Marianne's Response

Will the bird netting on my berry plants keep bees and insects from pollinating?

I have strawberry plants that I covered with netting to keep critters away. Do the flowers need a pollinator such as bees and insects or does the (self pollinate) take care of that?

Posted by Linda Tournay on May 2, 2014

Marianne's Response

The screening or netting over the strawberry plants should be loose enough or with holes large enough for insects to pass but even if you use tulle netting the wind will help pollinate some of the strawberries. Birds will wait and eat berries when they are ripe so you don't need to cover strawberries or blueberries until the begin to show color if protecting them from birds. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti