Shade Netting: Types, Shade Percentage, GSM and How to Choose
Compiled and fact-checked from cited sources, reviewed by our editorial team. · Last updated:
Shade netting is sold under half a dozen names — shade cloth, shade sail fabric, privacy screening, windbreak mesh, garden netting — and they are usually the same product: knitted HDPE monofilament mesh supplied on rolls and priced by the square metre. It is not one item but a family, and two rolls sold under the same description can differ threefold in how long they last.
The price is set where most buyers don’t look. People choose by shade percentage. What actually decides service life is GSM (grams per square metre) and UV stabiliser content. Two nets both labelled “50% shade” can last two seasons and eight years respectively.
What shade netting actually is
The fabric is high-density polyethylene (HDPE) monofilament yarn knitted on a Raschel warp-knitting machine. Knitting rather than weaving is what lets the mesh stretch instead of tearing, so it flexes in wind rather than splitting.
Knitted versus woven is worth knowing: woven shade cloth is stiffer, cheaper per square metre and frays badly when cut; knitted cloth costs more, resists tearing and does not unravel across the width. Almost all quality garden and agricultural netting is knitted.
Shade percentage: what the number means
The number on the label is how much sunlight the mesh blocks.
| Percentage | Light reduction | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | Light shade | Nursery stock, seedlings, sun-loving crops, summer greenhouse shading |
| 50% | Medium shade | Most garden plants, pergolas, polytunnels, livestock shelter |
| 70–75% | Heavy shade | Car ports, terraces, seating areas, shade-loving plants |
| 90–95% | Near-total block | Fence privacy screening, site hoarding, windbreak walls |
The most common mistake: buying 90% for vegetables. High-percentage cloth doesn’t cool a plant, it starves it of light; the result is leggy, weak growth and poor fruit set. For salad and seedlings, 30–50% is right. For fence privacy, only 90–95% actually screens.
The second mistake: buying 50% for privacy. At medium density people remain visible as shapes. If you want a real screen, you need the high grades.
GSM: the number that decides how many years you get
The same shade percentage is produced in different weights, and most of the price difference sits here.
| GSM | Character | Suited to |
|---|---|---|
| 45–60 g/m² | Thin, light, cheap | One season, sheltered spots, temporary shading |
| 60–80 g/m² | Standard | Gardens, pergolas, greenhouse shading |
| 80–100 g/m² | Durable | Fence screening, exposed elevations, multi-year use |
| 120–150 g/m² | Heavy duty | Car parks, sites, constant wind, permanent installations |
The practical rule: never fit light cloth somewhere windy. Shade netting behaves like a sail. A thin net tears at the eyelets first, then runs across the whole panel. On an exposed elevation, 60 GSM may last a year where 120 GSM lasts five.
UV stabiliser: the spec that isn’t on the label
HDPE goes brittle under ultraviolet light. What slows that down is the UV stabiliser compounded into the yarn. Good production runs roughly 2.5–3% by weight, giving 7–10 years of continuous outdoor service. Cloth with little or no stabiliser looks identical on the roll and starts crumbling in two or three seasons.
If the product description doesn’t mention UV treatment, ask. The tell-tale sign in an old net: pull it between your fingers — if it snaps like paper instead of stretching, its UV life is over.
Does colour matter?
- Green: the most common; blends into a garden, casts a greenish light.
- Black: the best UV durability, because carbon black is itself a UV absorber — but it heats up more underneath.
- White: reflects light and keeps the space beneath noticeably cooler; preferred for nurseries and greenhouses.
- Beige and sand: chosen for looks on terraces and in architectural use.
If you want cool underneath, choose white; if you want maximum life, black; if you want it to disappear into the garden, green.
Sizes and edge finishing
Standard widths are 1, 2, 3 and 4 metres, cut to length. Common ready-made rolls are 1×5, 2×10, 2×20, 3×50 and 4×50 m.
Two edge options:
- Eyeleted: metal rings fitted along the edge, typically every 50 cm to 1 m. Faster to install and less likely to tear at the fixings. Costs a little more per square metre and repays it on any tensioned installation.
- Plain cut: no rings; you fix it with clips, battens or cable ties. Cheaper, but more likely to fail from the edge.
