Type of netting for fall in NE over large pond

[mcgregorphoto]

Hi all. Fall is fast approaching and I need to decide on netting for my 18x36 pond in NY. We have lots of trees. I see they offer a $50ish light netting and a $250ish much heavier duty netting. My particular pond is an old pool so is rectangular and easy to stake, I am just worried about how heavy leaves will become with that much surface area? Is it worth spending the money on the better product if I am going to be dragging in huge amounts of leaves (the answer to that is almost always yes...)? Does anyone have experience with using netting for a big pond that lasts for multiple seasons? Is staking to the ground a realistic strategy? Also, do people net their bogs/streams?
Thanks!

 

[mrsclem]

Wow- thats big. I would suggest that whichever net you go with to have the stakes higher on one side so the net is angled down. It's a lot easier to remove leaves.

 

[Jhn]

Usually the cheap netting you end up getting one season out of it or at least I do, the more expensive netting which I used to use lasted me well over 5 years, which would be the equivalent of having to buy a cheap net every year.

 

[Tula]

You can place pipes or boards over the pond to keep the net from sagging into the pond from the weight of leaves. @mrsclem makes a good suggestion about angling the net making it easier to remove leaves....we like to blow them off.

My vote is for a better quality net, if you plan on using it for years t o come. Memphis Twine is a great company with excellent customer service.

 

[EricV]

Or you can support it from within the pond. I have a much smaller pond and for leaves it may not matter so much, but over the winter I want to keep the net from freezing into the ice. I make stands of PVC and put them into the pond to hold up the net in the center.

These stands are an "H" of PVC on the top and bottom and a 6 foot section in between. Top and bottom have a few holes drilled in them to let water in and air out.

 

[Lisak1]

I agree with all the suggestions and will add - if you have an open window between leaves falling and snow falling, get the net off the pond. We had our pond netted for the first time last year (I won't do it again) and the snow came early, the net full of leaves sagged into the pond, and there it stayed all winter - not very helpful. Then we had to drag that wet, heavy mess out of the pond in the spring. We don't have a lot of leaves though, so for us the net was more work than it was worth. If I had a lot of trees dropping leaves into the pond, I would figure out some kind of structure to hold the net taut and erect it over the pond.

The idea of tenting the net on your pond is a good one - you have the perfect pond to do it on, too. Catches the leaves but allows them to slide off the net and not create the heavy, wet, saggy issue that could otherwise develop.

 

[JoeyJoystick]

Usually the cheap netting you end up getting one season out of it or at least I do, the more expensive netting which I used to use lasted me well over 5 years, which would be the equivalent of having to buy a cheap net every year.

Plus, you do not need to store and/or clean it.

 

[AussieGardener]

Good morning everyone. Here in MD, this is the first week we had to get out of shorts, and go look for... trousers! Shocking!

Adding to the netting conversation, and grateful for the ideas here. I just looked up our local pond supplier's offerings, and their largest pre-made 'tent-like' offering is still about 6 ft too small for our situation. Pictures here : https://www.lilypons.com/easypro-pond-cover-tent.html

It occurs to me that I might be able to construct a custom 'tent' using perhaps ½" PVC pipe, and appropriate fittings to make junctions. I would probably leave most joints unglued in order to make for off-season compact storage. I will go rummage our local suppliers now to see what is available. My quick sketch would call for 4 way fittings if they existed (and they probably don't) so some creativity will be required. (maybe adjacent tee fittings as an alternative). Ditto for the choice of lightweight netting, although I think some of the light poly mesh that gardeners use may work well.

Perhaps some follow-up with pics when construction is complete. Cheers! - Grant.

 

[Tula]

We used electrical conduit , connecting two pieces to go over our pond and placed the ends in rebar we pounded into the ground. We spray painted the conduit black and the net was also black.

 

[GBBUDD]

With your yard i would steak in the left side between the pond and the yard raising up. tie a rope to the steaks probably 4 would do the job then throw the rope up into the tree's a good 20 feet off the ground. I tie a hammer to the rope or a smaller rope just to get over a branch by throwing the hammer up over the branch. tie the heavier rope to the light rope and pull it up into the tree and back down to the ground and that way you can wrap the rope around the tree. This will make a lean-to you can keep the leaves out and leaf blow them off the net and to the woods . when the leaves are done drop the ropes and pack it away no pvc or metal pipes to store all year

 

[poconojoe]

If you make a tent frame out of PVC pipe, I'd suggest using 1".
My first one was 1/2" and that wasn't strong enough. Some connections broke.
The next one was 3/4" and it wasn't much better. I still had breaks.

If you put it all together without any type of glue or fastener, it will definitely fall apart.
I screw a self tap (zippie) screw into each joint instead of gluing so it can all be dismantled.
Maybe the tiny screw hole contributed to the breakage? Maybe duct tape would be better?

I'm starting to consider using lumber instead of pvc pipe.

 

[Hound Heaven]

So far my popup frame is still standing. There is little or no wind resistance to it so it seems to not be susceptible to winds much. And the cheap netting is doing fine - the dogs reach under it to drink in the bog with no damage. We'll see how it works once the leaves REALLY start to fall, but so far I'm happy with it. Only captured 3 birds so far and they were all returned safely to their families.

 

[poconojoe]

So far my popup frame is still standing. There is little or no wind resistance to it so it seems to not be susceptible to winds much. And the cheap netting is doing fine - the dogs reach under it to drink in the bog with no damage. We'll see how it works once the leaves REALLY start to fall, but so far I'm happy with it. Only captured 3 birds so far and they were all returned safely to their families.

I thought about trying to obtain a few of those frames from pop up vender canopies.
Seems they would work very well, but I would probably need three of them to cover the pond and bog.

 

[Hound Heaven]

Well the good news is that they're really affordable now. Also - you probably know someone that wants to give theirs away

 

[LuvKoi]

Hi all. Fall is fast approaching and I need to decide on netting for my 18x36 pond in NY. We have lots of trees. I see they offer a $50ish light netting and a $250ish much heavier duty netting. My particular pond is an old pool so is rectangular and easy to stake, I am just worried about how heavy leaves will become with that much surface area? Is it worth spending the money on the better product if I am going to be dragging in huge amounts of leaves (the answer to that is almost always yes...)? Does anyone have experience with using netting for a big pond that lasts for multiple seasons? Is staking to the ground a realistic strategy? Also, do people net their bogs/streams?
Thanks!

Nice pond!! I tried netting for a few years and I definitely don't recommend it. Besides the difficulty of placing it around the pond, it was a total mess by Spring. I had to clean off snow throughout the winter to prevent sagging and several times it would just break all together. The expense and extra work isn't worth it. We also tried a 7 foot cover enclosure and that didn't last too long due to heavy winds and snow. We wasted so much money it was unbelievable. When I started thinking of more simpler options is when I found these plastic hexagon pieces on Amazon. I've used them now for 2 winters and wouldn't consider anything else. They come with little hooks for attaching to one another and I use fishing line to anchor them down at the corners of my pond. They can be arranged in different sizes and most importantly they don't sink. As to my bog filter, there's no need for a cover because my sweet flag flourishes throughout the cooler months providing the perfect amount of coverage.