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Chicken wire or welded mesh: which roll to buy

Updated: October 2026

You are looking at a roll of hexagonal netting because it is cheap, bends around a gate, and the title mentions rabbits. The other tab is a green welded grid that stays square and costs more. Those are different tools. Chicken wire or welded mesh is the choice when you want a light guard, or when the hole has to stay square. Even then, the rolls in this set are not a fox-proof run. The [wire mesh fence comparison](/hub/fencing-and-wire/wire-mesh-fence) lines the products up. Plastic kits stay off this page. Peter F. updated this in October 2026. We did not test a fox against either mesh. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at a roll of hexagonal netting because it is cheap, bends around a gate, and the title mentions rabbits. The other tab is a green welded grid that stays square and costs more. Those are different tools.

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What the two meshes actually are

Hexagonal chicken wire is twisted. You can fold it around a plant or a gate, and the shape opens if a strand breaks. Welded mesh is crossed and fixed at the joint. It holds a rectangle until the weld fails. Fine cloth around 6 mm is a third product: a rodent or aviary mesh, not a garden fence. Hex in this set is UNU, TOYPOPOR and shsyue. UNU is 0.5 mm, holes 2.5 cm by 5 cm, about £9.99. TOYPOPOR is 0.6 mm, holes about 1 inch, about £16.99. EzKamfort is the fine cloth. None of these listings states BS EN 10223-2 or BS EN 10223-4.

When chicken wire is the roll to buy

Buy hex when the job is a shape. TOYPOPOR reviews use it on bulbs and say it bends. UNU reviews use it on a gate against a cat and over seeds. That is a fair use of about 0.4 m of light wire. TOYPOPOR reviews say rabbits can chew the thin wire. UNU reviews call it light gauge, and one doubts a fox. The RSPCA says chicken wire will not always keep predators out, and foxes can chew it. Welded mesh is the alternative they name. A star line of 4.4 from 662 on UNU does not change the 0.5 mm wire. UK reviews of shsyue report rust in weeks.

When welded mesh is the alternative

Choose welded mesh when the hole has to stay a hole. Green Haven is 100 mm by 50 mm, stated 2 mm, 1 m by 10 m, about £28.99, 4.6 from 217. UK reviews use it so dogs cannot reach beds. The hole is wide, so a rabbit or a small puppy is a different specification. VOUNOT is 25 mm, 1 mm, 0.5 m by 10 m, about £14.99. The hole is near the RHS figure of about 2.5 cm, and the height is not. You get a low guard, not a 120–140 cm rabbit fence. Thealyn’s title is 0.91 m, and one review describes about 0.6 m. A shop’s 2 mm fox fence is that shop’s catalogue, not a result for Green Haven. Posts and a skirt are in how to install a wire mesh fence.

Fine welded cloth is a third product

EzKamfort is 0.9 m by 10 m, holes 6.3 mm, wire 0.6 mm, about £36.99. UK reviews say the joints break when you cut the mesh, and they report rust within weeks. A 6.3 mm hole can suit a rodent gap. It is not the garden welded roll. Use TOYPOPOR or UNU when you need hex you can bend, and do not ask it to stop a fox. Use Green Haven when a 1 m line and a 100 mm by 50 mm hole are acceptable. Use VOUNOT when a printed 25 mm hole and 0.5 m are enough. Use neither as the sole fox barrier. Animal Welfare Act 2006 section 9, in England and Wales, requires a suitable environment and prints no mesh size.

Common questions

When is hexagonal chicken wire enough?
When you are shaping a low guard, filling a gate, or penning poultry in a light enclosure you are not treating as predator-proof. UNU at 0.5 mm and TOYPOPOR at 0.6 mm are that tool. They are about 40 cm high on the dimensions that agree.
Will chicken wire keep a fox out?
Do not rely on it. The RSPCA says foxes can chew chicken wire and names welded mesh instead, with height and a skirt, plus a house locked at night. A review on UNU already doubts the thin roll. None of these hex listings is a fox-proof product.
What is welded mesh doing that hex is not?
The joint is welded, so the rectangle stays put until the weld fails. Hex twists and bends, which is useful on a curve and weak if a strand is chewed. Green Haven and VOUNOT are the welded rolls with agreed dimensions. Thealyn is welded with a height note in one review.
Is 6 mm welded cloth the same product as a garden roll?
No. EzKamfort’s 6.3 mm grid is fine cloth at 0.6 mm. Reviews say the welds open when you cut it, and several report rust within weeks. Green Haven’s 100 mm by 50 mm grid is a garden mesh. Same word, welded, and a different job.
Does hot-dip galvanised cover the welds?
A dip after fabrication covers the joint better than zinc applied only before welding. EzKamfort says hot-dip and still has rust reviews. The word is not a service life. PVC on Green Haven and VOUNOT is a coat over a metal core, not a proof of years.
Which rolls in this set are hex, and which are welded?
Hex: UNU, TOYPOPOR and shsyue. Welded garden mesh: Green Haven, Thealyn and VOUNOT. Fine welded cloth: EzKamfort. Plastic rolls and the RIFNY kit are neither, and they are not part of this choice. The shsyue 1.6 mm line disagrees with a review that measured 25 mm.
Can I call a 2 mm PVC roll fox-proof because a shop uses that gauge?
No. Trade pages recommend about 2 mm welded mesh as part of a tall fox fence they sell. Green Haven states 2 mm and is 1 m high with 100 mm by 50 mm holes. That is not the RSPCA height or skirt. Do not copy a shop’s chew-proof line onto this ASIN.

Related pages

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings used for this comparison. Prices stored 19 October 2026.

  1. Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. GOV.WALES: planning permission for fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Scottish Government, Planning circular 1/2024: Class 3E householder permitted development (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015, Part 3, Class A (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Animal Welfare Act 2006, section 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. RSPCA: chickens (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. RHS: rabbits (retrieved 19 October 2026)