Garden Netting and Bird Netting - Tips for Effective Garden Nets

Garden netting is one of those garden tools that we all wish we didn’t need, but is also one of the most effective means of garden pest control. There is a surprising number of products offered in the garden and bird netting area, and each has a slightly different target application ( pest if you will). Here are some buying tips if you are looking for garden netting, bird netting, or even deer netting for your garden.

One of the primary uses for garden netting is bird control. This is used not only for the vegetable garden, but is often the case for small fruit trees, or perennial bushes like blueberry bushes. There are a number of sizes of mesh to control birds, and the types of netting vary. The stronger nets are made of a multistranded mesh, and these will typically be more durable than the cheaper meshes. You can buy this in bulk and cut it to size, or for a little more convenience there are pre cut sheets. The netting needs to be anchored and supported far enough away from the crop being protected so that the birds or other critters can’t simply poke their beak or nose through the small opening and gather a feast.

Garden Netting $9.95 Store: Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co. Easy Gardener Weatherly Consum Ross Garden Netting 7 X 21 Feet - 15544 $17.27 Store: UnbeatableSale, Inc. Garden Netting $9.95 Store: Henry Fields Seed and Nursery Co. Garden Netting $12.95 Store: Gardens Alive! Bird Barricade Netting 14′ x14′ $29.95 Store: Yardiac.com Bird Netting, 14′ x 14′ $12.95 Store: Gardener’s Supply Company Bird-X NET-STD-100-14 - Netting Standard - 100 x 14 Feet $55.89 Store: UnbeatableSale, Inc. Bird Control: Loose Mesh Netting 14 ft x 100 ft $49.95 Store: MasterGardening.com Bird Netting, 28′ x 28′ $46.95 Store: Gardener’s Supply Company Dalen Products Bird Netting Black 7×20 Feet - BN-1 $16.64 Store: UnbeatableSale, Inc. Easy Gardener Weatherly Consum Ross Deer Netting Black 7 X 100 Feet - 15464 $28.84 Store: UnbeatableSale, Inc. Garden Zone Hex Netting 20gauge 11×48x25 - 174825 $37.04 Store: UnbeatableSale, Inc.

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One thing to keep in mind for bird control is that birds don’t just fly. It’s quite common for a bird to land and walk under a net that is draped over a small tree or tomato cage, in the gap between the net and the ground. Be sure to either stake the net to the ground or wrap it around the trunk of the tree and secure it.

For smaller pests netting can be effective as well. Keep in mind that the gnawing rodents like rats will not be slowed much by garden netting. But for smaller pests like rabbits or cats, netting can be very effective. Once again you need to make sure that the netting is anchored well to the ground, and can’t be crawled under. This can be done with stakes or even a handful of bricks set around the garden. If you are protecting a row in the garden, you may want to use a cloche like cover over the row, and the frame of that can help anchor the nets. Be sure to size the net mesh to match the pests.

Most garden nets are made of some polyethylene or similar plastic, but you can find metal nets, sometime covered in plastic. The metal nets are more like a fence, but will tend to last a lot longer than the simple plastic netting. If you are protecting permanent landscaping plants the wire may be a better choice.

Deer netting is a tougher problem, as deer can push down a lot of the smaller nets. Deer netting also need to be anchored more securely to keep the deer from simply knocking it down.