Easy Gardener 14 x 45 Foot BirdBlock Netting

The $64 Tomato - Avoid Sacrificing Them to Wildlife

Every spring extra tomato and pepper plants are sacrificed to critters, whether intentional or accidental, and every spring there is always a question about what will survive greedy wildlife. There’s not much to be concerned about in my urban/suburban backyard – birds, occasional rabbits, possums, and of course the guileful squirrels. Covering my four-foot square garden with wildlife netting in the past never created a snug shelter and the netting was easily worked through and under. This year I tried something different using wildlife netting. 

Rather than rolling out Easy Gardener’s 14 x 45 foot BirdBlock Netting  and draping it over the garden, this year I cut small five and six-foot sections. Ten-inch tall tomato plants were placed in the garden and sheltered by large tomato cages that were immediately wrapped around the sides and over the top with netting.  Using the practical and versatile pinch-style wood clothespins I secured netting to the cage. Using a couple landscape staples I secured the nearly inconspicuous netting to the ground. 

Super hoops are the best inventions for gardeners!

The days have been windy, the birds have been plentiful, and the dogs have been curious. Oak leaves are scattered all over the garden thanks to howling wind. With all of these threats looming the plants remain untouched. The squirrel war victory, at least for a while, goes to me. They apparently don’t think working their way past the dogs and the netting is worth the effort. 


As the tomatoes and chiles grow I’ll drape the netting over them, along with dangling red-painted tennis balls on the cages. It certainly takes a lot of effort to grow our $64 tomatoes. 

Easy Gardener BirdBlock specs:

UV-resistant and holds up to Houston sun Polypropylene mesh (5/8” netting) Comes in 14’ x 45’ and 7’ x 20’ rolls Black netting Reusable

Suggestions for working with this

• Don’t unroll and cut on the ground, especially when littered with leaves and oak tree flowers
• Cut desired pieces in garage or non-windy location on a hard surface
• Get help from other people when draping large pieces over garden or fruiting trees
• Clip to traditional tomato cages or Gardener’s Supply Super Hoops
• If working with this on a windy day, remove jewelry, belt buckle and watch, this catches on everything

In place:

This netting is relatively unnoticeable. If placed around a large cage the small plant that it shelters doesn’t have contact with the mesh. If the cage is too small on windy days I could see the leaves catching on the mesh. I’m also using this to protect basil and germinating radish seeds. It won’t protect from insects or slugs, nor will it protect if a large animal tromps on the netting. My dogs aren’t interested in knocking over the cages; they just want to snack on the organic compost. The BirdBlock netting is reusable and can be removed and salvaged for a second year. 

The potential nightmare:

Hopefully the wily squirrel won’t gnaw through the netting and get into the cages (although if it does it might get caught and the dogs will then terrorize the garden while pursuing the frantic squirrel). When you raise a vegetable garden it’s always something but for the time being this BirdBlock netting has eliminated the need for sacrificial tomato plants.