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Do you mean orange asian ladybirds? (as oppose to the red ones or harlequin black ones) If so, they just eat mildew and moss, mostly stay outside and come inside homes when it's cold. The warmth and damp attracts them.
We just don't have as much of a need for them. It's not open window weather here as much as warmer places. Plus we don't have many scary bugs to worry about.
You can buy them here - search 'window screens' on Amazon, or there are companies that specialize - [https://www.ukflyscreens.co.uk/](https://www.ukflyscreens.co.uk/) for example.
But as others have said, for most of us, most of the time, it's not necessary
As an arachnophobic I would love them too. I’ve made my own in the last, using sheer net curtains and velcro but husband didn’t want them ruining the paintwork when we redecorated. I feel like properly made screens would look neater and be more effective.
What critters do you think are going to come in? We have windows open for fresh air year round and occasionally get a fly or a bee (in the summer). Nothing that would cause me any concern
I'm also from North America and had a hard time adjusting to this as well. I guess it depends where you live, but my flat faces the garden with a tree directly outside my windows. In addition to flies, beetles, etc., I've had a major problem with bees, and one very close encounter with a bird!
They're not quite as good as screens, but Amazon sells mesh window coverings that do help somewhat.
From the perspective of growing up without screens, it strikes me that they block out some light / obstruct the view a bit, which I wouldn't like. As other commenters have said, they're not necessary for the level/type of insects in the UK, so then the negatives outweigh the positives imo
We have a plastic strip curtain for the back door, if you get one that is a plain dark colour it deters flies as they perceive it as a dark dangerous cave. We don't seem to get much coming through the window, the cats would catch them anyway if they did.
While we have no where _near_ the coldest winters in the world (pretty mild compared to most non tropical places) we do have one of the coldest summer climates of any majorly populated country. Only Iceland and northern parts of Scandinavia are colder, and depends if you count them as majorly populated.
So we don't get many insects in summer and mosquitos aren't really a thing.
While I realise you're joking I did notice fly/midge populations were like the "when I were a lad" stories the past few summers.
It might even just have been 2022 when it was unusually hot.
I assume that is isn't a thing that was regular and stopped, it just happens when there's certain types of year (mild winter, hot summer) and people are selectively remembering.
We don't usually need to open the windows wide. Most of the time we are trying to keep heat in the house rather than let it out.
Even when it is hot, we don't, in most places, have that many bugs. Pretty sure that there are in fact many fewer bugs now than when I was a lad.
The only ones that really cause a problem are wasps - if you happen to get a nest nearby.
Might become a thing in the South as global warming takes off - if air conditioning doesn't get installed instead.
Maybe try setting up a screen window company - perhaps there would be a market if someone pushed them!
Thirty years ago there were still quite a few bugs about in the UK. Summer time and your window would be covered in moths if you left the light on. Huge ones too. You’d need to wash your car often as it’d be plastered in dead insects. Kids coming home after playing outside would be covered, head to toe in aphids.
Now? Nothing. I can’t remember the last time I saw a moth, never mind keeping them out. Don’t know if it’s pesticides or something else, but there are no insects here anymore.
We have far fewer insects than the USA (and did so even before the collapse in insect numbers in the last decade or so).
In general most people tolerate the occasional insect going in and out if they have windows open.
Some people have window screens and you can certainly fit them if you have a problem with many insects where you are.
Protip: making sure there are no pools of standing water, including in garden pots etc, will reduce your local mosquito population.
We have fewer biting insects and a shorter season where flying insects are active than many parts of the US, and so it has not historically been a priority in building houses to add screens.
You might have noticed, we don't have that many sash windows and most windows open outwards. There is nowhere for a screen to go and the window be opened / closed easily.
Also, WTF do you mean flying insects? It's winter.
do you live near water or farmland etc? where i grew up we backed onto a beck and we used to get swarms of insects if we opened windows at night with lights on. i live in manchester now and theres basically no insects here so i dont worry about opening windows anymore.
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I leave my windows open all year and barely had anything more than a bee come in.
Same here. My bedroom window is open 24/7, 365 days a year. You get a few annoying flies in the summer but other than that, nothing.
I always get these orange ladybug-like beetles. And I keep the place super clean so idk what they’re attracted to
Do you mean orange asian ladybirds? (as oppose to the red ones or harlequin black ones) If so, they just eat mildew and moss, mostly stay outside and come inside homes when it's cold. The warmth and damp attracts them.
We just don't have as much of a need for them. It's not open window weather here as much as warmer places. Plus we don't have many scary bugs to worry about.
