Unroll chicken wire. It can be feisty, so get something heavy to hold it down. That makes it easy to measure and figure out where you need to cut. Seriously, the wire cutters are sort of a non-negotiable, because they do such a good job with chicken wire.

Make your cuts straight through the middle of the chicken wire hexagons, so that you're getting a straight, even cut throughout. Once you're done, put away the excess chicken wire.

This is why I love chicken wire- it's so easy and malleable to make your desired shape. Make sure to watch out for any sharp points, but this step is probably the easiest one. First, close your cloche by bringing the two sides together and twisting the loose wires into each other.

Then, scrunch the top so critters can't get in there. And there you go!

To keep your cloches on your plants, consider using some landscape pins at the base.

It's not the prettiest thing, but it's so functional and easy to make. Good luck with those pesky pests this year!

What's really needed is a cutter that will cut virtually flush to the surface. This German-made tool will do just that. Plus the hinge geometry is specially designed to provide exceptionally high leverage. (For example, it will cut hardened piano wire up to 1/8" in diameter and soft steel wire up to 1/4".) A pro's tool made by Germany's #1 maker of hand mechanical tools.