I feel your pain as I had problems with my pole beans getting dug up and/or eaten this season.

I don't see why you cannot start beans inside. I started Lima beans inside (early) last year because we had such a cold spring. I grew them in newspaper pots so that I wouldn't have to disturb the roots when I planted them.

Beans can do very well started as transplants, I start quite a few that way every year. In fact, I started all of my beans indoors this year, due to an extended period of wet weather in June. They were transplanted over the July 4th weekend, and have nearly reached the top of their 6' trellis.

Normally, I start pole beans as transplants, since with their higher yield, you get more bang for the buck. No reason you couldn't start bush beans the same way, though, if there are problems with direct seeding - it just might take more of them, to get a decent yield. A tray of Jiffy 32's, with 2 seeds per pot, would give you up to 64 plants, depending upon germination.

Have you noticed any crows or other large birds around? They will pull the seedlings out of the ground and eat the seed hulls. I always stretched a long piece of string the length of the bean row and about 6 inches above ground to keep the birds out.