Any Recommendations for Autumn/Winter Netting?

[jgrandmont]

With autumn arriving here in the northeast, that means falling leaves are not far behind. So, I'm starting to give some thought to purchasing a net to keep leaves and other wind-blown debris out of my new pond. The tent styles look kind of neat, but I'm not too keen on setup, breakdown and storage. I'm thinking flat netting may be simpler (and cheaper) and a better option. Does anyone have any thoughts about what kinds and brands are best? Also, what size mesh would you recommend? I'm thinking of going with something along the lines of 1/4 to 1/2 inch. My pond is on the small side, roughly 7x9 feet.

 

[poconojoe]

I use the standard nylon pond netting. I believe it's the same stuff they use to keep the birds off fruit trees.

I use a frame I made out of pvc pipe. This year I'm going to increase the pipe size to 1". The smaller size I used to use was 1/2" and under heavy snow it would collapse. Funny thing is that it would bounce back up after the snow melted!

I hammer those fiberglass driveway marker sticks into the ground and slip the ends of the PVC pipe over them creating an arch, probably about 3 feet high. I have 3 of those arches for the width of the pond.
Then I have a long section of PVC pipe running the length of the pond. Where the pipes intersect, the pipes are cut and I use 4 way pvc pipe fittings to connect everything together and stabilize the whole thing. I don't glue anything together because i take it apart when not in use. I number each piece so i know which end goes into which fitting. I do send screws into each connection with my drill. I wouldn't want it to fall apart.

When it's all together on the ground next to the pond, I zip-tie the netting to it. Then lift the whole thing over the pond, slip all the ends into the driveway marker sticks.

I've been doing this for years. We get an awful lot of leaves. One year I skipped it due to a family death and it was a disaster come Springtime. Tons of leaves in the pond.

Here's a picture: