Insect netting.

Keeping pests out while keeping air moving

A greenhouse breathes through its ventilation openings, and those same openings are the front door for the insects a grower least wants inside. Insect netting closes that door without closing off the airflow: fine mesh fitted over the roof and side vents keeps whitefly, thrips, aphids and other pests out while air continues to move through the structure. For a high-value crop, that physical barrier is the first and most reliable line of pest defence — one that works around the clock and never needs re-applying.

The value goes well beyond the nuisance of the insects themselves. Many of the most damaging greenhouse problems are not the pests but the viruses they carry: a single population of thrips or whitefly can vector diseases through an entire crop. By excluding the vector, netting reduces disease pressure at its source, which in turn cuts the need for chemical crop protection — lowering cost, supporting cleaner, more residue-free produce and protecting the beneficial insects used in integrated pest management.

Specifying netting is a genuine engineering trade-off, not an off-the-shelf choice. Mesh size determines which insects are excluded — finer nets stop smaller pests like thrips, but the finer the mesh, the more it restricts the airflow the ventilation system depends on. Get it wrong and the greenhouse either lets pests through or cannot cool itself. We calculate both sides of that balance together, matching mesh to the target pests and the local climate, and where a fine mesh is essential we compensate by dimensioning larger ventilation area so cooling capacity is preserved.

Installation is the closing act of the construction sequence. Netting is fitted after the structure, glazing and ventilation mechanisms are complete and always before screening works commence, so the pest barrier is intact from the moment the greenhouse is handed over and ready to grow. Get in touch to specify insect netting matched to your crop, your pests and your climate.