6 Best Tarp Clips for Greenhouses
Protect your greenhouse investment from harsh weather. This guide reviews the 6 best tarp clips with a powerful grip to keep coverings secure in winter storms.
That first winter storm is a real test for any greenhouse, and nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing your carefully stretched plastic shredded by a 50-mph gust. The failure point is almost never the plastic itself; it’s the fasteners holding it down. Choosing the right tarp clip isn’t just about convenience—it’s about protecting your structure, your plants, and your investment through the harshest weather.
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EasyKlip Tarp Clip for Maximum Holding Power
When a grommet rips out at a critical corner, you need a solution that grips harder under pressure. The EasyKlip is designed for exactly that. Its patented wedge design means the more the wind pulls on the plastic, the tighter the clip’s jaws clamp down, providing up to 220 pounds of holding power.
This isn’t your everyday, all-purpose clip. Think of it as an emergency repair tool or a permanent upgrade for high-stress points. Use it to anchor corners, secure the leading edge of a roll-up side, or re-attach plastic where a tear has started. Its strength is its defining feature.
The tradeoff is bulk and cost. You wouldn’t use these every foot along your baseboard; they’re too expensive and cumbersome for that. But for the two or three spots on your greenhouse that take the brunt of the storm, the EasyKlip provides unmatched security and peace of mind.
Holdon Midi Clip: Ideal for Heavy-Duty Sheeting
The Holdon Midi Clip is built for substance. If you’re working with heavy 6-mil (or thicker) woven greenhouse plastic, this clip provides the broad, secure grip you need without creating a single puncture point. It uses a simple but effective sleeve-and-wedge system that locks onto thick material with incredible force.
Its primary advantage is how it distributes stress. Instead of pinching a small point, it grabs a larger surface area, drastically reducing the risk of tearing your expensive, heavy-duty sheeting. This makes it perfect for securing the main cover of a larger hoophouse or high tunnel, especially along the edges that will be tensioned.
Be aware that these clips are designed for a tight, semi-permanent fit. They can be difficult to release, especially in the cold, so they aren’t ideal for applications requiring frequent adjustment, like temporary frost blankets. Use them where you need to set it and forget it for the season.
TEKTON Tarp Clips: A Reliable All-Weather Choice
Think of the TEKTON Tarp Clip as the reliable workhorse of your greenhouse fastening system. It’s a general-purpose clip, typically featuring a screw-tight mechanism or a heavy-duty spring, that offers a great balance of holding power, ease of use, and affordability. They are usually made from durable, UV-stabilized nylon that won’t get brittle in the sun or cold.
These are the clips you use for the long, straight runs of your greenhouse. They are perfect for securing plastic to hip boards and baseboards, holding shade cloth in place during the summer, or fastening interior partition walls. Their adjustable tension lets you get the right amount of grip without over-stressing the plastic.
While dependable for general use, they don’t have the "bite" of a locking-wedge clip like the EasyKlip. In a truly violent windstorm, a sustained force on a single TEKTON clip could cause it to slip. Their strength lies in numbers; using them every 18-24 inches creates a formidable defense against average weather conditions.
Tarpco Grabbers for Extreme Wind Resistance
Some greenhouses are just in windy spots—on a hill, in an open field, with no windbreak. Tarpco Grabbers are engineered for this specific challenge. Their unique circular jaw design grips the material and is shaped to resist fluttering, which is the primary cause of tears in high winds.
The Grabber’s design is clever. Instead of just pinching the plastic, it creates a small, reinforced knob of material that is incredibly difficult to pull free. This makes it exceptionally good at resisting the constant lifting and pulling forces of sustained gusts. They are a strategic choice for the windward side of your greenhouse.
The key to using them effectively is placement. Because they create such a secure anchor point, you need to use enough of them to distribute the load evenly. If you only use a few, you risk creating isolated stress points. For a 20-foot wall facing the prevailing wind, you’d want to place them closer together than you would other clips.
