neem daily in hopes of contolling Swede  Midges. Is this practical?
Zucchini and pole beans - seeds planted 2nd week of June. Both sprouted very fast. One hill of squash is perfect, w strong seed leaves. Other hill is damaged, discolored (see image).
Pole beans (about 6 varieties): One section of garden shows some damage, generally very clean, seed leaves and regular leaves growing well. Other section  - something is eating them practically stem and all - leaves eaten right down to stem - many fewer plants sprouting (see images). 
Important point: This year, garden mostly thickly covered with straw. As noted, this seems OK despite wet weather. Very thick over the bean row at the end of garden not doing as well. 
I looked for snails - there are some, but not enough to account for severity of damage. What could be causing sever damage to beans and squash. Also  - could excessively wet soil at end of garden more thickly covered be causing some/many seeds to rot in ground? As noted, other end with mostly same conditions is doing well.
Is snail bait (iron sulphate) a good idea, even though not seeing a great many snails?

responder: Cheers,Ricky, UVM Extension Master Gardener Volunteerwww.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardenerWe do not intend to endorse any products we mention or criticize products we do not mention. When we include a link to a resource that recommends a chemical, it is for informational purposes only; the chemicals may not be registered for use in Vermont. Replied June 29, 2023, 8:56 AM EDT
response: Good Morning Ed,I'm glad to hear that you're meeting with some success!I reached out to Ann Hazelrigg, the director of the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at UVM, and here is her advice:Yes, could be slugs, snails or perhaps earwigs (they typically strip leaves except for the veins..) I would go out with a flashlight at night to see if there are slugs/snails. We have certainly had the right weather and he is using a mulch that would make everything wetter. Yes, using something organic like Sluggo or Escargot may be helpful. Also there are other controls he could employ to reduce habitat. see below.https://extension.umd.edu/resource/slugs-and-snails-flowersYes, heavy mulch and rain can definitely lead to damping off of seedlings, seeds and root rots. Reseed when weather is drier and pull the mulch away until the seeds are up and thriving and weather is warmer and drier.Hope this helps!

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 29, 2023, 5:13 PM EDT
response: Ricky -  Thanks for the prompt reply. I found a few snails and just a few earwigs. I sprinkled Sluggo Iron phosphate snail bait around the beans and squash after pulling the straw back a reasonable distance. I replanted some of the beans and squash. Should I sprinkle a little fertilizer like Pro Gro to make up for nutrients leached away by all the rain? My nitrogen intensive plants such as kale are doing well. What is a food-safe effective control for earwigs? Thanks again! Ed Loewenton.    On 2023-06-29 08:56, Ask Extension wrote:

responder: Cheers,Ricky, UVM Extension Master Gardener Volunteerwww.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardenerWe do not intend to endorse any products we mention or criticize products we do not mention. When we include a link to a resource that recommends a chemical, it is for informational purposes only; the chemicals may not be registered for use in Vermont. Replied June 30, 2023, 5:23 PM EDT
response: Hello Ed,That sounds like a good start! I wouldn't worry about adding more fertility since leaching should have been fairly minimal from the recent rain events. In fact, if there was leaching from that, you definitely wouldn't want to add more fertilizer because that would just leach away as well! As for the earwigs, our friends over at the University of Minnesota have a great resource all about them! https://extension.umn.edu/nuisance-insects/earwigs Hope this helps!