The short version: Cover a crop before its pest turns up: brassicas at planting, fruit once it has set. Use white netting with holes no bigger than 5 mm by 5 mm at full stretch, the legal limit in Victoria and the ACT, pulled taut over a frame. Fruit fly needs finer mesh, about 2 mm, held clear of the fruit. Check nets daily; if an animal is tangled, leave it in the net and call a wildlife rescue group.
The peaches are blushing, the strawberries are colouring, and the birds have noticed too.
A net or a bag stops the damage early, but the wrong net kills wildlife.
Which mesh stops which pest
| Pest | What keeps it out |
|---|---|
| Birds, flying-foxes, possums, rats | Wildlife-safe netting, 5 mm by 5 mm or smaller at full stretch, taut and sealed |
| Cabbage white butterfly | Wildlife-safe netting over a frame, fitted at planting |
| Diamondback moth | Insect mesh its maker rates for diamondback moth |
| Fruit fly | Insect mesh of about 2 mm, or closed fruit bags, kept off the fruit |
A Queensland orchard trial controlled fruit fly in stone fruit with 2 mm mesh. Do the finger test: if a fingertip pushes through, animals can tangle. Choose white, which animals see more easily at night, in strands at least 0.5 mm thick.
Where wildlife-safe netting is the law
- Victoria, since 1 September 2021: netting over household fruit trees, vegetable gardens or other fruiting plants, including on frames, must have a mesh of 5 mm by 5 mm or less at full stretch, and fines apply. See Agriculture Victoria's Harvest Without Harm netting guide.
- The ACT, since 29 March 2024: netting with holes larger than 5 mm by 5 mm when fully stretched cannot be placed on plants at a home, and fines apply. See the ACT Government's wildlife-friendly netting page.
New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia recommend the same standard. Check your state or territory's rules before you buy.
Netting a vegetable bed
A frame keeps the net taut and off the plants, since butterflies can lay through mesh on leaves and fruit fly through mesh touching fruit.
- Hammer hardwood stakes down both sides of the bed in matching pairs, about 60 to 90 cm apart.
- Slip poly pipe over opposite stakes to form hoops taller than the grown crop.
- Drape the net over, pull it taut and clip it on.
- Bury or weigh down the edges, and at each end bunch the spare net, tie it and peg it. Leave an overlap as a pegged door.
Netting a fruit tree
A frame larger than the tree is safest: birds cannot peck through a net held clear of the fruit, and a taut net will not sag around a flying-fox.
Without a frame, draw the net firmly over the canopy and gather it at the trunk below the lowest branches with a broad soft tie that will not cut the bark. Agriculture Victoria prefers the trunk if the tree has had fruit fly before. Flies pupate in the soil, so a net pegged to the ground could shut them in with the fruit. Keep loose net off the ground, where lizards and snakes tangle.
When to net, and why the bees matter
- Fruit trees: let the blossom finish and net once tiny fruit appear.
- Zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber and melons: insects carry their pollen, so open the cover on flowering mornings, whatever the mesh, or hand pollinate.
- Strawberries: poor pollination gives misshapen berries, but they flower and fruit together, so open the cover for a few hours on flowering mornings, then close it.
- Tomatoes: self-fertile, so they can stay covered, though bees improve the crop.
- Cabbage, kale, lettuce and silverbeet: picked before flowering, so they can stay covered.
An open cover lets pests in too; where that matters, hand pollinate or bag the young fruit.
Fruit fly lays into maturing fruit, so net or bag well before fruit colours. Agriculture Victoria lists tomato, capsicum, chilli, grapes and berries among its hosts.
Heat and light under fine mesh
In the Queensland trial, 2 mm mesh raised maximum temperatures by 4.4Β°C and cut light by about a fifth compared with bird netting. Keep frames tall for airflow and water deeply before a hot spell (see our heatwave guide).
Bagging fruit, step by step
- Wait for fruit set, when the petals have dropped and small fruit are swelling.
- Choose a roomy bag of fine mesh, muslin, gauze curtain or paper, so ripe fruit will not press against it.
- Close it around the stem or branch with string, a twist tie or a clothes peg, leaving no gap.
