13 ms·

This is the norm in the south asian country I come from. But ever since I moved to the EU, there have been no nets, then again there are noticeably fewer flies

by fmax30 5y ago

This is the norm in the south asian country I come from. But ever since I moved to the EU, there have been no nets, then again there are noticeably fewer flies here too.

namdnay 5y ago
Depends where in the EU. mosquito nets are quite common around the mediterranean, you'll see roller screens on most bedrooms around here
AlgorithmicTime 5y ago
Also the norm in the US. All my windows have screens built in.
masklinn 5y ago
Also less mosquitoes, and the drier air makes airflow somewhat less of a living requirement: iirc screen doors are also ubiquitous in the (humid and hot) US south, much less so in the north. window and door screens do absolutely exist in europe, but they’re definitely uncommon.
TeMPOraL 5y ago
It's becoming increasingly common where I live (Poland). We've installed nets in our last apartment, and the current one came with them already in place. There may not be that many flies in the EU as there are in South Asia, but there's enough of them to be annoying. Then there are mosquitoes, moths, wasps, bees - and the very bugs I've been installing these nets against - hornets. Before the net, we'd get 3-5 hornet visits per season. Running around the house late at night with an improvised flamethrower got tiring very quickly.
- stavros 5y ago
  Okay, first of all, tell me more about this flamethrower. Also, when you say "nets", do you mean "screens", ie on the windows?
  - TeMPOraL 5y ago
    > Okay, first of all, tell me more about this flamethrower. Just a lighter, a spray can, and steady hands. I know you're probably disappointed, but simplest solutions do work best :). (To be absolutely clear: I only use this against wasps and hornets, and only in situations where there's no safe way of shooing them back out through a window.) Operation: hold the lighter in front of you, light the flame, spray above it. Aim for sub-second bursts of flame - you don't want anything in the room to heat up. Never let the flame come close to any highly flammable surface (like drapes, or aforementioned mosquito net). Tactics: against hornets and wasps, I shoot either below it, or at it directly. Shooting below, the rising hot air will confuse the bug, possibly stun it for a moment. Shooting at it, a sub-second burst is enough to burn off is wings, at which point you can finish it off using your favorite percussive maintenance tool. Equipment considerations: - I tend to use cheap, widely available flint lighters. I have experimented with gasoline and butane (high-pressure) lighters before, but IIRC, they didn't work well. - For fuel, I use a deodorant. In the past, I've also used a hair spray - it's a good choice, because it enables a third mode of operation: cold mode. Because hair spray is viscous, hitting a bug with it is likely to clog its breathing apparatus and glue its wings, allowing you to safely apply the killing blow. I found it useful in a tent[0], where you absolutely do not want to play with an open flame of any kind. Anyway, any kind of spray with a flammable mixture will work, but pay attention to the possible combustion products. I do not recommend going for pressurized butane gas directly - it won't combust fully, and you'll be cleaning soot from every solid surface near you (ask me how I know). I've been thinking about building/3D-printing a mount to operate the flamethrower single-handed, but to be honest, using two hands gives greater control, and the optimal distance between the lighter and the spray can varies with the type of spray can and environmental conditions. > Also, when you say "nets", do you mean "screens", ie on the windows? Yes. I buy a box with a fine mesh net, which I cut down to size and attach to the inside of