- Seal the edge when you cut itKnitted mesh ladders like a stocking when cut. Run a flame quickly along the cut edge to fuse it, or bind the edge with tape or a stitched hem. This single step noticeably extends the life of the panel.
- Hang it from a line, not from the eyeletsDon't load the rings directly. Run a tension wire or rope along the top and bottom edge and tie the net to it, so the load spreads along the line instead of concentrating at each ring.
- Tension it, but not drum-tightAn over-tensioned net has no give in a gust and splits at the seam. Leave a little slack.
- Never leave the bottom edge looseAn unfixed bottom edge flaps like a wing and destroys itself within weeks.
- Decide about winterOn horizontal installations that collect snow, taking the net down for winter roughly doubles its life. On vertical fence screening it isn't necessary.
Does it actually keep insects out?
This is the part most often misunderstood, and the honest answer is: it depends on the density.
The hole size in shade cloth is inversely related to the shade percentage. At 30–50% the openings are several millimetres across — enough to stop birds and large insects, but wasps and bees pass straight through. Anyone who nets a vine with 30% cloth expecting to keep wasps off the grapes will be disappointed, and rightly so.
| Purpose | Suitable? |
|---|---|
| Bird protection on fruit and vines | ✅ Yes — its strongest use |
| Hail and sunscald protection | ✅ Yes |
| Windbreak and dust screening | ✅ Yes |
| Shading and privacy | ✅ Yes, by percentage |
| Excluding wasps and bees | 🟠 Only at high density (75–95%); low grades let them through |
| Small pests — thrips, whitefly, aphids | ❌ No — that needs insect netting with a stated mesh aperture |
To genuinely protect grapes from wasps you have two options: bagging each bunch in a fine sleeve, or using insect netting where the mesh aperture is quoted in millimetres. Shade cloth only does that job in its densest grades and only in a fully closed structure.
Six things that set the price
- GSM. The single biggest factor. 150 g/m² is more than twice the material of 60 g/m².
- UV stabiliser. Invisible on the roll, decisive in the price and the lifespan. It is usually the reason cheap cloth is cheap.
- Shade percentage. Higher density means more yarn, so 90% naturally costs more than 30%.
- Edge work. Eyeleted stock costs more per square metre than plain cut.
- Width. Non-standard widths mean offcuts, which pushes up the effective square-metre price.
- Roll or cut length. Buying a full roll lowers the square-metre price noticeably; short cuts carry handling cost.
How to compare quotes: ignore the headline price and work out the price per square metre, then read it together with the GSM. “2×10 m net for £45” means nothing on its own — that is 20 m² at £2.25/m², and whether that is cheap depends entirely on whether it is 60 or 120 GSM.
Choosing by application
| Use | Shade % | GSM | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedlings, nursery stock | 30% | 60–80 | Plain cut is fine |
| Summer greenhouse shading | 30–50% | 60–80 | Eyelets convenient |
| Pergola, terrace shade | 50–75% | 80–100 | Eyeleted |
| Fence privacy screening | 90–95% | 80–120 | Eyeleted |
| Car park, long-term shade | 75–95% | 120–150 | Eyeleted plus tension wire |
| Bird protection on fruit | 30–50% | 45–60 | Plain cut |
| Windbreak | 50–65% | 100–150 | Eyeleted plus rope |
| Livestock shelter shading | 50–75% | 80–100 | Eyeleted |
One counter-intuitive point on windbreaks: a 95% net does not break wind, it catches it. Effective windbreaks use medium density (50–65%) precisely because letting some air through reduces the pressure difference behind the screen, and therefore the load on the posts.
Care and getting more years out of it
- Wash with a garden hose, never a pressure washer — high pressure opens up the knit.
- Store it rolled, not folded; fold lines go brittle with UV and frost.
- Dust and leaves raise the effective shade percentage and the wind load. Shake it out once a year.
- Patch small tears immediately with cable ties or a mesh patch; a tear in knitted cloth runs.
- Store spare cloth in the dark. Unused netting left in the sun still burns through its UV life.
Five common mistakes
- Wrong percentage for the plant. 90% over vegetables protects them out of a crop.
- Buying without checking GSM. This is where the real difference between two identical-looking products lies.
- Not sealing a cut edge. Knitted mesh ladders, and the panel opens up from the edge within weeks.
