Anti-thrips netting 10x16, 10x20 or 13x31: which to choose for each pest

The numbers on an anti-thrips net tell you how many threads per centimetre it has in each direction: 10x16 means 10 threads one way and 16 the other. The more threads, the smaller the hole and the more insects it stops, but the less air gets through. That is why 10x16 (40 mesh) is the option for very hot greenhouses, 10x20 (50 mesh) balances ventilation and control, and 13x31 has the smallest hole, for maximum exclusion.

What do 10x16, 10x20 and “mesh” mean?

In Spain density is expressed in threads per centimetre (10x16, 10x20…). Other markets use mesh, which counts threads per inch (2.54 cm) in the densest direction: 16 threads/cm is about 40 per inch, which is why 10x16 is sold as “40 mesh”, 10x20 as “50 mesh” and 10x22 as “55 mesh”.

Two nets with the same number can behave differently if the thread thickness changes, so the figure is a guide, but the datasheet is what counts.

CYLNET insect netting compared

Source: Criado y López technical datasheets (November 2026). All are made to measure and can be fitted with eyelets and polyester thread for installation.

Which one to choose?

• Very hot greenhouse, ventilation first: 10x16. Protects against thrips and whitefly while letting more air through.
• Medium thrips and aphid pressure, normal ventilation: 10x20, the reference for roof and side vents.
• Whitefly as the main pest: 10x22.
• Maximum exclusion or double doors: 13x31. Expect lower ventilation and compensate with more vent area.
• Cherries and berries with Drosophila suzukii: 10x8, which stops it with a larger hole and therefore more airflow.

Colour matters too: the crystal version lets more light through and the black one shades. If in doubt, the practical rule is to choose the most open net that stops the pest you actually have, not the tightest one in the catalogue.

Where is it installed?

Over greenhouse roof and side vents and over ventilation openings, as a cover for shade-house greenhouses and to protect seedbeds. In orchards and vineyards it is mounted as an enclosure on a structure of posts and cables, just like anti-hail netting; in fact, NovaNet® BlackDense does both jobs.

Insect netting from Novafrut and Grupo Criado y López

Novafrut supplies and installs NovaNet® high-density polyethylene insect netting in densities of 4x4, 5x4, 6x6, 6x8, 6x9, 10x8, 16x10 and 20x10 threads per centimetre. CYLNET nets are made by Grupo Criado y López, which Novafrut is part of, in El Ejido (Almería). We advise you on the net and, in Spain, France and Portugal, we also install it.

Ask for a quote stating the crop, the pest and the dimensions, or see how we install insect netting.