the window using provided mounting strips (adhesive on the window frame size, velcro on the net side). We call this "moskitiera" (mosquito net). For balcony doors, there are variants with the net split in half and held together with magnets - so you can walk through it, and it'll close behind you. -- [0] - I was once on a two-week camping trip where we were constantly assaulted by swarms of wasps. We didn't know until later that it was because there was a hive under the building near our site. The organizers of that camp actually funded me a supply of hair spray, and designated me as the camp's exterminator. The "cold mode" was useful for cleaning out tents every couple hours. After we left, the owners of the building decided it's too much hassle to clear out the hive, and burned the building down.
Nux 5y ago
Grew up near a forested area by the Danube river.. everyone and their dog had nets on their windows else the mosquitoes would turn your life into a nightmare.
only_as_i_fall 5y ago
Dont the windows have screens? In the US pretty much every window has a permanent screen outside the panel for this purpose...just assumed it was the same in europe
- nicoburns 5y ago
  I've pretty much never seen a screen in the UK. I think they might be more common in hotter countries further south.
- morelisp 5y ago
  They do not, and it's unfathomable why. One of the first things I did after moving to Berlin was put screens on our major windows. My European friends constantly complain about insects coming in (wasps are a big offender in Berlin - and technically you can't kill them) but for some reason never just put up a screen.
  - jbb_hn 5y ago
    This sounds like a potentially lucrative business opportunity!
    - morelisp 5y ago
      They are for sale, for cheap, in every drug store.
      - minitoar 5y ago
        The number of presumably Europeans in here citing screens blocking light as a reason for not installing screens makes me think maybe those screens are pretty low quality?
        morelisp 5y ago
        They are low-quality in that they tear pretty easily, you need to replace them every 3-4 years or if a bird/cat goes nuts on them (5 eur or so per sqm, probably there are cheaper brands if you are price-sensitive), but they don't block any more light than screens in the US. Less than some I've had.
vbezhenar 5y ago
In Kazakhstan we're using nets because of mosquitos. Flies are not a real issue, they're a nuisance, but not a big deal. Mosquitos on the other hand are real night-killers. Few of them might keep me awake until sunset with their buzzing. Of course preventing flies is a good side effect. In South Asia, I could imagine that mosquitos are more dangerous because of diseases they transmit.
mncharity 5y ago
Differences in regional naming and screen types are causing confusion in nearby comments. A screen door can be a secondary exterior rigid door with metal mesh panels[1], or a hanging fabric mesh door[2]. A window screen can be a metal mesh, in a rigid metal frame, tightly integrated with a window[3], or a flexible add-on[4]. The polyester/fiberglass/etc fabric meshes can be more opaque than the metal ones. [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Screen_door.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Screen_d... https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=screen+door https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=screen+door [2] https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=screen+door&viewtype=&tab= https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product... [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdK5h6smTU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdK5h6smTU [4] https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=window+net+loop&viewtype=&tab= https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product...

