There the two main factors to consider in your decision:

•  Shade Factor
•  Aesthetics

The shade factor becomes more important in nets of tighter weave (smaller holes). For bird-net, it is not significant, and other factors like aesthetics become more dominant. Generally, black net will provide heavier shade or cut out more light than white net will. White net can bounce light around underneath due to its higher reflective nature.

Aesthetics become important when you live in suburbia, or when your nets will be visible to you or your neighbours on a regular basis. Black net tends to merge into the vegetation better, and will be less visible. White nets stand out; and while some people like this, others definitely do not.

Both black and white nets are covered by the 10 year pro-rata UV warranty.

Covering structures will be discussed in the next question.
Covering individual trees can be done in two ways:

• Simply thrown over the tree, and fastened around the trunk or to the ground. You will need more net for this as you cannot stretch it tightly; and you may also damage the net when you remove it as the branches will begin to grow through. Birds can also sit on the branches and peck fruit through the netting; and birds, snakes and other small creatures can become trapped and injured in the loose net. On the other hand, it is quickly installed, and easily moved. This method is not recommended except for finely-woven and very temporary nets.
• Stretch the net over a supporting structure built over the tree. Structures can vary widely and be built of whatever is to hand: timber, poly-pipe, metal rod, posts and wire, etc. The important thing to remember is to keep the structure as smooth as possible, as wind movement will rub holes in your net and cause it to tear. Post tops can be covered with smooth plastic, with plastic containers, and star-pickets can support smooth poly-pipe fitted over them. The other factor to remember is how you are going to stretch the net, and fix it to the ground. Weights or tent-pegs are the most common methods. Keep the net tight if possible so as to reduce the chance of birds, snakes and other small creatures becoming trapped and / or injured.

Our 5m x 5m pre-packed bird-nets will generally cover a small tree (ie 1.5m) in this way.

Methods of fixing net vary as much as the structures themselves.
Here are a few suggestions:

• Lacing Rope: you will find this in the catalogue.
• Clip-lock can be attached to your structure or posts, and the cloth clipped into this by the zig-zag section fitting inside the outer rim (you can find clip-lock in the catalogue); clip-lock is most useful for shade-cloth.
• NetPro has a number of clips which have been designed for attaching hail-net or shadecloth to wires and cables.
• Cable Ties - if you are unable to obtain UV stabilised ties, the ordinary ones will still generally last for a season or two.
• Thread wire along the edge of the net, and fix this wire to your structure or the ground.

It cannot be categorically stated that canopy netting protects against frost - it can be used with other frost-mitigation tools; but many other factors come into play, including the local topography, daytime temperatures, and the type of net used. In home-garden situations, any shade-cloth or net thrown over plants seems to protect them from frost to a degree. This works best by trapping warm air from day-time, and by preventing frost from settling on the foliage of the plant.

Nets exclude insects and other pests to varying degrees; for example, fruit fly netting was designed to exclude fruit fly, and it does this very effectively. Other net types will have some success also, with commercial clients noting a reduction in spraying regimes. For insect exclusion, home gardeners will need to be careful on how well-secured the net is and how often they access the contents. However, nothing beats good garden hygiene practices, and these can be used in conjunction with nets to provide an effective solution without sprays.

Because of the way bees see and navigate, they will not generally fly through a net, and pollination results will reflect this reduced activity. Openings or sides can be left open for bees to enter during the pollination stages; birds and beneficial insect predators can also be given access in this way. Some plants are self-pollinating; and others can be hand-pollinated. Alternatively, in larger home garden and orchard canopies, hives can be placed inside the canopy structure during pollination stages - this has been done during DPI trials to good effect.

Different nets have different shading properties. This depends not only on the density of the net, but also on its colour - be it black, white, grey or red etc.

Nets can also create a small micro-climate, provide protection from wind and excessive heat, and reduce water loss by transpiration and evaporation. More information on these effects can be found in our "Solve Your Problem" section, under Climate Extremes and under Environmental Modification.