- Pick unbagged fruit as it ripens and collect windfalls. Freeze them sealed in a bag for two days, then bin rather than compost them, unless local fruit fly rules say otherwise.
- Wash and dry mesh or cloth bags after harvest; replace paper ones.
Brassicas and seedlings
Cabbage white butterflies find young brassicas quickly, so rub any eggs off before netting them at planting, and check again over the first fortnight. Our cabbage white caterpillar guide covers diamondback moth too.
Cover fresh sowings against birds with a wire cloche or low hoops of wildlife-safe netting (see keeping cats and birds out of garden beds). Trunk collars for climbing possums are in protecting the garden from possums.
Wildlife safety: daily checks and trapped animals
A trapped flying-fox may have a pup at the roost that starves if she is not back within a day.
- Check every net daily, twice while fruit ripens if you can.
- An animal loose inside: open the door, step back and let it leave.
- Anything tangled: do not untangle it or cut it free yourself. Keep children and pets away and call a wildlife rescue group first: WIRES on 1300 094 737 in New South Wales, Wildlife Victoria on 03 8400 7300, ACT Wildlife on 0432 300 033, RSPCA Queensland on 1300 264 625, or your local group. They may ask you to cover a bird with a towel. Stay back from snakes and call a licensed snake catcher.
- Bats and flying-foxes: do not touch one, alive or dead: any Australian bat may carry Australian bat lyssavirus. If one bites or scratches you, wash the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, apply an antiseptic with anti-virus action such as povidone-iodine, and see a doctor straight away. Flush any saliva from eyes, nose or mouth with water.
Taking nets down and storing them
Take nets off once the crop is picked. Shake out debris, let the net dry, then fold it into a lidded tub out of the sun, where mice cannot nest. Bin worn-out net in a strong bag.
Netting across Australia's climate zones
- Tropical (Darwin in the Northern Territory, Cairns and Townsville in Queensland): fruit fly breeds most of the year, and Queensland warns that shade cloth over fruit can turn it mouldy.
- Subtropical (Brisbane and south-east Queensland, northern New South Wales): flying-foxes raid suburban fruit trees; both states recommend white 5 mm netting.
- Arid and semi-arid (Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Broken Hill in New South Wales, Mildura in Victoria, Kalgoorlie in Western Australia): watch for heat stress under fine mesh and leave room for airflow; Mildura falls under the Victorian rule.
- Temperate (Sydney and the New South Wales coast, Melbourne in Victoria): Queensland fruit fly is active from spring to autumn; Melbourne falls under the Victorian rule.
- Mediterranean (Perth and southern Western Australia, Adelaide in South Australia): Mediterranean fruit fly is established in Western Australia, where Queensland fruit fly outbreaks also occur. South Australia works to stay fruit fly free: report maggoty fruit on 1300 666 010.
- Cool and alpine (Tasmania, Canberra in the ACT, Ballarat in Victoria, Orange and Armidale in New South Wales, Stanthorpe in Queensland): Canberra falls under the ACT law and Ballarat under Victoria's. Tasmania is recognised as fruit fly free, so report maggoty fruit to Biosecurity Tasmania on (03) 6165 3777.
These zones are broad groupings; between two, go by when your fruit sets.
Frequently asked questions
Is ordinary bird netting illegal where I live?
In Victoria and the ACT, yes, if its holes exceed 5 mm by 5 mm at full stretch. Elsewhere, use the same standard and check your state's rules.
Will wildlife-safe netting keep out fruit fly?
Not reliably. Fruit fly needs finer insect mesh, about 2 mm, or a closed fruit bag.
Can I leave fine mesh on all summer?
Over leafy crops, yes. Over crops that need insects, open it briefly at flowering or hand pollinate.
Do fruit fly traps protect my fruit?
Male-lure traps mainly show that flies are about. Protection comes from nets, bags and clearing fallen fruit.
A net put up on time, kept taut and checked daily looks after the harvest and the wildlife alike.
Related growing guides
- Starting winter brassicas in summer heat
- What to sow in December: vegetables for every zone
- Fruit Fly Control for Australian Home Gardens
- How to Possum Proof Your Vegetable Beds
Browse our cabbage seeds and strawberry seeds.