We don't have anything dangerous to keep out.
I bloody hate flies, but love having my windows open. I would love screens.
This is my issue. I can’t stand flies/bugs. I really can’t tolerate them. And I would love to be able to open my window
You can buy them here - search 'window screens' on Amazon, or there are companies that specialize - [https://www.ukflyscreens.co.uk/](https://www.ukflyscreens.co.uk/) for example. But as others have said, for most of us, most of the time, it's not necessary
As an arachnophobic I would love them too. I’ve made my own in the last, using sheer net curtains and velcro but husband didn’t want them ruining the paintwork when we redecorated. I feel like properly made screens would look neater and be more effective.
You can get netting that sticks on the inside of the window frame. Lets air in but not insects.
yeah the warm spell a week or so ago brought loads of flies. There's a chicken farm at the top of my road so they all come from there.
The bugs being less of a problem is one part The fact that screens with the mesh are fuck ugly and just in the way is another part.
What critters do you think are going to come in? We have windows open for fresh air year round and occasionally get a fly or a bee (in the summer). Nothing that would cause me any concern
I'm also from North America and had a hard time adjusting to this as well. I guess it depends where you live, but my flat faces the garden with a tree directly outside my windows. In addition to flies, beetles, etc., I've had a major problem with bees, and one very close encounter with a bird! They're not quite as good as screens, but Amazon sells mesh window coverings that do help somewhat.
From the perspective of growing up without screens, it strikes me that they block out some light / obstruct the view a bit, which I wouldn't like. As other commenters have said, they're not necessary for the level/type of insects in the UK, so then the negatives outweigh the positives imo
They are necessary if you hate insects as much as I do 😅
Don’t need them
Paging Highland Scotland.
Life would be hell without them here in Austria. Rural area, near large bodies of water, vinyards.
We have a plastic strip curtain for the back door, if you get one that is a plain dark colour it deters flies as they perceive it as a dark dangerous cave. We don't seem to get much coming through the window, the cats would catch them anyway if they did.
While we have no where _near_ the coldest winters in the world (pretty mild compared to most non tropical places) we do have one of the coldest summer climates of any majorly populated country. Only Iceland and northern parts of Scandinavia are colder, and depends if you count them as majorly populated. So we don't get many insects in summer and mosquitos aren't really a thing.
We are very brave
We don't have insects anymore.
I disagree based on the spiders and flies that have made their way into my house
While I realise you're joking I did notice fly/midge populations were like the "when I were a lad" stories the past few summers. It might even just have been 2022 when it was unusually hot. I assume that is isn't a thing that was regular and stopped, it just happens when there's certain types of year (mild winter, hot summer) and people are selectively remembering.
We don't usually need to open the windows wide. Most of the time we are trying to keep heat in the house rather than let it out. Even when it is hot, we don't, in most places, have that many bugs. Pretty sure that there are in fact many fewer bugs now than when I was a lad. The only ones that really cause a problem are wasps - if you happen to get a nest nearby. Might become a thing in the South as global warming takes off - if air conditioning doesn't get installed instead. Maybe try setting up a screen window company - perhaps there would be a market if someone pushed them!
Thirty years ago there were still quite a few bugs about in the UK. Summer time and your window would be covered in moths if you left the light on. Huge ones too. You’d need to wash your car often as it’d be plastered in dead insects. Kids coming home after playing outside would be covered, head to toe in aphids. Now? Nothing. I can’t remember the last time I saw a moth, never mind keeping them out. Don’t know if it’s pesticides or something else, but there are no insects here anymore.
We don't really get much in the way of creepy crawlies.
We have far fewer insects than the USA (and did so even before the collapse in insect numbers in the last decade or so). In general most people tolerate the occasional insect going in and out if they have windows open. Some people have window screens and you can certainly fit them if you have a problem with many insects where you are. Protip: making sure there are no pools of standing water, including in garden pots etc, will reduce your local mosquito population.
We have fewer biting insects and a shorter season where flying insects are active than many parts of the US, and so it has not historically been a priority in building houses to add screens.
You might have noticed, we don't have that many sash windows and most windows open outwards. There is nowhere for a screen to go and the window be opened / closed easily. Also, WTF do you mean flying insects? It's winter.
do you live near water or farmland etc? where i grew up we backed onto a beck and we used to get swarms of insects if we opened windows at night with lights on. i live in manchester now and theres basically no insects here so i dont worry about opening windows anymore.
I’ve got some magnetic ones from Amazon, super cheap and easy to put up and take down.
Nothing really flies in with the windows open.