Kotap All-Purpose Clip for Versatile Greenhouse Use
The Kotap clip is the definition of a multi-tool. It’s typically a simple, lightweight alligator-style clip with sharp teeth that’s quick to attach and easy to remove. It doesn’t have the brute strength of its heavy-duty cousins, but its value is in its versatility and low cost.
This is your go-to clip for secondary tasks inside and outside the greenhouse. Use it to clip a frost blanket over sensitive plants on a cold night, hold bird netting over your berry patch, or temporarily fasten a piece of shade cloth over a door. They are light enough that they won’t damage delicate materials.
Do not rely on these clips to hold your main greenhouse cover through a winter storm. They lack a positive locking mechanism and can be popped open by a strong, sudden gust. Think of them as helping hands and temporary fasteners, not as primary structural components.
Grip Tite Clip‘s Unique Positive Locking Mechanism
The defining feature of the Grip Tite is its positive lock. Unlike tension-based clips that grip tighter as they’re pulled, this one locks shut and stays that way, regardless of tension. A sliding sleeve snaps into place, creating a fixed, non-slip grip that will not loosen over time.
This makes it the perfect choice for applications where consistent tension is critical. Use it to secure the bottom edge of roll-up sides or to anchor greenhouse doors. Once you set the tension on the plastic, the Grip Tite ensures it stays exactly where you put it, without any sag or creep.
The only real drawback is that the locking mechanism can be stiff, requiring a good squeeze to engage and disengage. This can be a minor annoyance when you’re trying to make quick adjustments with cold, wet hands. But for a secure, locked-in hold, it’s one of the best options available.
Tarp Ball Bungees: A Flexible Fastening Option
A common mistake is to fasten greenhouse plastic rigidly to the frame. Wind is a dynamic force, and a rigid system puts immense stress on the clips and the plastic itself. Tarp ball bungees introduce critical shock absorption into that system.
By looping a bungee through a grommet or a clip’s eyelet, you allow the plastic to flex and move a few inches with each gust. This dissipates the wind’s energy instead of fighting it directly, dramatically reducing the strain on any single point. It’s the difference between a tree branch that bends and one that snaps.
Bungees are not a replacement for good clips; they are a partner to them. The clip provides the grip on the plastic, and the bungee provides the connection to the frame. Remember to inspect them each year, as UV exposure will eventually degrade the elastic.
Snap Clamps for Securing Plastic to PVC Frames
Secure your greenhouse film, netting, or row covers easily with this 32-piece set of durable PVC clamps. Designed for 1/2 inch PVC pipe, these reusable clips offer a strong, rust-resistant hold for various applications.
If your greenhouse frame is made from PVC pipe, then snap clamps are not just an option—they are the correct solution. These simple C-shaped clamps are designed to snap directly over your greenhouse plastic and onto the pipe, providing a continuous, secure hold along the entire length of the pipe.
Their major advantage is the elimination of point loads. Instead of having stress concentrated every 18 inches at a clip, the force is distributed evenly along the whole clamp. This is by far the gentlest and most secure way to attach a cover to a PVC frame, virtually eliminating the risk of tears along the bows or base.
The critical factor is sizing. You must buy the snap clamp that exactly matches the diameter of your PVC pipe (e.g., 1-inch clamps for 1-inch pipe). A clamp that’s too large won’t hold, and one that’s too small will either not fit or will over-stress the plastic. They are a specialized tool, but for their specific job, they are unbeatable.
Ultimately, the most resilient greenhouse doesn’t rely on a single type of clip. It uses a thoughtfully combined system: locking clips at the corners, snap clamps on the PVC ribs, and general-purpose clips along the baseboards, all connected with flexible bungees. Thinking about your fasteners this way—as an integrated system designed to bend, not break—is the key to walking out to a safe and sound greenhouse after the storm passes.
