Will the standard fly screens keep out mosquitos?

[DDCook]

I've seen one suggestion that the standard fly screens provided with the Cali don't keep out mosquitos, but most seem to be happy using the standard fly screens. Can anyone confirm if the standard fly screens do indeed keep out mosquitos?

 

[GrannyJen]

In my experience mostly yes but mosquitoes generally don't seem to like me. , Not midges though. Buggers seem to be able to get in anywhere

 

[Loz]

In my experience mostly yes but mosquitoes generally don't seem to like me. , Not midges though. Buggers seem to be able to get in anywhere

Agree, midges are like zombies, they just climb through..

 

[blondebier]

I keep one of these in the van all the time. Great for anything buzzing that needs to stop!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/ELECTRONIC/?tag=eliteelect-21

I've been thinking about getting one of these too...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QTYHZJC/?tag=eliteelect-21

 

[MattBW]

At the Slimbridge meet there was lights with mosquito zappers built in by Outdoor Rev on the club area, they sold out and a few folks said they were very good. Worth a look in the club shop maybe?

 

[DDCook]

Thanks, we already have one of the plug in vaporisers to help keep them away and can look at a zapper, but would prefer to stop them coming into the windows in the first place!

 

[MattBW]

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/p...osilite-usb-lantern-mosi-killer-2019-orbk0018

As others have mentioned the window nets do stop mosquitos but not midges from my experience.

 

[Keith Smith]

I bought one of the club lights and wasn't too hopeful as I've tried other small insect zappers which have been all but useless but this one is great. Its so effective I've bought a second one which I have on my headboard at home. The vents in the pop up roof aren't midge proof either so it's very difficult to keep them out. I sewed a midge proof net over the vents but they get through even the smallest gap, well they do to bite me anyway, I must be really tasty

 

[mountainman]

The 2019 Scottish Midge is back. As many of you will know, these little devils can really spoil your day, so much so, that many of us plan our outdoor activities before and after the midge season in Scotland. Usually, one is OK before June and after September, in between, you need to rely on wind or dry weather to keep them at bay. Anyway, they are back! My first midge encounter of 2019 was in the Ben Nevis North Face Car Park on Monday 20th May. The midgies are so small that they pass clean through the mesh screens provided in the roof bellows and window inserts. Vango, being a Scottish firm, understand this, and the drive away awning I recent purchased has fine screens that are totally midge proof. I was very disappointed to notice that the brand new T6 Cali in the local showroom still has too coarse a set of screens.
I believe you read this forum VW. Please, please update your screens to cope with the Scottish midge. It really is a tedious job stitching finer screens over those provided.

 

[MattBW]

I've been pondering recently getting some midge net for the inside of the screens, could probably be applied somehow.

 

[pjm-84]

Back up to Scotland this year. Criteria is to be not more than 100metres from the coast!

 

[mountainman]

I've been pondering recently getting some midge net for the inside of the screens, could probably be applied somehow.

I got some fine mosquito netting and stitched this over the two small vents at the top of the bellows. That helps a lot but it wasn't easy. Haven't done anymore. You could consider approaching Vango and ask where they source their screen material. It is excellent.

 

[DDCook]

The club light looks interesting, but I'm not entirely clear from the description, does this mean you have a light on all night if you want to use it in the van? It looks quite bright versus some of the other alternatives on the market.

 

[Jabberwocky]

The club light looks interesting, but I'm not entirely clear from the description, does this mean you have a light on all night if you want to use it in the van? It looks quite bright versus some of the other alternatives on the market.

Light can be switched off during fly zap mode. We hang the zapper in the top of the pop-up roof. Works well.

 

[Keith Smith]

It has a white light which has three different light levels but you can turn the light off and just have the fly killer on. This has a blue glow like most fly killers but it's not so bright as to be disturbing.

 

[TripleBee]

I got some fine mosquito netting and stitched this over the two small vents at the top of the bellows. That helps a lot but it wasn't easy. Haven't done anymore. You could consider approaching Vango and ask where they source their screen material. It is excellent.

Are the top vents not fitted with a net? I know mine are, and the holes are not big enough to let mosquitos get in.
The only way they get in is through that other big hole without a net.

Oh, it is called a sliding door!

 

[mountainman]

Are the top vents not fitted with a net? I know mine are, and the holes are not big enough to let mosquitos get in.
The only way they get in is through that other big hole without a net.

Oh, it is called a sliding door!

Yes, the top vents, the bellows windows and the window inserts all have the same netting. It may well keep out mosquitoes but the Scottish midge passes clean through them. Physical exclusion is about the only reliable way to manage midgies as they arrive by the millions, in black clouds!

 

[TripleBee]

Now you are scaring me . I just searched Scottish midges.
I was keen to once visit Great Britain, and maybe even Scotland. But now ...

 

[mountainman]

Please don't be put off visiting Scotland. It is beautiful and I am out in the van at all times of the year. One just needs to be aware of the hazards to manage them and the Scottish midge is one such hazard. They generally aren't around from October through the winter to June. They are also kept at bay by warm, sunny dry weather and any breeze above 3-4 mph. In other words, you can out walk them. If however, you are camping in damp very still weather between June & September, then you need to be prepared which means locking them out of the van. Sitting outside in theses conditions is almost impossible and unbearable unless you dose yourself with repellant and wear a headnet.

 

[Vantastic2]

Never had a problem with the window screens,it is the doors where they come in so we hang nets around the main sliding door, using sticky-back Velcro strips.

 

[majorbooboo]

Hiya all, for people who love Scotland dealing with the midges is essential. We have bought midge netting to apply to the existing nets on the bellows and window inserts. We will either stitch, glue or use double sided tape. A couple of years back we left the vehicle air vents open over night (the ones you turn off with dashboard mounted switches whilst driving, when the air pollution is bad). We had been eaten alive overnight the night before and in the morning turned the engine and clouds of midges erupted out of the air vents.... I guess the moral of the story is close the air vents when midges are around.

 

[majorbooboo]

I've been pondering recently getting some midge net for the inside of the screens, could probably be applied somehow.

We are doing the same, either glue or double sided tape. I think we'll try the tape first.

 

[MattBW]

Yeah maybe some kind of velcro to attach it?

 

[CRISTIANE]

I've seen one suggestion that the standard fly screens provided with the Cali don't keep out mosquitos, but most seem to be happy using the standard fly screens. Can anyone confirm if the standard fly screens do indeed keep out mosquitos?

No too sure...
we were bitten by tiny mosquitos that when through...
But one thing work good... Lavender oil mixed with water and spray inside the Cali... good smell and calm down all moods too!