What Is Netting Put Over Hedges?

Bird Netting

• If you have a fruiting hedge of blueberries or other small fruits, then you may want to use netting to protect those fruits from birds. Such netting is available in a number of materials, including cotton, nylon and plastic-coated wire. Many kinds of birds, including some small species, go after ripening fruit. So select netting with holes no larger than 3/4 inch. Because a fruiting hedge requires netting only when its fruits are close to the ripe stage, heavy support poles are not usually needed. Netting simply can be draped over the hedge and weighted down at regular intervals so it will not be dislodged or blown away.

Deer Netting

• The best way to keep deer away from a hedge is to install a 7-foot-tall permanent deer fence, which can be made of heavy plastic or wire mesh affixed to metal supports driven into the ground. Sometimes, however, a temporary deer barrier is needed either because weather does not permit the installation of a permanent fence or an existing fence was damaged or destroyed. In such cases, heavy, black, plastic mesh -- the same type used for a permanent deer fence -- can be draped over the hedge and secured with weights or staples.

Alternatives

• Sometimes netting is impractical and other deterrents may work better. Numerous commercial products can be sprayed on hedge shrubs to make them smell or taste unappealing to deer and other browsing animals. Such a product should be reapplied after a rainstorm. Also, flash tape or holographic ribbons tied at intervals to hedges may confuse birds and distract them from eating hedges' ripe fruit. Motion-activated devices that emit a sound or spray water also can scare off unwanted birds and/or other animals, but they may not be suitable for protecting hedges in high-traffic areas.

Considerations

• Because hedges are important landscape features, netting used on them should be as unobtrusive as possible. That goal is easier with fruiting hedges than other varieties because their netting is in place for only a few weeks. Gardeners considering placing netting over hedges should assess how much damage the plants probably will sustain from birds and/or other animals. Occasional browsing by deer may not merit the time and trouble it takes to apply netting while loss of an entire blueberry crop may make netting a blueberry hedge a wise investment.