Thailand Mosquito Proof Windows & Doors

[howard251]

I am from the Northeastern part of the United States and the only good thing I can say about winter is being free of every little mosquito, Nat, bug and creepy thing which crawls along the ground at night.

I have a brand new two story house which I love except for the windows. I know Chiang Mai is not the United States, but it seems no matter where I visit in Thailand I see the same type of poorly designed wooden window. You know the one where both halves come together in the middle and never make a tight seal, actually you can see a gap in the middle in which all those outdoor little pests have no problem fitting through.

I have the standard Thai screens which are made out of a soft aluminum which never seem to seat flatly against all sides of the window. There is also a plastic thing that’s screwed into the windows which holds the screen closed in one spot.

I find if I turn on the lights in the house at night and keep the windows open with only a screen between me and the outside, within one hour the room will fill up and look like a science project for flying bugs gone out of control. I have also tried to keep the windows shut but the critters got past that and the screens as well.

Maybe it’s just me, because I noticed every other house in the area has their lights on and they never seem to have that problem or maybe the mosquitoes don’t bother them?

The only room in my house which is bug free at night is the bedroom and that’s because I have wall to wall curtains with a heavy rubber backing. I also keep the air conditioning on with the fan set to high.

Does anyone know who sells western style windows and screens in the Chiang Mai area or ones that are better then I described? I admit western style windows are not perfect but they seem to do a much better job then the ones there putting on the houses in Thailand.

Does anyone have a secret to share which has worked to keep the pests to a minimum when watching TV at night with your house lights on and the windows open?

I do know the flying bugs are a lot less in the city area because of things like smoke but I live in the Hang Dong where it’s a breeding ground for those little

[Up2U]

Do a general search on this site for words like 'mosquito', 'bug' and so on. All the info is already available.

[KevinN]

My wife had the same type of windows that you talk about,2 wooden halves that do not fit the holes, But the Thai are not very good finish carpenters and will only do half ass work at best anyway, and they think a perfect fit is anything a grown cat can not get thru.When we did the addon as her house was newer,but smaller with a Thai kitchen,we did a 2 story add on and I had 15 aluminum double sliders with screens custom made and installed for 28,000 baht,and this next dry season I will have the wooden ones replaced with aluminum, the wooden ones will not last long anyway cause they are the favorite food of the termites.,so you might check around and get them replaced with aluminum.

[stumonster]

In the townhouse I am in now I had screens fitted on all the doors and windows.

two blokes came around and measured it up one day and the next day they came around and fitted them. It is a very good job they have done and it only cost 2800 baht( of which the landlord went halves )

A very good job done at a very good price.

Anyone in the chang wattana - pak kret area who wants the name of the company - PM me.

[RDN]

I find if I turn on the lights in the house at night and keep the windows open with only a screen between me and the outside, within one hour the room will fill up and look like a science project for flying bugs gone out of control.

Know what you mean!

Does anyone have a secret to share which has worked to keep the pests to a minimum when watching TV at night with your house lights on and the windows open?

Excellent post! It's one of those posts that I've been thinking about writing myself, but once sat down at the PC, get too interested in the other threads!

Anyway, here are my "do-it-yourself" hints that I've learned the hard way.

1. Those little white plastic thingies that hold the screen closed work much better if you turn them over. The little tab that is raised (so you can turn them round with your finger) sticks out a lot more than the other side, so when you turn them over, they push harder against the aluminium and make a better seal.

2. Buy lots more of them and fit at least two to all sides of the screen - even the hinge side. OK, you won't be able to open your screen quickly, but I never want to now - my windows (except in the bedroom) are all wide open.

3. Change all your light switches to dimmer switches (which cost about 115 baht). They are a snap-in replacement for normal switches. But you do have to change the bulbs to incandescent types - not flourescent. But bulbs are cheap too. Then you can turn down the brightness so the bugs aren't attracted but you can still see.

4. In the bedroom - which has an air-con - my windows stay shut and I've put rubber draught excluder around the frames. The windows are a real b*gger to shut, but once shut, nothing gets in and nobody opens them.

5. Outside on the porch I changed the bulbs to be very bright, but blackend the glass case that they are in to stop the light coming back at the house. This attracts bugs away from the house.

6. My desk lamp is a "3 to 5" watt bulb - OK to work by, but not attractive to bugs.

[tutsiwarrior]

regarding windows and doors screens...they can be custom made to fit to within a couple of mm most everywhere you go. I live next to undeveloped land that floods during the rain and never had a problem with flying insects. Screens can be adapted to fit any window arrangement you got...traditional, sliding, louvered and etc. The local folks appear to be quite clever in this regard...

[DaveYo]

Interesting subject indeed. I had the same problem here in this townhouse of mine. I did a snappy of a thing here. First i went thru the house and made notes of what i want shut and what i want opened. In this fricking heat no one wants any window opened anyway except in the spot to vent out bad smell sewage creeping from the pipes here.

I had two problems to deal with at first. The construction of this house was terrible to say the least. ALL Fricking Concrete except the window bases. Wow!!!!!!!!! Why are all these buildings made of Concrete my dear friends. Termites, they can be controlled by having special treated wood which they hate the most. Of course this treated wood is expensive but once you install it, you not have to worry from that point on. Secondly they have windows here with like shudders that open up as you turn the handle and close of the same with a nutty of a gap I can stick my tongue threw it.

So what did I do, I closed up the areas with PlexiGlass!!!! You can still see out, but no critter can come in. I also have screens inside before you get to the window for extra stoppage in areas without the PlexiGlass.

If you are getting critters inside, look at your doors especially. This place put the screen doors inside the house and the actual doors outside. A horrendous design to boot. Anyway I think you will find huge gaps around your doors. That is how Geekko gets in your house. I hate those critters. At least I fixed it so the biggies stay out for good.

Last of all look at the ceiling of your place. If it is one of those old buildings, I can guarantee you if you open up and slide the ceiling panel you will see the roof wide open and gaps being unthinkable. The cost of fixing this crappy of a house design is out of this world.

So when i build my house folks, I will be doing it the Western design way with a few modifications to ensure it being termite free, and minimum of concrete for sure. As of the roof, I will definitely seal it up and use treated plywood panels and insulate it which is a must for good and use Solar panels like 30 of them each side one facing the East and the other Facing the West at 15 degrees to capture max Sunlight for my power supply usuage. On the other hand I can choose 40 panels and have it fixed on the roof that these panels can move along the path of the Sun like a small pendulum. It is cheaper this way than paying the whopping electrical bills for using the A/C. At night time I can then use conventional outside power supply which will be minimum. As to the side of the home, I will use treated wood for my frames and panels and use special waterproof tar paper, then seal it up with Brick. Inside I will have treated panels and insulate the walls and have my electrical lines and water lines and sewer lines nicely hidden and then have real plaster instead of the drywall which is BS anyway.

Ahhhhhhhhh, the cost of the house construction will be far less that building one totally out of concrete and the way they make the walls and the sides is terrible. I plan on doing much of this myself and hire only experts familiar with western style construction and have my plans made in advance.

Daveyo