Insect Nets on exterior windows

Accomodation, House and Garden
1
Hi all,

I do have a curiosity ... how do you manage all insects that enter your home during the night / day time ?

Our solution, in my home country, was to put insect nets ( aluminium framing with a wired net that prevent most insects from entering ) on the external part of the window. I haven't seen anything similar here, I do have noticed, that most people close their shutters ( wooden ) at night, but I am thinking that in the summer time this might not be the best option ( lack of air --> keeping in mind that also no AC's are installed).

Is it the same situation as the AC , that they are ruining the facade of the building or anything similar , or are they not practical here ?

Thanks in advance for future solutions.

2
All our windows and doors, apart from the front door, if they are intended to be opened have insect screens. The windows have fixed ones, the doors either have concertina style screens or open in the opposite direction to the door and stay in place with magnets. Not sure why you think they aren’t used here. Certainly when we had the windows and doors fitted it wasn’t seen as a strange request.

3
See Hornbach, Migros Brico, coop Brico or Landi. Any company that deals with window stores (roller or wooden) should deal with these as well.

In summer they also protect a little from direct sunlight.

4
We have both sliding and fixed screens made and installed by Rutschmann (Google)...

5
We have AC units, and insect netting on the balcony doors.

Tom

6
Same as EyeBeeBe. When we bought our house, all the rooms upstairs (4 bedrooms and a bathroom) already had retractable netting; surprisingly none of the windows downstairs had any, so we Googled something like "custom-made mosquito nets", and had a contractor come over, measure the windows where we wanted them, and custom make some for us. He does this for a living, so it must be quite common.

7
When we renovated our 80s house, we had window screens and screen doors custom made. We used a local company, ISP-Zürichsee:

https://isp-zuerisee.ch

The screens are well made, installation quick and efficient - but that came at quite a price, especially for a curved window. Think thousands.

Because of the price, we chose not to do some of the balcony doors.

We regularly need to repair the screen door leading to the garden, as screen can't stand up to over-eager mutts. OH DIYs the repairs using screening roll from B/H or Hornbach I can't remember which one.

Bugs seem to be getting worse, and temps warmer, so doors are open more often, so we need to add screens to the balcony doors - and this time around OH will DIY those too.

You can buy kits at B/H to make screens for doors and windows. An example of a screen door kit is here:

https://www.hornbach.ch/shop/Insekte...2/artikel.html

Another brand is Tesa, which has many different products. Their telescoping frames for doors and windows are perhaps easier for those who are not DIY aficionados, but a bit more expensive. Here:

https://www.bauundhobby.ch/gartenein...16cm/p/6736664

And this bit to mount:

https://www.bauundhobby.ch/gartenein...eiss/p/6736671

So for either CHF 54 or CHF 169, the DIY versions are much less expensive than the 1K per door I paid for custom made back in 2004.

I should note that I have heard that prices for custom made have come way down since we installed ours 15+ years ago. Back then screens were not something people standardly wanted, and so premium prices were charged. Now that they are increasingly expected, you should not write off custom made without looking into current prices, you might be pleasantly surprised.

8
Perfect, thank you all for the quick answers... thing is I did not notice these nets on any of my neighbours windows ( or the same when I lived in Zurich )... I found https://rutschmann.swiss/ and requested a quick quote / but yes I will go to Hornbach and check what they have there.

9
This is very similar to what we used back home, from my POV you just need to drill 4 holes in the window to install the hinges and 4 more onto the net to install the conector for the hinges

Hopefully I do have the "classic" window size(s) which all these stores sell ,

because custom work is costly everywhere

10
Since we are renting, we have put screens that velcro on to the window frame ( sticky back tape) on the windows we open most often. They are cheap but only last one or two seasons. We cannot put anything permanent, so this works.

11
Our place has not got them on every window but every room has at least one window with them on. Usually the smallest window so amount of light into the room is not affected.

You can get clip on ones made that can be removed easily for cleaning and repair.

If you don't have standard windows and fall over at the cost of getting some made then the kits are pretty good but you'll need a soft mallet, a fine metal hacksaw, a tape measure and a bit of time to fit them together.

Aside from the inconvenience of flies and mosquitos, the mesh will also keep out pantry moths which can be a big problem here.

12
Coming from Australia, where insect screens are absolutely essential, we also found it strange that they are not widely used.

However, with the pollen, we discovered they are quite a liability.... the pollen just makes them so messy.

Also, most of the year you don't need them - and they do also block the light.

We add a cheap removable one (like the ones described) which you can from coop or migros or any hardware supplier - one of my kids insists on using them continuously in his bedroom as is paranoid about bugs biting him when sleeping. The other place we put one is on the kitchen windows during summer as the flies and wasps are particularly attracted by the smell of cooking.

On the entrance to our balcony we have a net curtain which is pulled across during 'insect season'.

That's what works for us.

13
Do they sell the kids at Hornbach too?

14
Drilling holes may be fine if your own your house/apartment, but not permitted if you rent. At least, not unless you can guarantee that you will restore the window-frames to their current state before you leave. That can, perhaps, be done if the frames are wooden. If, however, the glazing is not of a good quality it is better not to tamper with them, since you don't want to be doing anything that will potentially increase any risk of moisture collecting between the glass panels, or even simply of your not being able to restore the glory of, say, aluminium/painted frames. Hence this good suggestion of swisscanmom.

15
We use pollen nets for our hay fever sufferers. Keeps out insects as well. Just stick on ones.

For us, we just use anti-mosquito vapourises.

16
Also I found the base of the nets and accessories on hornbach , I am ok with a little DIY :

https://www.hornbach.de/shop/Insekte...2/artikel.html

But I do have a Bauhaus close to me, will go there to also check their options.

This is also true, but there are a lot of fillers these days on the market and you can mask almost any holes done into the walls or plastic. But yes, I would also keep this in mind / I just want to find the best solution for us.

And correct, I do not need nets on every window, but at least for one which almost always stays open for every room.

Thank you for all the advice given

17
Alternatively, have a grown up conversation with the landlord. I’d certainly see screens as an improvement and would be more than happy for a tenant to install and leave them without reverting back to original condition. Landlord might even pay or make a contribution. Certainly happened when we pointed out a few things when we were renting.

18
I did have this talk, about drilling some holes, with the owner of the building, I do have a green light for this ( because I needed to install curtains, lights and other stuff ) so this would not be a problem for me, and yes I also do see it as an improvement

19
If you have wood windows be careful about using sticky tape. Certain types can damage the wood when you remove it.

One solution I used in the past on large door openings was to install the mesh in the curtain tracks. It was a dog friendly solution.

20
Previous house I stayed in (for about 13 years coincidentally), had the velcro/sticky tape type around certain windows applied by the owner. They held all those years and I kept the mesh attached to the velcro of a smaller window, but indeed by the time I left, the wood had been somewhat ruined by the tape...

Was in need of having all wooden parts re-painted anyway, but it 'was' effective if I think of the fact that I never had to worry about it as it held in place.