- Loading the eyelets directly. Without a rope or wire through the edge, the rings tear out one by one.
- Expecting insect exclusion. Low-density shade cloth passes wasps and bees; that job needs bunch bags or rated insect netting.
If wasps around the house or garden are the actual problem, netting is rarely the first answer. What to do depends on which insect you have, and I set that out step by step in the guide to getting rid of bees and wasps around the house.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is shade netting? Knitted HDPE monofilament mesh supplied on rolls and priced by the square metre, used for shading, privacy screening, windbreaks and crop protection. It is also sold as shade cloth, privacy screening and garden netting.
What do the percentages mean? They state how much sunlight the mesh blocks. 30% gives light shade, 90–95% blocks nearly everything.
Which shade percentage should I choose? 30–50% for seedlings and vegetables, 50–75% for pergolas and terraces, 90–95% for fence privacy. Putting high-density cloth over crops restricts light and weakens growth.
Why does GSM matter? It determines how long the net lasts and how it handles wind. 45–60 g/m² is light and seasonal; 120–150 g/m² is for permanent, exposed installations.
How long does shade netting last? It depends on UV loading and weight. Light, poorly stabilised cloth degrades in two or three seasons; well-stabilised heavy cloth runs 7–10 years in continuous sun.
Knitted or woven shade cloth? Knitted for almost all garden and agricultural use: it stretches instead of tearing and does not unravel across the width. Woven is cheaper but frays when cut and is stiffer.
Does shade netting keep wasps out? At 30–50% shade, no — the openings are millimetres across and wasps pass through. Only high-density cloth in a fully closed structure excludes them. For fruit, use bunch bags or insect netting with a stated aperture.
How do I stop wasps ruining grapes? Bag each bunch in a fine sleeve two to three weeks before harvest, or use insect netting rated by mesh aperture. Shade cloth alone is not enough.
Which colour is best? Black for maximum UV life, white for the coolest space beneath, green to blend into a garden.
What widths does it come in? Standard widths are 1, 2, 3 and 4 m, cut to length. Common rolls are 1×5, 2×10, 2×20, 3×50 and 4×50 m.
Should I buy eyeleted netting? For anything tensioned — fences, shade sails, windbreaks — yes; it speeds up fitting and reduces tearing. For cloth simply laid over a greenhouse, it isn’t needed.
The cut edge is unravelling, what do I do? That is normal for knitted mesh. Fuse the cut edge briefly with a flame, or bind it with tape or a stitched hem, otherwise the loops ladder and the panel opens from the edge.
How should shade netting be fixed? Run a tension wire or rope along the top and bottom edges and tie the net to that with cable ties or clips. Don’t load the eyelets directly, and don’t over-tension it.
What netting suits a windy site? Heavy cloth (100–150 g/m²) at medium density (50–65%). A 95% net blocks the air completely and acts as a sail, loading the posts.
What determines the price? GSM, UV stabiliser, shade percentage, edge finishing, width and whether you buy a full roll or a cut length. Compare on price per square metre together with GSM, not on the headline figure.
Is buying a full roll cheaper? Usually, yes. Full rolls drop the square-metre price noticeably; short cuts carry handling and offcut costs.
Should I take it down in winter? On horizontal installations that collect snow, yes — it roughly doubles the life. On vertical fence screening it isn’t necessary, but check the fixings before winter.
What should I use over a greenhouse? For summer shading, 30–50% at 60–80 g/m². White keeps the interior coolest.
How do I clean it? A garden hose is enough. Pressure washing opens the knit and shortens the life. Shake off dust and leaves once a year, because build-up raises both the shade percentage and the wind load.
Sources
- Garware Technical Fibres — Shade nets: HDPE monofilament construction, shade factors and agricultural use. https://www.garwarefibres.com/solutions/agriculture/shade-nets-solutions
- Agriplast — Shade net guide: colours, shade percentages and selection. https://www.agriplast.co.in/blog/shade-net-guide
- Penn State Extension — Shade and protective netting in horticulture. https://extension.psu.edu/
- PlusNet Geotextiles — Choosing the right shade net: density, GSM and application. https://www.plusnetgeotex.co.za/a-guide-to-choosing-the-right-shade-net-for-your-needs/
