To Net or Not to Net?

Hello, Hope I can get a few opinions and advice from all you experienced growers out there. I am a bit puzzled as what to do.

I am presently weeding a section of my newly acquired plot. The section in question is about 10 X 5 meters and is full of fruit bushes, raspberries, red currents, gouseberries, blue berries and a few strawberries. The bushes are fairly well established but not huge. They are all starting to bare fruit.

An old gentleman on a nearby plot said that I need to hurry up and get them netted before the birds get them. I have had a wonder around and noticed that hardly any other plot holders have their fruits netted.

So I pose the question do I net them or not?

If you want  a good crop of fruit, net them...  

You can find some scrap wood and make a sort of box over the needed area, then drape any sort of bird netting over it and clip it on. For cabbage butterflies, the small white ones, make sure the holes are small enough that they can't slip in. I believe Poundland sells suitable ones.

Or, if you can find some spare plastic waterpiping, either at a boot sale, or leftovers from a friend, etc, you can hoop these over the area by setting in some dowels into the ground and pushing pipe ends over these.

Another place to try is your local freecycle for bits and pieces.