SCREENING THE MOSQUITOES HOW IT ALL BEGAN There has been much talk about how to escape the mosquitoes. We’d tried mosquito nets, but somehow when we got up after spending the night slapping in our sleep, we’d find that quite a few had been actually quite happily imprisoned inside, feasting on us. We tried smoking them out. Camphor was used in the olden days, but now we have smoke-emitting “Tortoises” (and “Samurais” etc). their obnoxious smell was very effective and quite fast (at least at driving my husband out of the room, moments after they were lit.
The mosquitoes possibly tolerated them a little better, because they were back after a few hours, and went about their work quiet happily, while my poor husband suffered - through the night). Now we have the non-smoking chemicals, with “electronic machines”, (some call themselves “macchar ka yamraj”). These were quite effective in driving off these pests, but we found that we were getting headaches - perhaps from their invisible fumes ! Then I tried applying “Odomos” on the exposed parts of my body. (my husband couldn’t use this, as his skin seemed to react to this). For some time I could sleep blissfully, as no mosquito cared to bite through this chemical barrier, but my husband would complain that while they were driven away from me, they used to be especially attracted to him, and happily kept biting him through the night.
The mosquitoes seemed to be winning the battle! Sometimes they were warded off for some time, till they sneaked back to their battle zone and would soon introduce themselves with songs and stings. Whether immediately or after some time, these little creatures would win the battle and spoil our sleep. And then we learnt that a glass company had started making insect netting, and the mosquitoes were apparently being kept out. We were quite skeptical, because much earlier we had in fact considered fixing “Netlon” screens on our windows, but because this would be a considerable impediment to the flow and circulation of air through the rooms, (and would collect considerable dust, and would require some effort in cleaning), we had dropped this idea. (Netlon we felt was only a minuscule improvement over the fly-proof netting used in the olden days).
So we weren’t hopeful until we visited a friend, who seemed to swear by this newfound remedy. As we sat in their drawing room, we could see clearly through windows, so we asked them why they hadn’t fixed it on all the windows.
They said that they had. We had to go close to see that in fact the net was so fine and light, (and hardly caused an impediment to vision), that we had not even noticed their presence until we went close. That convinced us. Now we too have got the whole house fixed with this fibre-glass netting, and are no longer tortured by these nocturnal pests.. WHAT IS IT The Saint-Gobain Insect Screens are made of fine fibre-glass netting, which is very light and strong (since it is of fibre-glass). Available in several colours : white, black, gray, and several other shades. THE COST It costs Rs 35/- per square foot of netting including all costs for fixing in place (in 2007, when we fixed it). (We had to use a total of 180 square feet). HOW IS IT FIXED The netting is conveniently affixed to the windows using Velcro. Nets are cut to the size of the windows. Velcro strips are stitched along the edges of the nets, and Velcro strips are fixed onto the windows.
If the windows are wooden, (as ours were), metal staples, are “stapled”, using a stapler. If the windows have metal frames adhesive is used. CLEANING The nets can be easily stripped off, and washed in soapy water at normal temperature. (We have to rip-off the Velcro whenever we have to open or shut the windows. We were told that the Velcro had a life of 20,000 “rip-offs” ! Obviously we haven’t tested the truth of this, but so far the Velcro used seems none-the-worse for wear.) DRAWBACKS
1.Mosquitoes, which have sneaked in, cannot get out.
2.The net acts as a screen which does not form much of as impediment to the flow of air or breeze, or to block light from coming into the rooms. It also does permit dust to come in. (Again larger particles are blocked and get collected on the outside).
3.The fibre-glass is not very “smooth” (like velvet !!) to the touch (but then we don’t need to touch it normally, do we ?)
4.The netting does get a little wavy, loose, or sagging after some use, and some washings. They do not remain as tight and taut as when first fixed. (But since they are nearly invisible to the sight [at least the white coloured one is], this does not cause an aesthetic problem. And does not reduce the functionality in any way). CAUTION After the first wash we found that the nets had shrunk. Fibre-glass does not shrink, so it appears that the Velcro strips had shrunk.
