Bird netting over a fruit tree only works if the birds cannot find a gap — and if you can still reach the fruit and let the pollinators in. Here is how to net a tree so it protects the crop without becoming a tangled mess.
A tree netted badly is worse than a tree not netted at all: it protects the branches but lets the birds in underneath, and it tangles every time you try to pick. Get the mesh, the method and the anchoring right the first time and the same net protects the tree season after season.
For fruit trees, a knitted HDPE bird net is the right material — it will not fray when you trim it to size, and it has enough give to settle over a canopy without tearing. The mesh size depends on the birds you are stopping: 19–25 mm is the working range for most orchard birds, small enough to keep out starlings and blackbirds but large enough to let bees through. Our mesh size guide matches the hole to the bird, and the GSM guide covers the weight for the job.
There are two honest methods, and which you use depends on the tree and how long the net stays up. The drape method throws the net over the canopy and gathers it at the trunk — fast and cheap, best for a few home trees and short seasons. The frame (cage) method holds the net up on poles or a light frame so it sits off the fruit — more work, but the right call for high-value crops and for whole orchards, because the net never touches the fruit and picking is easier.
Wait until after pollination, then spread the net and lift it over the canopy with two people. Let it settle evenly over the crown, then pull the edges down to the trunk and gather them around the trunk, clipping or tying the net closed so there is no gap at ground level. The trick is the bottom seal — most birds get in not through the top but under a loose skirt. Leave a little slack so the net moves with the branches in wind instead of tearing.
Set light posts or hoops at the drip line so the net sits 20–30 cm clear of the fruit — a bird cannot peck through a net held off the crop the way it can through netting pressed against it. Run the net over the frame and fasten it at the base, again sealing the bottom edge to the ground with pegs or a hemmed skirt. The frame costs more up front, but you can walk underneath to pick, prune and spray, and the same frame lasts for years.
The bottom edge is where bird netting fails, so anchor it properly: gather it at the trunk and clip it, or peg a hemmed skirt to the ground every 50 cm. Where two widths of net meet, overlap by at least 15 cm and tie the seam — a butt-joined seam opens into a doorway the moment the wind lifts it. And because bird net is knitted, you can cut and rejoin it freely; just never leave a cut edge loose at the ground where a bird can lift it.
Net after the fruit has set and just before it begins to colour — before that, the birds are not interested, and netting earlier only blocks the pollinators your crop needs. Take the net off as soon as you have harvested, while the tree is pruned and dormant, and store it dry. A net left up all winter fills with leaves and snow, sags, and tears under the extra weight, cutting seasons off its life.
Either drape the net over the canopy and gather it at the trunk, or hold it up on a light frame so it sits off the fruit. Seal the bottom edge tightly — most birds get in under a loose skirt, not through the top.
For a few home trees, no — draping works. For high-value fruit and orchards, a frame is worth it: the net stays off the crop, birds cannot peck through it, and you can walk underneath to pick and prune.
After the fruit has set and just before it starts to colour. Netting earlier blocks the pollinators; netting later lets the birds take the first ripe fruit.
Gather the net around the trunk and clip it, or peg a hemmed skirt to the ground every 50 cm. Overlap any net-to-net join by at least 15 cm and tie it — a butt seam opens into a gap in the wind.
Net before the fruit colours, seal the bottom edge tight at the trunk or ground, and leave no gap a bird can reach — the net only works if it is sealed. Tell us your trees and bird problem and we will spec the mesh and width.