chase Just another idea: In light of the information below, there might be nearby countries that could cheaply manufacture bird or insect netting that could in turn be paid for by environmental groups in various countries. (Try the Audubon Society in the US? They have a great interest in maintaining bird populations.) Costa Rica has sought to widen its economic and trade ties within and outside the region. Costa Rica signed a bilateral trade agreement with Mexico in 1994, which was later amended to cover a wider range of products. Costa Rica joined other Central American countries, and the Dominican Republic, in establishing a Trade and Investment Council with the United States in March 1998. Costa Rica has signed trade agreements with Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and several Caribbean Community countries. It began negotiating a regional Central American-EU trade agreement in October 2007. Costa Rica was an active participant in the negotiation of the hemispheric Free Trade Area of the Americas and is active in the Cairns Group, which is pursuing global agricultural trade liberalization within the World Trade Organization. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2019.htm Or maybe, to keep costs down, some local people could MAKE bird netting for a small business. (Back in the early 1900s, my grandmother made fishing nets for my grandfather by hand-tying string.) There's more than one way to skin a cat.

I have used the CDs on the plums. They look like they are spinning in mid-air with the fishline holding them so I think its a similar fear factor. I have had a great plum harvest the last two years with this method. I am going to try the CDs on the cherries this year. The fishline ideas in the link also look good and can be used on row crops and berries more easily than the CDs. Its hard to be certain on results with these things, however. The deer just jumped through a fishline fence I built around my yard. They just aim right between two lines and jump. I saw them jump through lines I had at 6" apart, I didn't believe they were doing it until I saw it in person. The starlings are also not scared of the CDs. Fortunately they don't visit very often. Scott

Do you use monofilament or some of the braided lines? I feed hay and so I have a lot of baling twine laying around so I just use twine.

How do you sew on the really thin borders? I tried that on my Tuscan landscape and had the hardest time and the border came out wonky. Do you cut a wider piece of fabric and trim, or just use a 1" strip for a 1/2" border? On Sail Away I found a nice blue batik for the border, the only one of all of my audition fabrics I liked! --Amy