Zip Ties for Home and Garden

Most households get by with two or three lengths. Pick length by how far the tie has to wrap: it should close with a few inches of tail to pull, then get trimmed. Pick color by where it goes: natural for inside, black for outside or anywhere sunlight reaches.

Bundle sizes below are rough approximations based on length, since width and head design change the exact capacity.

Zip ties are best at holding light things in position. These are some of the jobs where they earn their place in a kitchen drawer or garage.

• Cord management: bundle cables behind entertainment centers and desks, and tie a power strip's cord to a desk leg so it stays put
• Labels: tie a tag to cords at a power strip, to keys, to storage bins or to spare parts bags
• Garage organization: bundle rakes and brooms, secure a coiled extension cord, and keep hoses tidy
• Garden: attach trellis netting, fasten chicken wire or garden netting to stakes, and support sturdy canes and climbing roses with loose loops
• Holiday and party decorations: fasten lights, garland and banners to railings and fences
• Quick fixes: hold a loose fence picket in place until you can screw it back, or keep a drooping cable or low-voltage landscape light wire off the ground
• Moving and storage: keep cabinet doors on stored furniture closed, bundle bed rails and table legs together
• Patio: keep outdoor furniture cushions tied to chairs in wind, and keep furniture covers from blowing off

Zip ties are simple, but a few safety rules matter. Their strength rating is a loop tensile strength, the load at which a new tie fails in a straight lab pull, not a load you should hang from them. Age, sun and cold reduce that strength over time.

• Never use zip ties as restraints on a person, or around anyone's wrists, ankles or neck; they tighten easily and cannot be loosened without cutting
• Never put a tie around a pet's neck or use it as a collar, leash attachment or muzzle, and never tie an animal to anything with a zip tie
• Never use ties for lifting, towing, climbing, or holding anything overhead that could fall on someone, such as heavy planters, shelves or ceiling fixtures
• Do not use ties for child safety devices, car seats, bike or helmet repairs, or ladder and swing set parts
• Cut tails flush with flush cutters, not scissors at an angle, so no sharp point is left
• Pick up clippings right away and store ties out of reach of small children and pets, since the pieces are a choking hazard
• Cut ties off by snipping away from you and away from the cord or plant stem, never by pulling a knife toward your hand

Zip ties work well on woody, sturdy growth like climbing roses, raspberries, established vines and trellised canes. For soft-stemmed vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, soft plant ties or strips of cloth are gentler, though a loose zip tie can do the job if you check it often.

1. 1Use black UV-stabilized ties outdoors so they do not crack and fall off mid-season.
2. 2Wrap the tie around the stake or trellis first, then loosely around the stem, in a figure eight so the stem does not rub directly against the support.
3. 3Leave room to slip a finger between the tie and the stem.
4. 4Check plant ties every few weeks during the growing season and loosen or replace any that are getting snug.
5. 5Never tie a young tree trunk to a stake with a zip tie; use a wide, flexible tree strap and remove it after a year or so.
6. 6Cut ties off at the end of the season, and pick up the pieces so they do not end up in compost or the lawn mower.

Standard zip ties lock permanently by design. The simplest removal is to cut the tie with flush cutters. A standard tie can often be released by pressing a small flat screwdriver or pin against the locking tab inside the head, but releasing weakens the pawl, so do not reuse a released tie for anything important.

For jobs you undo often, like cords behind a desk you rearrange or camping and holiday gear, hook-and-loop straps are reusable and gentler on cables. For heavy, permanent or overhead jobs, use screws, hooks, brackets or stainless hardware.

Nirah sells ties in household quantities as well as larger packs. If you prefer US-made products, the Stealth line is manufactured and packaged in the USA.