Screens?

[LinuxRandal]

You can open windows?

Only sometimes to see the blue screens.

Sorry, had to.

How many of you have replaced the felt on them? (mine are due as wasps that land on them have walked in between them this year)

Now at my brothers farm, even with the screens, the last couple of years, ladybugs will still get in (you can see them swarm the house at times).

[BobSch]

Only sometimes to see the blue screens.

Sorry, had to.

How many of you have replaced the felt on them? (mine are due as wasps that land on them have walked in between them this year)

Now at my brothers farm, even with the screens, the last couple of years, ladybugs will still get in (you can see them swarm the house at times).

We don't get ladybugs but in the Fall it's box elder bugs. They crawl all over the house and find the smallest cracks to get in. I spray around the basement windows and that helps... a little.

[cabinetman]

How many of you have replaced the felt on them? (mine are due as wasps that land on them have walked in between them this year)

Besides our having the similar insect population as the Congo, the no-seeums are so small, seems like they can fly full speed right through a screen without serious injury.

.

[leehljp]

Another issue that has not been mentioned so far is "dust". We had screens when I was growing up, and we had a "whole house" attic fan that was great at keeping the house cool in hot summers. Screens kept the bugs, flies, and mosquitos out but it sure let the dust in. In the cities, dust was not quite as much of a problem as on a farm, but still the dust was significantly higher than if the windows were not open.

For those with dust and pollen allergies, open windows are a pain. I remember my mom dusting, sweeping and mopping almost every day for a couple of hours each day, no room left uncleaned. For those who are near the coast and get a sea breeze that has little or no pollen, they have escaped a major problem that those inland people do experience.

Today, We open the windows sparingly - for a few hours a day about twice a month when the air is fresh and no pollens are in the air. There is enough air exchange with going in and out of the doors when I am around!

[Kristofor]

I am in the UK but lived in Florida for a few years so understand the usefulness of screens but feel the need to correct a few things.

1. I do not believe there is a significant difference in the insect population between Europe and the US. However, there are differences in type.

That would be unusual as there are wildly different insect populations within the US itself, so there must be differences in at least some areas... I cannot imagine that there would be folks leaving their windows open without screens anywhere that had even 1/4 the number of mosquitoes we have around here (and that's with the Mosquito control district guys doing their thing in the cities, let alone in outstate areas). Doing so here would result in hudreds of bites per night.

2. The European window industry is set up for "custom" production so there is no premium added to costs.
The "unusual construction material" common to most European buildings is masonry or brick and as such not subject to insect attack, therefore people are less bothered by a few insects entering the building.

There may not be a specific surcharge for custom work but there is some degree of underlying cost for lower efficiency of non-standard work. That may be much lower than in the US but it's never going to be quite as efficient as a factory churning out the same sized windows all day long.

"Unusual construction materials" likely covers not just the material but also the methods of work/construction as well. In my mind it is not automatically a pejorative term. If you work on any "older" (call it 75+ years over here) or self-built/farm homes over here you'll run into the same thing.

Generally structure attacking insects I'm aware of aren't entering via open windows but working from the outside in.

[Slik Geek]

1. I do not believe there is a significant difference in the insect population between Europe and the US. However, there are differences in type.

There has GOT to be a difference in the insect population. I can't even imagine having a home without screens here in northern Illinois. The bug population is too dense, starting shortly after it warms up in the spring. Back in my motorcycle riding days, in August in particular, I had to stop every 10 miles at night and clean off my helmet "windshield" because I couldn't see anymore due to a continuous layer of bug guts.

I have spent some time on several occasions in southeastern Tennessee recently and was surprised by the comparative lack of insects, so I know the population varies here in the US between regions. What puzzles me is that the climate in Southern Tennessee would seem conducive to a vibrant insect population - but clearly there is no comparison.

Several times each summer we have to clean off our front porch walls and ceilings because we have 30-50 large spiders (and small ones that I can't count) that take up residence on the walls and ceiling (they hide in various cavities during the day). These spiders are well fed and enjoy an insect feeding frenzy. They leave an incredible amount of insect carcass debris and what appears to be excrement droppings, hence the cleaning requirement. (We have a light that remains on all night, so that draws a multitude of insects).

BTW, one pest we have in abundance that is a yard pest, not a house pest, is Japanese beetles. In July, I trap several thousand a week (literally multiple pounds of them a week). When I put out the pheromone trap, they start landing before I can even get the trap set (and it only takes about 90 seconds). Once I get it set, I look down wind and I can see a line of them on approach, very much like air traffic approach to a busy airport like O'Hare.

[cabinetman]

(We have a light that remains on all night, so that draws a multitude of insects).

Have you tried one of those yellow bug light bulbs?

BTW, one pest we have in abundance that is a yard pest, not a house pest, is Japanese beetles. In July, I trap several thousand a week (literally multiple pounds of them a week). When I put out the pheromone trap, they start landing before I can even get the trap set (and it only takes about 90 seconds). Once I get it set, I look down wind and I can see a line of them on approach, very much like air traffic approach to a busy airport like O'Hare.

Those might be edible...yum.

.

[Slik Geek]

Have you tried one of those yellow bug light bulbs?

Some time back we tried the yellow bulb. While it may have decreased the number of insects somewhat (maybe just certain types), there still was a feeding frenzy for the spiders and the resulting mess. We disliked the color, and since it didn't help all that much, we went back to white light. Thanks for the suggestion.