6 Best Exclusion Nettings For Almond Trees That Old Farmers Swear By

You spend all year pruning, watering, and watching your almond trees, only to see the neighborhood squirrels and starlings treat your orchard like an all-you-can-eat buffet the week before harvest. It’s a heartbreaking and frustratingly common story for anyone growing nuts. The simple truth is, if you want to guarantee you’ll be the one eating your almonds, you need to physically block the pests from getting to them.

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Why Veteran Growers Net Their Almond Orchards

Protecting your harvest is the most obvious reason to net, but it’s not just about the nuts you see. Birds pecking at unripe almonds cause damage that can introduce disease, and squirrels will strip a young tree bare, stunting its growth for the next season. A good net isn’t just a barrier; it’s an insurance policy for the health of your trees and the future of your crop.

Many growers think of netting as a one-trick pony for pest control, but it serves other purposes. A properly installed net can provide a surprising amount of protection against light hail, preventing bruised fruit and damaged leaves. For younger trees, it can also act as a windbreak, reducing the stress on new branches and preventing breakage during a summer squall.

The real question isn’t if you should net, but when it becomes cost-effective. For a hobbyist with just a few trees, the investment can feel steep. But consider this: losing 50-75% of your crop in a single weekend to a flock of birds is a real possibility. The cost of a quality, multi-season net is often paid back in the very first year you don’t lose your harvest.

Agfabric ProGuard: Top Choice for Durability

When you need a reliable workhorse that will last more than one or two seasons, Agfabric ProGuard is the one many old-timers grab. It’s made from a UV-stabilized, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that doesn’t get brittle and crack after a year in the sun. This is the kind of net you can fold up in the fall and trust will be ready to go again next summer.

The key to the ProGuard’s success is its balance. The weave is tough enough to make squirrels think twice about chewing through it, yet it’s not so monstrously heavy that you need a whole crew to drape it over a couple of semi-dwarf trees. Its 3/4-inch mesh is a solid middle ground—it stops the most common fruit-stealing birds without significantly impeding air and sunlight, which is crucial for nut development.

Dalton & Sons Orchard Shield for Large Canopies

As your almond trees mature, their canopies spread out, and dealing with multiple small nets becomes a tangled nightmare. This is where Dalton & Sons Orchard Shield shines. It’s typically sold in much wider and longer rolls, designed specifically to cover a large, established tree with a single piece. Fewer seams mean fewer potential entry points for clever birds.

This netting is often a bit stiffer than others, which is a feature, not a bug. The rigidity helps it lay over the top of the canopy instead of sagging down onto the branches. When a net sags, birds can still land on it and peck the nuts right through the mesh. The Orchard Shield’s structure helps maintain a crucial gap between the net and the nuts, making it a far more effective barrier.

Vivosun Heavy-Duty Net for Squirrel Protection

If birds are a nuisance, squirrels are a declaration of war. They are relentless, destructive, and will chew through flimsy bird netting like it’s tissue paper. When you’re facing a serious squirrel problem, you need to escalate your defenses, and the Vivosun Heavy-Duty net is that escalation.

This netting is noticeably thicker and more robust than standard bird netting. The knotted construction makes it incredibly difficult for a squirrel to get its teeth around a single strand to start chewing. The tradeoff is clear: it’s heavier, more expensive, and a bit more difficult to handle. But if you’ve lost an entire crop to squirrels before, you know that paying more for a net they can’t defeat is the only sensible option. It’s cheaper than replacing a shredded net and a lost harvest every single year.

Tenax C-Flex: A Lightweight, Easy-to-Handle Net

Not everyone is fighting a squirrel army or managing massive trees. For younger almond trees or for growers who need something easy to put on and take off by themselves, Tenax C-Flex is a fantastic choice. It’s exceptionally lightweight and pliable, which means you can pull it over a tree without snagging every other branch.

The primary advantage here is ease of use. You can easily cut it with standard scissors, and securing it at the base of the trunk is a simple task. However, you must be realistic about its limitations. This is a bird net, not a rodent net. A determined squirrel or raccoon will tear through it without much effort. If your main goal is stopping starlings and jays, it’s perfect; if you have four-legged thieves, you need to look elsewhere.

Gardeneer Bird-X: Best Diamond Mesh Design

One of the biggest frustrations with netting is how it catches on every leaf, twig, and bud as you try to drape it. Gardeneer Bird-X uses a diamond-shaped mesh pattern that significantly reduces this problem. Unlike a rigid square mesh, the diamond pattern has a natural flexibility that allows it to slide over obstructions more easily.

This design makes the installation process faster and less likely to damage the delicate fruiting spurs on your almond branches. The 3/4-inch mesh is a well-tested standard, effective against most common bird sizes. It’s a great all-around option for someone who values a hassle-free application and reliable bird protection without needing the heavy-duty specs for rodent defense.

Farm-Tek AviGard for Commercial-Grade Coverage

If you have a small orchard of a dozen or more trees, you’re past the point of buying small packages of netting from the garden center. Farm-Tek’s AviGard is a commercial-grade product that brings professional durability to the serious hobby farmer. This is the "buy it once, use it for a decade" solution.

AviGard is sold in very large rolls, which might seem like overkill, but the economics work out. Buying one large roll and cutting what you need is often cheaper per square foot than buying multiple smaller nets. More importantly, the quality is a step above. It’s a premium, knotted net designed to withstand years of sun, wind, and handling. It’s a significant upfront investment, but it’s the last net you’ll likely need to buy for a very long time.

Choosing Your Netting: Mesh Size and Material

The two most important factors in your decision are mesh size and material. Don’t just grab the first roll you see. Think about what you’re trying to accomplish.

• Mesh Size: The size of the holes determines what you keep out. A 1-inch mesh is fine for large birds but won’t stop smaller finches. A 3/4-inch mesh is a good all-purpose size for most birds. A 1/2-inch mesh or smaller will stop almost everything, but it can also block pollinators if put on too early and significantly reduce airflow, which can be a problem in humid climates.
• Material: Most netting is either extruded polypropylene or knitted polyethylene. Extruded netting is cheaper but can become brittle in the sun. Knitted polyethylene (HDPE) is far superior; it’s stronger, more flexible, and almost always UV-treated for a much longer lifespan.

Finally, a crucial piece of advice: always buy more than you think you need. A net stretched tautly over a tree is easy for a bird to press against and peck through. You need enough material to drape completely over the tree and reach the ground, with plenty of slack. The goal is to create a sealed tent around your tree that you can secure at the trunk, leaving no gaps for clever pests to exploit.

Ultimately, the best netting is the one that solves your specific problem, whether it’s lightweight bird control or a heavy-duty squirrel blockade. Investing in the right physical barrier is the single most effective step you can take to ensure your hard work ends up on your table, not in a starling’s nest. Choose wisely, install it completely, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a protected harvest.