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Fleece vs insect mesh for a raised bed

Updated: 21 October 2026

Fleece and insect mesh get sold as the same raised bed cover in a different colour. They are not. Fleece takes the edge off a frost and the wind. Mesh keeps insects off when the holes are small and the skirt is sealed. The [raised bed cover comparison](/hub/raised-beds-greenhouses-and-compost/raised-bed-cover) holds the listings and prices. The [buying guide](/hub/raised-beds-greenhouses-and-compost/raised-bed-cover/sub/raised-bed-cover-buying-guide) is the wider order, and [how to secure a raised bed cover](/hub/raised-beds-greenhouses-and-compost/raised-bed-cover/sub/raised-bed-cover-how-to-fit) is the edge method once you have chosen. Peter F., 20 October 2026. No lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Fleece and insect mesh get sold as the same raised bed cover in a different colour. They are not. Fleece takes the edge off a frost and the wind. Mesh keeps insects off when the holes are small and the skirt is sealed.

Our top picks

WYRJXYB WYRJXYB mesh and hoop kit

Best overall

WYRJXYB WYRJXYB mesh and hoop kit
8.7/10about £22.99
View offer
OAHAO OAHAO 2.5 m × 10 m mesh sheet

Best value

OAHAO OAHAO 2.5 m × 10 m mesh sheet
8.4/10about £16.99
View offer
FuBegi FuBegi fleece and hoop kit

Rank 3

FuBegi FuBegi fleece and hoop kit
8.4/10about £19.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What mesh does on a bed
  2. 2.What fleece does on a bed
  3. 3.When to use both in a season
  4. 4.Choose for your crop

What mesh does on a bed

Insect mesh lets air, light and rain through and stops insects that cannot pass the hole. OAHAO states 0.8 mm on a 2.5 m × 10 m sheet at £16.99. WYRJXYB states 0.8 mm × 1 mm, with hoops, on a 3 m × 9 m net at £22.99. A fine net is what you want for carrot fly. It is a poor frost blanket, because the holes vent the warmth a fleece would have held. A gap or a stretched hole undoes the millimetre figure.

What fleece does on a bed

Horticultural fleece is a non-woven sheet. FuBegi is 3 m × 10 m of 30 gsm with rods and clips at £19.99, and 4.2 from 212 reviews. CHEOAR is a loose 9 m × 3 m title at £15.99, with no hoops and no star line. The Society’s ordinary account is about 2°C of protection, useful against a light frost and as a windbreak. Do not read a frost bullet as −3°C. Fleece is a weak insect barrier. A weighed 30 gsm sheet can discourage birds, which is a CHEOAR claim, and it is not a measured mesh. Carrot fly and aphids are the wrong job for it.
WYRJXYB WYRJXYB mesh and hoop kit

Testsieger

WYRJXYB WYRJXYB mesh and hoop kit
8.7/10about £22.99
View offer

When to use both in a season

Use fleece first and mesh later, not one sheet for both. Keep 30 gsm fleece over early sowings while nights are sharp, then take it off once you ventilate most days. When carrot fly or cabbage whites are the reason for a cover, switch to a net with a stated hole around 0.8 mm and seal the skirt. A March lettuce is the fleece week. A May carrot row is the mesh week. Fleece left on through flowering excludes bees. FuBegi’s box is fleece only. WYRJXYB’s box is mesh only. OAHAO can go over hoops you already built, if the spare edge is enough to bury and you do not stretch the net.

Choose for your crop

Carrots and brassicas want a printed hole and a buried edge: OAHAO as the loose sheet, WYRJXYB if you want hoops. Early salad wants fleece, and FuBegi is the kit with a review history. CHEOAR is the loose sheet only if you check the parcel against 9 m × 3 m. A pop-up with no gsm and no millimetre does not settle this choice.

Common questions

Can one raised bed cover do frost and insects?
Not well. Fleece at 30 gsm is the frost and wind cloth in this set, and the Royal Horticultural Society puts that sort of cover at about 2°C, not at a hard-frost figure. Insect mesh around 0.8 mm is the fly and white-butterfly cloth, and it vents heat. OAHAO and WYRJXYB state mesh sizes. FuBegi and CHEOAR state 30 gsm. None of them is both. Use fleece for the cold start and mesh once insects are the problem.
Does garden fleece stop carrot fly?
Treat it as if it does not. A weighed fleece can put birds off, which is a claim on the loose 30 gsm sheet, and carrot fly is a small insect a non-woven blanket is not graded to stop. The covers that state a hole are the mesh sheet at 0.8 mm and the mesh kit at 0.8 mm × 1 mm. Even those fail if the edge is open.
Will insect mesh protect seedlings from a late frost?
Only in the sense that it breaks a little wind. It is not the about 2°C fleece effect the Society describes, because the holes let warm air out. A fine net left over a tender sowing on a frosty night is not a substitute for 30 gsm cloth. If both risks arrive in the same week, fleece overnight and mesh once the day has warmed is the sequence, not a single layer asked to be a blanket and a sieve.
Which should I buy for early salad?
Fleece. Early lettuce and similar sowings want the light frost buffer and a windbreak, then ventilation on a mild afternoon. FuBegi gives you 30 gsm cloth and hoops at £19.99 with 212 reviews. CHEOAR is the loose 9 m × 3 m title at £15.99 if you already have a frame, with no reviews in this capture. Mesh can wait until insects matter. Leaving fleece on into a warm spell is the mistake, not buying it.
Which should I buy for carrots?
Mesh with a stated hole, sealed to the soil. OAHAO at 0.8 mm is the loose sheet with 1,177 reviews. WYRJXYB adds hoops and states 0.8 mm × 1 mm. Fleece, including a well-reviewed 30 gsm kit, does not replace that. A micromesh title with no millimetre number is a weaker bet for this one pest. Rotation of the crop still matters, because a perfect net does not remove pupae already in the bed.
Do I have to take both covers off for bees?
Yes, when the flowers need a pollinator. Strawberries and courgettes are excluded by a sealed mesh and by a fleece left down. Leaf crops you cut before flowering can stay under the fabric that matches the pest or the frost. The swap from fleece to mesh does not remove that rule. Open the bed at flowering, then seal the mesh again afterwards if whites or birds are still visiting.

Related pages

Insect mesh for raised beds

Best raised bed cover UK

Raised bed cover

Raised bed cover buying guide: job, box, then centimetres

How to secure a raised bed cover against wind and gaps

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these listings were read on 20 October 2026. Page updated October 2026.

  1. RHS, Fleece and crop covers (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  2. RHS, Insect-proof mesh (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  3. RHS, Carrot fly (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  4. RHS, Cabbage root fly (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  5. RHS, Cloches (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  6. RHS, Warming soil for planting (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  7. Gardeners' World, how to use fleece (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  9. GOV.UK, accepting returns and giving refunds (retrieved 2026-10-20)