It may not be the sexiest item I’ve ever featured on this blog, but the Atlantic Pond and Garden Protector is actually one of the items that can change the experience of owning a pond the most. Here are a few things that this netting will do for your pond.

• It makes spring cleanup easier

I actually kind of love spring cleanup in the pond, mostly because it’s fun to wade into the pond and get my feet nibbled at by the fish (some spas actually offer this as an expensive service). I enjoy it, but only for about 15 minutes. Then it is less fun. If you can keep most of those leaves out of your pond in the first place, you’ve got a huge leg up on your cleanup come spring, which means more time enjoying or actually improving your pond.

• It keeps your water healthier

Again, keeping all of those leaves out of your pond means way less rotting material in your pond, and less of the water problems that come along with them.

• It makes your pond look nicer throughout the cold season

Despite the pretty picture of the leaf on the water that I showed last week in our Pond Photo Roundup, having tons of leaves blow into your pond isn’t the best thing for having an attractive pond throughout the winter, and you should absolutely be able to enjoy your pond year round.

• It protects your fish from predators 

In much of the country, fish predation actually steps up during autumn or winter. Migrating birds winging through your locale and local mammals looking for an easier meal when food becomes scarcer might see your pond as an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet with no wait for a table. A simple net is one of the easiest ways to shut down the lunch special, especially a net that’s above the water and not drooping in.

• It does double duty 

This isn’t just a net in a bag or on a spool. This particular net is called the Pond and Garden protector for a reason. This tented net system is easy to set up over your veggie garden once spring comes around, protecting your delicious home-grown treats from the eternally hungry birds that plague just about every unprotected garden.

Now, a lot of these upsides are helped by any pond net, but the advantages of this particular net system are probably pretty clear to you. It’s way, way easier to keep a net that’s a tented dome clear of leaves, as opposed to a normal pond net that will droop and stretch into the water under the weight of leafy autumn debris. In fact, the wind that is the bane of most pond nets will do most of the work for you, blowing the leaves off of instead of into your pond. And, if you’ve used traditional pond nets before, you can probably see how a tented system that seems more complex can actually be much simpler to install than a normal net. It’s easy, it does a ton for your pond (and you), and it’s reasonably priced. You won’t find many pond accessories that give you more bang for your buck. You can look outside right now and see that the leaves are already threatening to clog up your pond. Give the Atlantic Pond and Garden Protector a shot this year and save yourself a headache or two and enjoy your pond all the more this year.