Netting and fencing

As much as we love sharing our gardens with birds and other wildlife, we don’t want them eating all our crops. Fences, cages, netting and exclusion bags can help to boost your harvest, writes JENNIFER STACKHOUSE

As soon as you grow something, there’s something around that wants to eat it. Possums nibble new shoots, birds steal seeds, and wallabies eat just about everything they can find. And, of course, once any kind of fruit begins to ripen, it’s a free-for-all.

While it’s good to share your produce, sometimes you need to take measures to protect plants if you want to enjoy the rewards you deserve from your garden. There are countless remedies touted to protect plants against attacks from pests such as possums, ranging from installing motion-sensitive lights to hanging CDs in the branches of trees. Although some home remedies may help initially, none of them works full-time or for very long. Usually the animal is too bold or too hungry to worry about our little tricks.

Effective protection against marauding feathered and furry pests comes down to making sure you have secure barriers. These are usually in the form of fences or nets, and can be permanent or temporary, depending on the pests, your resources and the size of the problem.

fencing

If you’re creating a garden in a rural or semi-rural area, you can expect it to be targeted by local wildlife, so you need a good fence to garden in these areas. If you’re starting a garden from scratch, consider installing an animal-proof boundary fence, either around the entire property or at least around the garden area or orchard. Use one designed to keep out rabbits, hares, wallabies, kangaroos and even pesky possums. Deer are becoming increasingly problematic in many areas, too, making high, sturdy fencing a must.

To exclude all unwanted animals and stop them jumping over, a fence needs to be at least 1.8m high. Ideally, it should be made of wire mesh so they can’t slip through. You can also add floppy wire to the top of the fence to make it difficult for possums to climb. This is simply a length of chicken wire, 90cm wide, crimped to the outside of the fence and arched away from the garden. The mesh can be supported by a frame of high-tensile wire or poly pipe to help maintain its floppiness. Avoid using barbed wire, as it can snag and injure bats, gliders and even small insects such as dung beetles.

Wire mesh also needs to extend under the ground to stop burrowing animals, such as rabbits, digging their way into the garden. Keep the fence line clear of bushy growth, climbers and trees that can help animals access the garden.

fruit cages

Another option is to take a cue from the history books and build a fruit cage to protect your crops. In gardens that have a small orchard area or fruit patch, growing fruiting plants inside a purpose-built cage provides easy protection against pests such as birds, bats and possums. It should be

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE

Floppy wire attached to the top of a fence and supported by flexible poly pipe is an effective way to protect plants from wildlife; a netting frame doesn’t have to be fancy to work well, and using fine mesh helps to keep out insects, too; possums are always on the lookout for something in the garden to nibble.

high enough for you to stand in, and to allow for the growth of the tallest plants. To make a cage around a group of orchard plants, build a wooden or metal structure and use small-gauge wire for the walls and roof. You will need to add a door for easy access, but make sure it’s a snug fit or it could also give small fruit-eaters access. If appearance is an issue, paint the cage black so it recedes into the background.

Make sure the gauge of wire used is small enough to exclude tiny birds, such as silvereyes, which can also damage fruit. Instead of wire, it’s also possible to use an appropriate bird netting. In hot climates, shadecloth can be used for the sides of the cage, although it may reduce pollination.

Keep tall fruiting plants, such as cherry trees, pruned within the confines of the cage. Another option is to use fruit trees that are grafted onto dwarfing rootstock to create an orchard of compact trees that can be more easily and cheaply enclosed.

Where soft fruits such as raspberries, blackberries or currants need protection, it’s tempting to build a low structure, but it’s important to make the cage high enough to allow for ease of harvest, or at least give it a removable cover.

safe netting

If you have only one or two fruit trees, the cheapest way to protect your crops is to net the trees just before the fruit starts to ripen. You can either swathe the tree in a net or stretch one over a temporary framework that you remove after harvest. Netting offers better protection when it’s stretched taut over a frame because the net is above the branches, and it’s safer for the wildlife you are trying to exclude. To make a temporary frame, secure metal stakes in the ground, then attach lengths of poly pipe and bend them over the tree.

Unfortunately, birds and bats will still attempt to get through netting, and can become entangled and die. Reptiles can get caught up in netting that pools on the ground, too. To reduce unintended damage to wildlife, use bird- or bat-safe netting, don’t allow any loose netting to lie on the ground, and check the netting regularly to make sure there are no creatures caught in the net or trapped inside.

Bird- and bat-safe netting is woven, not knitted, and white, not black, so it’s clearly visible. It should have a mesh size of 5mm2 or smaller at full stretch – anything over this size can entangle birds and bats. Since the introduction of new legislation in Victoria, residents throughout the state can be fined for using, selling or advertising unsuitable netting that endangers wildlife.

An easy way to check the safety of your netting is to see if you can poke your fingers through it. If you can, the mesh size is too large. Fine mesh measuring 2mm2 also protects fruit trees against some insect pests, including codling moth and fruit fly.

Place the net over the tree and secure it around the trunk to avoid trapping reptiles at ground level. Some netting systems include a detachable panel or door to allow access to the fruit without removing the entire net. Remove the net as soon as the crop has been harvested.

A safe alternative to netting the entire tree is to enclose individual pieces of fruit or fruit clusters in bags or re-usable fruit cages. These work well for bananas but can also be used for soft fruits such as peaches, grapes and tomatoes.

Net covers or wire baskets, such as wastepaper baskets, are also useful for protecting small or potted plants against possums. As possums are nocturnal, the covering can be put in place overnight and removed in the morning.