Cost of Pigeon Netting

Because of certain application considerations, the netting used to inhibit pigeon habitation in the buildings within an urban area is completely different to the netting used in gardens and farms. The difference primarily rests on the gauge and type of the net used. Essentially, the nets installed in farms and gardens have to be specifically designed to exclude other birds from being trapped, as these birds are also helpful in the farm. However, this consideration is not much of a big deal in an urban setting because majority (if not all) of the birds in the city are pestering pigeons.

Bird Netting for Agricultural Applications

Bird nets designed for crop, garden and pond protection are normally sold in pre-cut sizes. The length is usually fixed (about 100 metres) while the width may be 4, 6, 8 or 12 metres. In UK, the nets are typically sold with the following retailer prices:

1. General Purpose Use Bird Net (Economy) - Each linear meter of this type of bird net is sold at £2.00. You can quickly identify a general-purpose economy net by the size of its mesh (20x20 mm) and the type of material used to weave the net (extruded polyethylene).

2. Fruit Cages Anti Bird Net (Heavy-duty) - This net has a diamond mesh design sized 20 by 20 millimetres each. The material used in polyethylene and each linear metre costs £3.25.

3. Crop Protection Bird Net (Extra heavy-duty) - Primarily used to repel pets and other animals from damaging crops and fruits. This type of bird net is very durable and yet it is affordable at only £1.5 for each linear metre. The material used in extruded polyethylene and the size of each mesh is 16 by 16 millimetres.

4. Multi-purpose Pond Protection Net (Heavy-duty) - At £2.3 for each square metre, this type of net is already a very reliable form of protection for your vegetables and fruits from being damaged and eaten by birds like herons and pigeons. This net is also effective in collecting falling leaves, inhibiting these leaves from going into the pond. The material used is polyethylene with mesh sized at 19 by 19 millimetres. The price is £2.3 for each square metre.

5. All-around bird protection net (Heavy-duty) - Although these types of nets are sold for pigeon protection, buyers need to be aware that the most effective gauge size of the net should be around 50 millimetres in order to repel pigeons. At 76 by 76 millimetres, this net will not suffice. This net is cheap though, only £0.80 for each square metre. Nevertheless, it can be used as a good way to keep the snow from falling down the roof.

6. Pond Net (Heavy-duty) - This net is originally designed to secure ponds from dirt and other debris without restricting amphibians from passing through it. But because its mesh size is 45 by 45 millimetres, many people also use this net as pigeon netting. At £0.95/square metre, that is not really a bad idea. Material used for this net is polyethylene.

Bird Netting for Building-Proofing

Like what has been emphasized earlier, the netting used for garden/agricultural and urban application is different. One can immediately buy a pigeon netting kit where all the necessary tools and fittings for the installation of the netting are included. The kits are also cut in specific sizes. Instead of the kit, one can also choose to simply buy the net by square metre. However, it is still most advised for DIY enthusiasts to simply buy the kit so that they can install the netting on their own in their homes. It will be difficult to install the netting if you don't have the proper tools and buying the tools individually would be costly. If you hire someone else to install the netting, you will also spend on their service fee. Thus, buying the kit is the most practical approach.

However, if you are to protect an entire building, you might need to hire professional netting installation personnel. There are companies that offer netting services so you might want to check on their prices first before you buy your own net. It is up to you to assess which option will benefit you more. Here is a guide of what to expect with the netting used for urban applications:

1. Gull Net - This net is normally used to protect buildings from gulls, but in certain applications, it is also used to repel pigeons. Each 20 by 20 metre net costs at least £179. The mesh size of gull nets is 75 by 75 millimetres and the material used for the net is polyethylene.

2. Pigeon Net (Ordinary) - Primarily used for pigeon protection. At 50 by 50 millimetres per mesh size, this net is one of the most effective means to inhibit pigeons from habituating in building and houses. Each 20 by 20 metre net costs £183.82.

3. Flame-resistant Pigeon Net - This net is seriously more expensive than the previous one for an obvious reason, it is flame-resistant. At £237.04 per 20 by 20 metres, this net is still a good buy because of its feature. The net comes in two colors: black and red. This is the exact same net as above; the only difference is that it is coated with a flame retardant coating.

4. Starling Net (Ordinary) - Just like the gull net, this one is not really designed for pigeons but are still used for pigeon control. Each 20 by 20 metres of this net costs £357.98 and each mesh measures 28 by 29 millimetres.

5. Flame Resistant Starling Net - Technically the same with the starling net above, only made fancier by a flame retardant coating. Each 20 by 20 metres costs £566.

6. Sparrow net - Very similar to pigeon nets, with mesh size of 50 by 50 millimetres. The material used in polyethylene and costs £566 per 20 by 20 metres. Many people prefer this net because of its known durability.

I've just added another post entitled "Pigeon Netting Maintenance" which contains a lot of useful info regarding the installation of nylon nets and many other important aspects that the average homeowners should know when considering this method of keeping pigeons and different other pest birds away.