by fmax30 5y ago

This is the norm in the south asian country I come from. But ever since I moved to the EU, there have been no nets, then again there are noticeably fewer flies here too.

namdnay 5y ago

Depends where in the EU. mosquito nets are quite common around the mediterranean, you'll see roller screens on most bedrooms around here

AlgorithmicTime 5y ago

Also the norm in the US. All my windows have screens built in.

masklinn 5y ago

Also less mosquitoes, and the drier air makes airflow somewhat less of a living requirement: iirc screen doors are also ubiquitous in the (humid and hot) US south, much less so in the north. window and door screens do absolutely exist in europe, but they’re definitely uncommon.

TeMPOraL 5y ago

It's becoming increasingly common where I live (Poland). We've installed nets in our last apartment, and the current one came with them already in place. There may not be that many flies in the EU as there are in South Asia, but there's enough of them to be annoying. Then there are mosquitoes, moths, wasps, bees - and the very bugs I've been installing these nets against - hornets. Before the net, we'd get 3-5 hornet visits per season. Running around the house late at night with an improvised flamethrower got tiring very quickly.

stavros 5y ago
Okay, first of all, tell me more about this flamethrower. Also, when you say "nets", do you mean "screens", ie on the windows?
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  > Okay, first of all, tell me more about this flamethrower. Just a lighter, a spray can, and steady hands. I know you're probably disappointed, but simplest solutions do work best :). (To be absolutely clear: I only use this against wasps and hornets, and only in situations where there's no safe way of shooing them back out through a window.) Operation: hold the lighter in front of you, light the flame, spray above it. Aim for sub-second bursts of flame - you don't want anything in the room to heat up. Never let the flame come close to any highly flammable surface (like drapes, or aforementioned mosquito net). Tactics: against hornets and wasps, I shoot either below it, or at it directly. Shooting below, the rising hot air will confuse the bug, possibly stun it for a moment. Shooting at it, a sub-second burst is enough to burn off is wings, at which point you can finish it off using your favorite percussive maintenance tool. Equipment considerations: - I tend to use cheap, widely available flint lighters. I have experimented with gasoline and butane (high-pressure) lighters before, but IIRC, they didn't work well. - For fuel, I use a deodorant. In the past, I've also used a hair spray - it's a good choice, because it enables a third mode of operation: cold mode. Because hair spray is viscous, hitting a bug with it is likely to clog its breathing apparatus and glue its wings, allowing you to safely apply the killing blow. I found it useful in a tent[0], where you absolutely do not want to play with an open flame of any kind. Anyway, any kind of spray with a flammable mixture will work, but pay attention to the possible combustion products. I do not recommend going for pressurized butane gas directly - it won't combust fully, and you'll be cleaning soot from every solid surface near you (ask me how I know). I've been thinking about building/3D-printing a mount to operate the flamethrower single-handed, but to be honest, using two hands gives greater control, and the optimal distance between the lighter and the spray can varies with the type of spray can and environmental conditions. > Also, when you say "nets", do you mean "screens", ie on the windows? Yes. I buy a box with a fine mesh net, which I cut down to size and attach to the inside of the window using provided mounting strips (adhesive on the window frame size, velcro on the net side). We call this "moskitiera" (mosquito net). For balcony doors, there are variants with the net split in half and held together with magnets - so you can walk through it, and it'll close behind you. -- [0] - I was once on a two-week camping trip where we were constantly assaulted by swarms of wasps. We didn't know until later that it was because there was a hive under the building near our site. The organizers of that camp actually funded me a supply of hair spray, and designated me as the camp's exterminator. The "cold mode" was useful for cleaning out tents every couple hours. After we left, the owners of the building decided it's too much hassle to clear out the hive, and burned the building down.

Nux 5y ago

Grew up near a forested area by the Danube river.. everyone and their dog had nets on their windows else the mosquitoes would turn your life into a nightmare.

only_as_i_fall 5y ago

Dont the windows have screens? In the US pretty much every window has a permanent screen outside the panel for this purpose...just assumed it was the same in europe

nicoburns 5y ago
I've pretty much never seen a screen in the UK. I think they might be more common in hotter countries further south.
morelisp 5y ago
They do not, and it's unfathomable why. One of the first things I did after moving to Berlin was put screens on our major windows. My European friends constantly complain about insects coming in (wasps are a big offender in Berlin - and technically you can't kill them) but for some reason never just put up a screen.
- jbb_hn 5y ago
  This sounds like a potentially lucrative business opportunity!
  - morelisp 5y ago
    They are for sale, for cheap, in every drug store.
    - minitoar 5y ago
      The number of presumably Europeans in here citing screens blocking light as a reason for not installing screens makes me think maybe those screens are pretty low quality?
      - morelisp 5y ago
        They are low-quality in that they tear pretty easily, you need to replace them every 3-4 years or if a bird/cat goes nuts on them (5 eur or so per sqm, probably there are cheaper brands if you are price-sensitive), but they don't block any more light than screens in the US. Less than some I've had.

vbezhenar 5y ago

In Kazakhstan we're using nets because of mosquitos. Flies are not a real issue, they're a nuisance, but not a big deal. Mosquitos on the other hand are real night-killers. Few of them might keep me awake until sunset with their buzzing. Of course preventing flies is a good side effect. In South Asia, I could imagine that mosquitos are more dangerous because of diseases they transmit.

mncharity 5y ago

Differences in regional naming and screen types are causing confusion in nearby comments. A screen door can be a secondary exterior rigid door with metal mesh panels[1], or a hanging fabric mesh door[2]. A window screen can be a metal mesh, in a rigid metal frame, tightly integrated with a window[3], or a flexible add-on[4]. The polyester/fiberglass/etc fabric meshes can be more opaque than the metal ones. [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Screen_door.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Screen_d... https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=screen+door https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=screen+door [2] https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=screen+door&viewtype=&tab= https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product... [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdK5h6smTU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdK5h6smTU [4] https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=window+net+loop&viewtype=&tab= https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product...