Monday 2 December 2013

December 2013.

I am using these tiny nails (30mm galvanised bullet head) to tie down my pest exclusion netting.  I found the eyelet idea (previously described) wanting.  The eyelets tend to pull holes in the net, and don't hold the net close enough to the frame leaving gaps for insects to get through.  So here's my solution:-
This is on a vertical corner where the light netting and the heavier shadecloth overlap.  The nail holds both equally well, and causes no damage (if you are not too rough).
This Light Ecobed has nails spaced about 150mm apart.  They're located around the top of the top rail of the pest exclusion frame and underneath the bottom rail.  In both cases they are out of the way and present no hazard to loose clothing etc.  

There is a row of nails on the vertical corners pointing outwards at the ends of the Ecobed, so some care must be taken to avoid getting snagged.  I haven't had problems with it myself since the nails have rounded heads and don't easily snag on anything, but be warned.
Gaining access to the bed is simply a matter of unhooking the netting from a few nails and folding it back.
This nail is under the bottom rail of the exclusion frame.  I pre-drilled a hole for the nail with a 2mm drill to avoid splitting the timber, and I left about 10mm of the nail exposed when it was hammered in.  They are easy to locate (by feel) and can accommodate a number of layers of netting on the same nail.
This picture shows the nail with netting hooked securely in place.  This is a cheaper, easier and more effective idea than the eyelet one, and it will eventually be my standard method for securing netting on all my Ecobeds.