# Window Screens



## JCheeverLoophole

Add another item to the list of things that baffle me about France: The absence of screens on windows.

So now the weather is hot and buggy here in France, yet our rented house has no window screens. So when it cools off in the evening we have the choice of opening the windows and being eaten alive by mosquitoes, or roasting in the residual heat with the windows closed. The house does have a bug zapper on the outside wall that zaps a bug once every hour or so, so we've got that going for us.

In the decades that I've been staying in rented dwellings in France I don't ever remember seeing a window with a screen.


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## Bevdeforges

Europeans in general are not big on window screens. A family member of mine (married into the family, not blood relative) had screens made up for his family in Poland and sent them over to be installed on the house. The Polish family HATED them - because the blocked the air flow and made it look like they didn't want to visit with neighbors passing by the open windows. It's a cultural thing as much as a "convenience" - also I suspect climate change may be involved, because mosquitoes are becoming more and more of a problem here as things get warmer and wetter.

You'll also no doubt notice that the French don't worry about leaving standing pools of water around their houses - where mosquitoes are known to breed. Back in many parts of the US, there are even local ordinances requiring residents to clean up potential mosquito breeding pools, but few people here seem to be aware of the issue.


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## BackinFrance

In respect of leaving standing water around, it may depend on where you live, because in many areas of France there have been major campaigns about the issue in order to reduce the moustiques tigres, and where those mosquitoes were or are becoming a problem, people have most certainly been listening and passing the message on. So here it is very rare for people to leave standing water around, though we do have a problem now with rain followed by heat and more rain followed by more heat...


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## BackinFrance

You may be able to find various types of removable screen at your local bricolage store, if not try the internet though it is best to see the real thing before you buy to ensure what is on offre really meets your needs. Alternatively you could try burning citronella, you can find the coils and vacuum kinds of pots that hold and cover them safely in many shops

Also ask your local garden store about herbs that keep mosquitos away that would be suitable to place in pots on your balcony in your local area.


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## JayBee1

Attitudes must be changing. We just had a quote done for professionally installed screens and the representative told us they were have never been busier and we would be looking at October for installation.


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## BackinFrance

Sorry, I thought you must be living in rented accommodation

Glad you are getting it sorted. 

Delivery and installation times are currently long in France for most things related to home improvement, even things manufactured here (not unfortunately much, and even less given materials such as aluminium and steel). The sooner you order, the sooner you will be in the relevant suppliers queue..


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## Bevdeforges

Interesting - I just wonder if that vendor providing the window screens has mostly expats as customers or if the French are starting to pick up on the notion of screens (at last). The type of window typically used here tends to make the installation of screens a bit trickier, but as BiF says, if you want them, then better jump in on the offer and at least you may have them in place for next summer.


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## EuroTrash

I remember way way back, this would be the 1960s and 1970s, removable screens seemed to be common. They were an entire wooden frame that fitted inside the window frame itself and you opened the window wide and fitted them in. You couldn't close the window with them there and they were quite heavy so it was quite a thing putting them in and taking them out again. At my penfriend's house it was always Daddy's job. In those days all the frames were wooden. Maybe that's when people stopped bothering with screens when they had their windows replaced.
Funnily enough there are integral flyscreens in the mobilhome I'm currently living in. I found them by mistake when I went to pull the blind down and got hold of the wrong thing and discovered I'd pulled a flysceen down. I forget they're there, I have never actually used them but then, flying bugs don't seem to be a problem here.


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## Befuddled

I have never seen screens in the 20 years I have lived here but I see plenty of screen materials to make them and occasionally see them in Lidl sold as a kit. A large piece of cloth mesh supplied with velcro for attachment, offered in black or white.
I used the black mesh stapled to a thin mahogany frame I made up and it fixes with two pieces of velcro so its easy to remove in winter. It doesn't interfere with either shutters or window opening and is nearly invisible from inside or out. Not rocket science.


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## zarathustra

I've never seen anyone use them. I just use some DIY ones that I slot into place, but if it's hot, I close the shutters, and leave the window open. Thankfully I don't suffer from mosquitoes where I live though; the odd one or two on occasion.


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## JayBee1

EuroTrash said:


> I remember way way back, this would be the 1960s and 1970s, removable screens seemed to be common. They were an entire wooden frame that fitted inside the window frame itself and you opened the window wide and fitted them in. You couldn't close the window with them there and they were quite heavy so it was quite a thing putting them in and taking them out again. At my penfriend's house it was always Daddy's job. In those days all the frames were wooden. Maybe that's when people stopped bothering with screens when they had their windows replaced.
> Funnily enough there are integral flyscreens in the mobilhome I'm currently living in. I found them by mistake when I went to pull the blind down and got hold of the wrong thing and discovered I'd pulled a flysceen down. I forget they're there, I have never actually used them but then, flying bugs don't seem to be a problem here.





BackinFrance said:


> Sorry, I thought you must be living in rented accommodation
> 
> Glad you are getting it sorted.
> 
> Delivery and installation times are currently long in France for most things related to home improvement, even things manufactured here (not unfortunately much, and even less given materials such as aluminium and steel). The sooner you order, the sooner you will be in the relevant suppliers queue..


Good memory. We are in a rental and the sales rep knew that going in. We told him we wanted all the information...how installation would work... so when we present it to the owner, all his questions will be answered.


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## BackinFrance

JayBee1 said:


> Good memory. We are in a rental and the sales rep knew that going in. We told him we wanted all the information...how installation would work... so when we present it to the owner, all his questions will be answered.


I didn't actually remember, at least not knowingly.


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## Bevdeforges

JayBee1 said:


> We told him we wanted all the information...how installation would work... so when we present it to the owner, all his questions will be answered.


If the owner is French I wouldn't expect him to be overly thrilled with the idea, particularly if you expect him to pay for them. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.


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## JayBee1

He's aware and we've had a conversation. We'll see what can be agreed on.


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## vmoxa

Castorama often stocks rolls of screen material familiar to Americans. The width accommodates 50cm windows. It is found in the garden section outside the building, by fencing materials, not inside by doors and windows.

The impression I get is, this is for camping, not home use. I've made several window screens using wood moulding, small metal corner brackets... and a little velcro to hold the screens in place.


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## Nomoss

Plenty of flywire doors and window screens available. Search "porte anti moustiques".

We're thinking about *THIS ONE* fitted in the door recess, outside the roller shutter frame.


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