For some reason, window screens are not a standard feature of Swiss apartments -- honestly, they're not standard equipment anywhere I've been outside the States. We're not sure why, but it is the way things are.
It's a bit of a problem, as flying bugs are fairly common here as compared to other places we have lived before. Everything from gnats to houseflies to wasps to mosquitos are pretty common, enough so to be annoying. After LGG started getting bug bites in bed, we decided to see what we could do.
A quick trip to the Coop Bau & Hobby in Oerlikon armed me with the bits to put screens in our windows. They sell kits which include a roll of narrow velcro tape (sticky on one side, velcro on the other) and mesh of various sizes. LGG and I picked up a few boxes, along with other odds and ends, and headed back.
In the process, I violated the traditions of males in my family twice. First, I didn't have to go back to the DIY store for additional or different stuff even once, let alone the standard three times. Second, having purchased something for a minor home improvement, I actually installed it that day, rather than letting it ripen for a few weeks. Sorry, Dad, I'm a failure.
To put up the screens, you clean the window frame, cut the tape to fit, stick it on, then stick the screen to the velcro surface, stretch it, trim it to fit, and bingo, you have a window screen. The first time, it took a little while, but by the fifth window, I was able to put up a screen in 5-10 minutes. All told, it took a bit over an hour to put screens on all our windows.
What a difference that hour has made. Since mid-July, we've had almost no flying bugs in our place (except for the fruit flies that come in with our bananas - and ZMG is adept at trapping those buggers). LGG is no longer getting mosquito bites, and we're happier because now the windows can be open on warm evenings. Plus I got to be manly, install stuff, and protect my family. It's a win-win-win situation!
ZMG is proud of herself for inventing a haiku about this bit of home improvement:
We are so lucky
He put screens on the windows
Fewer bugs - yipee!
2 comments:
Yes! We need these too. Thanks for posting your experience with these. I was a bit hesitant about getting some sticky mesh to put on the windows.. but it sounds easy enough. I hope it doesn't take the paint off the windows... but I think they are metal. All is good. Will you keep it on in winter? Why not, right?
It was pretty easy to install the screens, so I'd say go for it. They don't seem to affect the fit of the windows, so I think we'll leave them up as long as we can. A friend of mine here said he thinks they'd last a year or so - so for 60 CHF/yr we can have no bugs? Sounds good to me.
If you do decide to put them up, be sure to get the black kind -- the white mesh really messes up the view through the window, while the black kind is hardly visible.
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