Good idea Lisa. Looks great.

Now I know why I shouldn't use the wooden stakes. I made a HUGE boo boo this year. I just loved the way you told me to do the netting and it worked fine, but I didn't notice with all the rain we had the ground got squishy and the stakes started bowing in and the net ended up hanging in the pond. Then we got wet, heavy snow which broke the wooden stakes (I am definitely going to buy the metal ones if I see them in the spring). When I went to remove the net last weekend (I think all the trees are done losing their leaves) the net was stuck in a very thin layer of ice coating the surface of the pond. I was able to pull the net and the floating ice to the edge of the pond. When I tried to lift the net the weight of the thin ice ripped it. Sometimes I get so into accomplishing a task I go brain dead. Not thinking, I kept pulling the net and sheets of thin ice out of the pond. It sounded like glass breaking and I heard my neighbor come out of the house. Well some of the shards of ice were very sharp. Then, duh, it struck me. The sharp pieces of ice could have pierced the liner. Sometimes I get so stuck on stupid. I remember thinking I could cut myself badly on that sharp ice, but it didn't dawn on me it could cut through the liner. I was able to get the net off the large pond and the settlement pond, but it's on the top pond till spring. Of course I didn't sleep for a few nights worrying about the liner. Then I got to thinking if I ruined the liner I would just give you my fish and fill in the pond. (My family looked at me like yeah, right that'll be the day. We better rush her to the emergency room. She must be sick). Well, on Sunday we had torrential rains and my pond almost overflowed. Hee, hee, hee my liner is fine! Now tonight when I get home I'm going to have to pump some water out so it doesn't overflow. Thank God this lesson wasn't as costly as I worried it was going to be. I will never make this mistake again, and hope other ponders learn from my (almost very costly) mistake.

Jenny

Wow Jenny, winter ponding is so fun and dangerous isn't it? lol The metal spikes once stuck in the ground usually don't move at all. So they are sturdy. You can get them in 4' as well (mine are 5' or 6'). I am glad you didn't cut yourself or the pond.

A word of caution about pumping out your pond. I would not ever do this. Once you lower the level of your pond when the ground water is high, the ground water will push up or bubble up your liner. More water spills out of the pond and more groundwater replaces the lost volume- under the liner. Very dangerous and it will leave the pond walls at risk to collapse.

It is nice to know that if your or my pond fails we have each other to keep our fish safe. I would take your fish in. Getting them back may be a problem, especially the gin rin. lol

Warmest Regards,
Lisa

Thanks Lisa:

I would have never thought about that. It makes sense though. The ground around my pond is so wet at this time of year that water bubbles up out of the grass wherever you step.

You are right about winter ponding being a challenge. I had to try not to slide on the shards of ice I pulled out of the pond. Of course I dumped them on an incline to add more thrills to my effort not to fall. It's supposed to be in the upper 40's lower 50's today so hopefully the rest of the ice will melt off the net and I can roll the rest up on the top pond where it will stay until spring. I found a net on-line that supposedly can support itself if need be. It does say to provide support for it though. Here is the link. It is called heavy duty plastic netting. What do you think? It's expensive, but I was thinking of ordering it. I wonder though, if it can support itself how heavy it may be. Either way I am going to need to order netting before spring when the whirlybirds start flying.

Jenny

Here is a link that might be useful: Heavy duty plastic netting

Jenny - I bought that same netting last year. It is heavy duty and durable, but it does not support its own weight except, as the ad says, when standing up, not horizontally across the pond. Across the pond, it needs to be well-anchored and will sag under its own weight over a big enough span without supports. It didn't stop real small leaves like locust from my neighbor's tree. If you intend to use it as a perimeter fencing, it will be muted in appearance, but will require the staking. Once you get it set, it works well and it appears it will last for many years. Just my experience and opinion.

Thanks mgeca:

It's always nice to hear from somebody who has already used the product and lets you know how successful it is. My pond is 18 ft. long by 9 ft wide. When I used the lighter netting I used pvc to support it. This is the first year I tried something different. It is just too hard to get the pvc frame put over the pond by myself. Do you use support for your netting? If you do what do you use?

Before I moved I had a honey locust tree next to my pond and I used shade cloth to stop the leaves from dropping into the pond. It worked like a charm and the leaves just slid right off it. I used to string it from the limbs of the honey locust tree. I am so thankful I don't have a tree in my yard (but my neighbors do). None of them are locust trees though. I think honey locust leaves are more of an aggravation than pine needles. lol

Jenny

Jenny - My pond is 14x10, but one side is heavy rocks and streams entering the pond. When I installed the net, I used tons of landscape staples on three sides but was limited on the rocky side to placing stones on the edge of the net. This approach didn't anchor the net very well.

The net is not heavy but it is rigid and hard to unroll and flatten, especially in the cold. When it is cut, the pointy edges where the mesh squares are cut become sharp. The net drooped under its own weight so I supported it with abs pipe - 1" inside a 2" sleeve and it all still sagged. Leaves tangled in the net and could not be removed by leaf blower.
The plastic netting you are looking at is pretty light (whatever that means!) and can be moved around with little effort. It is stiff and requires some work to lay it our flat and to work with it, especially when it is cold.

If you intend to use it vertically like Lisa's fence I think this mesh screen would work OK, but across the pond would require more than what I did. Maybe the metal stakes around the pond would anchor it better and prevent the sagging I got from loose stones and inadequate landscape staples. Or, perhaps a series of parallel pvc pipes, maybe even supported by legs to the pond bottom, to distribute the weight better.

This year I simply skim netted and cleaned the skimmer every day to deal with the problem. I still had leaves to clean off the bottom at fall cleaning. And I found that easier than net frustration.

I suspect you and I are in proximity, NE Oh and NW Pa and think with temperatures, snow and ice you most likely will experience the stiffness and difficulty of maneuvering this stuff. I have found a number of great uses for the material in and around my pond, so it wasn't a total waste.

Just in my one-time experience, it would make an OK fence, but Lisa's fence material is better, and as a pond cover presents some challenges in difficulty of working it and supporting it. It likely would stand up to winter conditions but requires some robust staking and finger crossing if used across the pond.

Mike

Thanks Mike:

You are right. I'm in NE Ohio. The area where I live is like a little snow belt. We get a lot of rain and a lot of snow. My 2 sisters, who live about 1-2 miles from me do not get as much rain and snow as I do. I can be talking to one of them on the phone and it will be pouring or snowing heavily at my house, but they have nothing. I went from an electric snow blower to a 2 step because when it's cold outside the cord won't unravel. I can just imagine how this netting will be. I think I'll just stick to the bird netting then. It's much lighter. I'll just have to buy better support next year to keep it from hanging into the pond.

Jenny