Best Commercial Bird Proofing UK 2026: Netting, Spikes & Wire Systems

Five of the seven picks are physical barriers that stop a bird landing or getting in. The 10m by 20m netting suits you if a whole area needs closing off. The OFFO stainless spikes are for sills, balustrades and roof edges, and the post and pad kit carries bird wire where you cannot drill. There are also two deterrents, a gel and an ultrasonic unit, for sites where you would prefer not to fit a barrier.

The Seven Compared

Every column below is what the Amazon listing itself states, with each claim attributed to the maker who makes it. Where a listing does not state something, the cell says so rather than guessing.

Exclusion Is the Method

Both extension services read for this page put physical exclusion first and the specification in numbers. The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management: “Openings to lofts, steeples, vents, and eaves should be blocked with wood, metal, glass, masonry, 1/4-inch (0.6-cm) rust-proofed wire mesh, or plastic or nylon netting.” (ICWDM).

And for open architecture rather than a hole: “Ornamental architecture can be screened with 1-inch (2.5-cm) mesh polypropylene u.v.-stabilized netting to prevent roosting, loafing, and nesting.” The netting carded here is 50mm, which is about two inches — a pigeon mesh, not a small-bird mesh, and the comparison table states it.

Penn State Extension states the same order of operations: “Exclude birds from roosting sites by covering the undersides of the rafters with netting.” (Penn State Extension). Both are US publications and their specifications are quoted as statements about method, not about UK law.

The Legal Position on Wild Birds

GOV.UK states the protection in one sentence: “All wild bird species, their eggs and nests are protected by law.” (GOV.UK). And the order it expects: “You must always try to avoid harming birds or to use measures which do not kill or injure them before considering taking harmful action.” Every physical barrier on this page is a measure of that kind.

The RSPB sets out the statute: “This act offers protection to wild birds, their eggs and nests in England, Scotland and Wales.” (RSPB). Among the things it says the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes illegal, subject to certain exceptions: “Intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.” and “Use traps, poison or similar items to kill, injure or take wild birds.”

The practical consequence for a building owner is a survey before installation rather than after. Netting fitted over an active nest is not a proofing job; it is the thing the statute names. This site reports what GOV.UK and the RSPB publish and does not rule on any particular building.

Where Bird Proofing Does Not Work

Spikes, against small birds. Penn State Extension: “These materials are not effective against smaller birds, such as house sparrows, because the birds can fit between the points and use the site for nesting.” (Penn State Extension). A spike strip fitted against sparrows can end up holding the nest.

Bird wire, where the pressure is heavy. The post and pad kit’s own maker states the system is designed for light perching of pigeons only and should not be used in areas where pigeons are active overnight. That is the maker limiting its own product, and it is on the card.

Wire and spikes, once they silt up. ICWDM: “Sometimes pigeons and sparrows cover the wires with nesting material or droppings, which requires occasional removal.” (ICWDM). A proofing installation is a maintenance item, not a one-off.

The two deterrents, on the evidence. The ASA, writing about pest repellent devices it has examined with independent experts: “It has yet to accept any claim of efficacy.” (ASA). And on what a seller may say: “Marketers who do not hold evidence in the form of UK-based trials should not state or imply efficacy for the products, through either claims, visuals or product names.” Two products here are deterrents rather than barriers — the optical gel and the ultrasonic unit — and this page makes no claim that either works. Reporting that position is not the same as saying the products do not work, which is equally not ours to say.

A mesh sized for the wrong bird. ICWDM specifies quarter-inch mesh for closing openings and 1-inch netting for screening architecture. A 50mm mesh excludes a pigeon and admits a sparrow.

What Decides the Choice

1. Barrier or deterrent

Five of these seven physically prevent a bird landing or entering. Two ask it not to. GOV.UK’s instruction to use measures which do not kill or injure covers both, but only one kind has a specification you can check against a source.

2. Mesh and spacing, against the bird you actually have

ICWDM gives quarter-inch mesh for openings and 1-inch netting for ornamental architecture; Penn State gives at least 45 degrees for a modified ledge. The netting here is 50mm and the spikes are 100mm long in 76mm groups. Those are the numbers to hold against the two sources before ordering.

3. What the kit does not include

The netting listing does not list fixings. The post and pad kit states explicitly that fixings are not included, and it is posts and pads rather than wire. The net hooks are a fitting for netting you already own. Three of the seven are components rather than complete installations, and the cards say which.

If a Product Is Not the Answer

Change the ledge instead of arming it. Penn State Extension: “Change the angle of the roosting ledge to at least 45 degrees.” (Penn State Extension). Slanted metal or wooden boards at that angle, which is fabrication rather than a purchase.

Close the opening rather than screen the face. ICWDM puts blocking lofts, steeples, vents and eaves ahead of everything else, with a quarter-inch rust-proofed mesh.

Remove what is attracting them. ICWDM’s own list starts with removing bird feeders, discouraging public feeding and eliminating standing water. On a commercial site that is a bin and catering question before it is a hardware one.

Other routes on this site. Our professional bird netting page covers netting systems in more depth, our pigeon spikes page covers spikes, and our pigeon control guide covers the building rather than the product.

Use and Placement

1. Survey for nests first. The RSPB names an active or part-built nest as protected, and that governs whether the job can start at all.
2. Identify the bird before you pick the mesh. Quarter-inch for openings, 1-inch for architecture, per ICWDM; the 50mm netting here is for pigeons.
3. Buy the fixings separately. Two of these seven state or imply that fixings are not in the box.
4. Prepare the surface for anything adhesive. The post and pad maker recommends a surface cleaner to remove grease and oils before bonding.
5. Put it on the maintenance schedule. ICWDM notes that wires silt up with nesting material and droppings and need occasional clearing.

Frequently Asked Questions