What is a greenhouse insect screen?
A greenhouse insect screen is used to control the movement of insects inside the greenhouse. It is also known as an anti-fly netting system. The netting systems come in various sizes based on the size of insect that needs to be controlled. This helps the plants inside the greenhouse grow without any disturbance and helps in preventing any diseases that the insects may carry and transmit.
Pests and insects can cause immense damage to the plants within a greenhouse by sucking or feeding on the plants, depositing their babies’ eggs on crops and spreading disease. At times, these insects develop an immunity and resistance to the chemical pesticides that are used regularly resulting in the inefficiency of the same.
Benefits of using a greenhouse insect screen:
• Prevents insect invasion and helps in pest control
• Saves farm chemical expenses
• Cost effective and less time consuming that using pesticide
• Improves quality of plants produced
• Helps in light transmission, moderates shading and promotes ventilation
• Prevents hail, winds and Ultraviolet radiation
When should insect screens be installed?
The insect screens should be installed as early in the prime insect season as possible. This ensures that the plants are protected early on and reduces the chance of trapping unwanted insects within the greenhouse by accident that may lead to further breeding and extensively damage the plants.
Often, the insect screens are installed as soon as the crops sprout or even after transplanting. This way, the plants are protected during the growth stage and the netting can be removed later on, when the plants being to flower. This will ensure that pollination has a free flow and increases the chances of beneficial insects arriving before the harmful ones or pests.
Types of insect screens and their applications:
- 17 Mesh: Helps in providing protection against fruit flies, fruit butterflies and grape moths. It is also hail and wind resistant.
- 25 Mesh: Helps in providing protection against fruit flies. birds and bats inside the greenhouse. It also acts as a windbreaker.
- 40 Mesh: These screens are generally used in the artificial cultivation of flowers and vegetables in a greenhouse. It provides high durability and flexibility that eases the process of production.
- 50 Mesh: Helps in providing protection against leaf miner, tobacco white fly, thrips and aphids. It has extremely high flexibility and strong tucked selvedge’s
- 75 Mesh: Helps in providing protection against all pests with an extremely high density. It also protects the plants inside the greenhouse from hail, wind, solar and Ultra Violet radiations.
Keeping beneficial insects inside the greenhouse:
Insect netting is extremely helpful in keeping any insects that benefit the growth of plants trapped within the greenhouse. Ladybugs and green lacewing larvae have shown to be helpful at controlling the infestations of soft bodied insects, but the adult version of these insects tend to fly away if the environment inside the greenhouse is not conducive to them.
Installing insect nets will help prevent the adult insects from flying away and ensure that they keep feeding and laying eggs as per the requirement.