Dalen Bird X Protective Mesh Netting - Keep Birds and Pests Away from Your Garden – Non Toxic - Made in The USA - 14' x 14'

Every year we have a 100 year old fig tree producing the best tasting figs i have ever tasted! i don't even eat or like figs, but these are so wonderful! And, every year, the squirrels attack in a coordinated rush right at the moment they are ripe and ready to pick! They must have some squirrel spies in our attic and let every other squirrel in the state of Texas knows that we are going out there to pick figs.My husband and I run towards the tree at the same time as the squirrels, legs pumping, sweating, arms reaching out, every muscle screaming in pain, just one fig!!But, always, the hordes of squirrels know our plan, and they descend, falling from other trees, jumping off roofs and telephone wires, pouring in waves over the back fence, teeth bared, tails bushed out, screeching their war cry, unstoppable and terrifying: FIG FRENZY!!!We don't give up, desperately inching our way across the yard towards the tree... my husband goes down! instantly, he disappears under a masses of angry fur and nutty breath...i know he's down, no fig for him, but i must press on, almost there! A rogue squirrel misses his mark, leaping from a flagpole across the street, he falls, hitting me on the shoulder, then clinging, shouting squirrel obscenities in my ear, sudden pain in my shoe, a squirrel is climbing onto my laces, chewing through them so i will trip. With one final lunge, I jump into the tree, scattering thousand of figs and squirrels, birds are now diving from the air! i reach out, and..my fingers close around a small piece of fruit as i fall. i land hard, awkwardly, on my hip, the squirrel on my shoulder screaming in alarm, pressed against my ear. suddenly, there is..nothing. All scatter, vanish, leaving behind broken branches, juice and fur. even the birds have fallen silent. I sit, leaning against the tree, catching my breath. my husband is still lying on the ground , uninjured, but angry that again, another year will have to pass before he can try again. i slowly open my hand, the fig glistening in the sunlight, bursting with juice, i close my eyes and breathe in the fresh, warm, lemony fragrance and open my eyes again as a sudden sound in my ear reminds me...i am not alone here under the tree. the squirrel, still on my shoulder, is also breathing in the juicy scent, his eyes also closed.. i realize he is very young, that must be why he attempted the ridiculous, almost suicidal leap across the street. suddenly, his eyes snap open, almost hypnotized by the fig in my hand, he was unaware for a moment of his danger. a sudden, smothered squeak of alarm escaped his mouth, along with a tiny bit of drool. we looked at each other. he was small and very grey, with pale shading into his tail. his eyes flickered inquisitively over my face. then, he suddenly sighed...it was the sigh... such an expression of longing, and disappointment and hope in it! I motioned my husband over, and carefully, he stiffly, crawled to where we were sitting. the squirrel looked alarmed, then at me, as though for protection. i felt a stab of motherly feeling, as though this tiny creature were a long lost child. then as we sat together, sheltered under the fig tree that had undoubtedly seen stranger sights in it's hundred years of life, I carefully divided the fig into three pieces, and we contentedly ate together in the morning sun....so we got this net, and it works great.

Netting worked well around my garden. Kept the deer out.

I purchased these in hopes of saving some of our fruit from the birds and squirrels, since we didn't get a single piece last year! And although they are light, they are fairly tough and did a great job of protecting against the birds, as well as a pretty darned good job of keeping the squirrels out, too. One or two still wiggled their way in and chomped a few pieces of fruit, but the majority were left on the tree to ripen. We gathered the corners and edges together and used zip ties to attach them to the lower branches and trunk, which I highly recommend. These don't come with any kind of ties. As others have said, they do snag easily and it took two of us to put them on using a ladder. The idea of putting a plastic drop sheet over the tree first, then slipping it off after you've spread the netting sounded like a good one, but we didn't have one on hand. When we were ready to harvest, we just ripped it off rather than trying to save them. I will definitely be buying more next year, though. They really worked well for us.

This is the only thing I have found that keeps squirrels from decimating my berries and figs. Also stops them from digging up my garden bed. Inexpensive, reusable. Love it.Con: the thing that makes it great - living things do not want to get tangled in it - makes it a hassle. I use really big sheets of it, and it will catch and tangle and be generally a mess to work with, especially when I take it off and fold it up. It will snag on the tinest bump in concrete and even on itself.If possible, find stakes that are taller than your plant. Post them around your plant or bed. Cap each stake with a solo cup or can or whatever. Then drape this over it. And tuck it in around the bottom. This will help to prevent the plant from getting caught in the netting. It also helps to prevent squirrels from sticking their grubby little hands through a hole and grabbing at your fruit. Ditto with dirty bird beaks.I was horrified at the thought that small animals would die in this stuff, but did NOT have that problem at all.

It is a net, and it does keep the birds off the trees as long as you secure the net 100% so that there are not any openings that birds can fly into. I had an opening at the bottom, and birds still got at my figs. Then the fun began after I left the net on for an entire season. The tree grew through the net, and when I tried to remove the net it was a big hassle. The same thing happened with my orange tree - the tree grew through the net and taking it off was a pain. So if you have the patience to get the net on the tree, connect all the pieces, and then make sure it is secure around the trunk, then it works great. If you are lazy, then you best bet may be to get a bb gun and just shoot the birds instead.

If you have ever struggled to cover an area with bird netting that comes on a roll, you need to try this. It doesn't tangle and it deploys easily. It seems to have a little more weight to it than other netting I've used so it unfolds fairly easily and stays in place. I used it to net one side of my house in which a small bird had taken an interest. It pecked at one spot continuously. There was no insect activity but I treated it with insecticide just in case. That didn't discourage the little vandal one bit. I shot it with a water pistol. It left but it came right back. The area of interest was nearly at the peak of a two story wall. I draped the 14'x14' sheet of netting over the edge of the roof and secured it to the trim with staples. We pulled the sheet down and secured it to the wall. The bird lost interest immediately and it hasn't been back. I think I should be able to remove the netting and refold it in case I need it again. Rolled netting is almost impossible to reuse. I gave 4 stars for durability because I haven't had it up long enough to judge how long it will last.