General > General Technical Chat
Window screens
james_s:
They're not electronic but they are technology and this is the most worldwide forum I'm on. I was chatting with my British friend recently and he was complaining about the warm weather and not being able to open windows because of all the bugs getting in the house so I asked if he needed new window screens and he said he didn't have any and that they aren't really a thing there at all. I was surprised by this, in the US and Canada screens on the windows and screen doors on sliding glass patio doors are universal, I've never seen a house built in the last ~75 years that didn't at least originally have them. It's a very simple technology, they're inexpensive, low maintenance, easy to retrofit and practically invisible. We have them in various designs for all styles of windows, even special roll-up screens for windows and hatches on RVs (caravans) and boats. The UK has bugs very similar to those here in the USA, so why are window screens not a thing there? Are people simply not aware they exist? I'd have thought the relative rarity of air conditioning in that part of the world would make screens even more compelling. Bugs entering the house are a nuisance, even if they're not the kind that bite or sting.
Do other parts of the world not have them either?
Ed.Kloonk:
Fly screens (as we call them) are all fun and games until you have a cat.
Circlotron:
Maybe climate change has brought bugs to areas that historically were not a problem?
james_s:
I find it unlikely that the UK didn't have flying insects until recently.
Yeah the screens can be a challenge with cats, but that can be mitigated by not opening the window that the cat likes to sit in, and put some double sided tape on the sills of the windows you do want to open. Most cats hate stepping on anything sticky and will quickly learn to avoid those windows. Mine are geriatric at this point and can no longer jump up to most of the windows.
TimFox:
On my first visit to Germany, ca. 1990 during August, I was not surprised that reasonably-priced hotels did not have air conditioning, but I could not believe that they had no screens on the windows to keep the wasps out when trying to cool the room. Outdoor temperatures were > 32o C.
Another summer trip to Belgium: also no screens, but they gave us an electric plug-in chemical dispenser to repel mosquitos.
The worst tar-paper shack in the poorest area of the US has window screens and a screen door.
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