No screens on windows in Europe--Why?
 

I just have to ask this to see if anyone knows why......there are no screens on any of the windows of hotels, homes, ect. What is up with that? Actually, I DID see screens on the windows of one home.......on the little island of Burano in Italy. Really, the last place I would have expected to see them. It actually got quite humerous as part of my sight-seeing began to include the quest for finding a screen on a window.....anywhere from Italy all the way to Ireland! <BR>Linda R.

Haven't seen them in the UK or Ireland. I've decided I could make a fortune marketing them, but I'd probably be put on a hit list by the fly swatter people.

I have often wondered that as well...I remember closing windows in Greece cause I thought bugs would get in and waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. When we were in Italy we kept the wooden shutters "closed" all the time..it kept it dark and cool inside and the bugs out.

I suppose it's just because, in most of the UK, anyway, we don't get enough flies to warrant them. <BR> <BR>For a few weeks in the summer I get the odd fly/bee/wasp coming into my kitchen when I have the window and door wide open, but it's not enough to want to bother with a screen. <BR> <BR>Having said that, there are certainly parts of Europe where they really could do with screens, so go for it Ann - you could make your fortune.

A good many places in Europe have been deemed historical sites within their provinces, towns or countries themselves. Unlike here, most lack a plaque or other exterior designation. When making any kind of alteration from the "original" (whenever it was documented) the owners must obtain written permission from the government. Now, we Americans know how "quickly" our government moves, and European ones don't move any faster on rulings of this kind.... <BR> <BR>This info is based on what I found out from a French architect, employed by the French gov't., who said surveyors, etc. are eventually dispatched to the proposed site of the change, must submit their own reports on the change prior to a ruling, etc. Also, the villa I shared with other non-Italian students had the same lack of screens, supposedly for the same reason. <BR>BC

This reminds me of the English guest I had a few years back. He commented on how interesting it was that we all had 'nets' on our windows. I didn't notice that Europeans didn't have them until he mentioned it. On my next trip I made a point of looking for them and didn't see any. <BR> <BR>

I've often wondered this myself, especially now that we live in Europe, and yes, the bugs (mosquitoes, mostly) do come in! Some people get custom made screens. <BR>Part of it is how the windows are framed and opened. The don't slide up and down or to the side the way they do in the U.S.--many windows open out or in--might make putting in screens difficult. <BR>Brussels hosts Batibouw, the largest home show in Europe (and it's HUGE). Twelve halls showcasing everything you could possibly want for your home--except window screens! <BR>Friends of ours who are Belgian but worked in construction in the states have built an American style house outside Brussels (most of the materials were shipped over the from the U.S.). It has walk-in closets, a separate laundry room, a real two-car garage and yep, windows with screens! They are the envy of the neighborhood... <BR>BTilke

Maybe the million-dollar product idea we are looking at here is a portable screen that could roll-up and fit in a small pocket of a suitcase, to be used by those of us who seem to attract every poor starving mosquito within a mile.....

On a somewhat related note, since I am not going to do anything with this brilliant (?) marketing idea, I release it into cyber space . . . fly, be free. <BR> <BR>Ceiling fans in Paris! <BR> <BR>In a city (country?) with at least some hot days but without the frequency or severity to make air-conditioning a necessity, what a great way for homes or restaurants to provide a little cost-effective cooling. One great restaurant we experienced became almost unbearable as it filled with people, and our otherwise wonderful apartment would have been superb with a ceiling fan in the bedroom.

Chuck, <BR>Yes! Going to Paris in October, staying in the Grand Hotel Leveque, which has no A/C, but has ceiling fans in the guest rooms. <BR> <BR>But....I admit to be so very spoiled that if I were going between June & September, I would want a hotel with A/C! <BR>BC

Before my last trip to France last September I went to my local hardware store and bought about 2 yards of screen material ( not wire but some sort of nylon or other material, very supple). I folded it and put it in the bottom of my suitcase. That, along with some thumb tacks, made it possible to cover a window or French door. Actually, tape would probably have worked better. As it turned out I didn't need it in Provence where it had turned a little chilly by the time we got there in October but it came in handy in Normandy where it was still warm in September. We were staying in a house near farms and there were insects that looked like mosquitoes on steroids, about an inch long. Thanks to my portable screens we were able to eat dinner in relative comfort with the French door open.

we had a german friend that told us, with a perfectly straight face, that if there were screens on the windows "how would the flys get out?".

Betty, I think those gigantic mosquito looking things are called European Crane (sp?) flies. We are told they don't bite, but when one gets in the apartment, I squash it anyway. <BR>We talked about the no screen thing tonight over dinner--my husband noted that most people have two sets of curtains in their apartments/houses (but not ours)--the regular curtains and the sheers. The sheers act as a partial screen, I think. Not as good as the real thing, but better than nothing. <BR>While we miss having screens, at least we're not in Houston! There's a report in the papers today that the mosquito infestation of the Houston area after Allison's rains is horrendous, the worst ever.

The sister of a friend renovated a villa in Northern Italy last year. They insisted on having screens on the windows. The Italian workers replied "how will the flies get out?"

Hey, I never expected this much reponse to my question, but great! On the southern (Italy, Germany + France) part of our trip, there was definitely a need for screens. Also, someone mentioned ceiling fans; wow, what an idea. I don't know how many times I wished there was one of those hanging around. In the northern part (London, Scotland + Ireland) there wasn't really a need for them as it cooled off nicely at night. Although, in London I wondered if a screen might keep that pigeon out of our room that was nesting not 2 feet away from the window! <BR> <BR>Thanks for all your comments, <BR>Linda R.

As someone who lives in an older house with windows that open out manually (i.e. no place to put a screen) let me say they DO make these cool "roll away" screens that you roll down like a blind once the window is open. They work well in historic buildings because you can't see them at all from the outside and very little on the inside. So, Ann, no need to invent anything, just be a rep for the roll away folks!

In some area of Europe, Germany and Austria for example, they air the feather bedding out the window every day, so screens woult prevent them from doing that.<BR>

I live in Provence and I have screens on all my windows... and even sliding screen doors. They are available, although they do have to be custom made, especially for my house, which is an 18th century olive oil mill.... Although I live in an area where you need the mayor's office to agree to the color you paint your shutters, you can put up all the screens you want.<BR> Now if I could just stop my dog from sliding the doors open and letting in the occassional fly !<BR><BR>PB

Hmmm...what about city apartment dwellers with pets? I live in NYC, and we had large windows with no screens. We went to a lot of trouble to design and make our own interior screens not to keep the flies out, but to keep our cats in! I know about Dutch cat ramps, but what about fourth-floor apartment dwellers with no yards!

We were in Germany and Belgium the month of May and did talk again about how we never saw screens on windows in Germany (and never got flies but had the biggest bee/wasp we've ever seen come in one hotel room). Then we went to Ghent and the hotel there had screens on some windows and a sign telling people not to open the other windows because mosquitos would come in. Those canals motivated the screens.