Mosquito Net Confusion

federica

Even less DEET gives a perfect nail polish remover so be careful with the combination of DEET, polished nails and a blanket/bedsheet....

Pokey

Hey, new here to the site...so far, great info! Thanks for all the awesome posts!

Just wanted to add a suggestion here, after reading through this thread. I just bought a bug net at the local gear shop, the type that requires just one hook, not the retangular one. Anyhow, an employee there had a cool idea: Bring along a couple of those plastic picture holders. You know, the ones with the peel-off tape on the back? You can affix them to the ceiling, the wall, whatever, and it (usually) leaves no damage behind at all.

Nick-H

Welcome, and thanks for the tip

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PeakXV

Yeah I don't recommend a hammer and roofing nails ..... you might just get a whopper of a maintanence bill (for plaster and structural repairs) that suddenly appears on your Visa card a few months later.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

missgolightly

So I've now been in India nearly 7 weeks, from Delhi to Kerala and have yet to even unwrap my mosquito net. Haven't usd it ONCE.
I really am upset that I wasted 40 euros, which is a few days budget of travel in India.

There are hardly any mosquitos in the rooms (non a/c, with fan), and in my sheet with mosquito repellant I'm fine. Plus i haven't a clue where i would begin to hang it as there are no devices to hang them.

Also, they are provided in certain places where mosquitos are a problem (hampi).

Unless you are camping, if you plan on staying in budget accomodations I don't see why you would waste your money and precious backpack space on a net.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to get back to the monsoon rains outside my door in Cochin!!!

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Alohaguy

Thank you Missgolightly, for the feed back on mosquito nets. You have done a service to many people who are also wondering the same about mosquito nets and / or mosquito repellents.

camelgirl

Maybe, maybe not.... There is alot of discussion about this and it's always a hard decision. I would not carry the type net misgolightly did, requiring a way to hang it. See my earlier post #42 which recommends a freestanding type net. I still carry mine and never used it my last trip either. But when I needed it on another trip, it was great to have. Most places do provide a decent net where you need it. But the more budget you go, the worse the net could be. And many travelers don't know the proper way to use them and you can find mosquitoes INSIDE!

Anyway, most people don't bring them do just fine. I still will carry mine.

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atala

I can't imagine travelling in India without my own net, but I travel mostly budget. I am also amazed to read in this thread how so many people are ready to use highly toxic substances applied on their bodies, and that each night again, and probably also in the eve when they sit outside.

And another comment: There is absolutely always a place to fix the strings of a net in a room, even if the net turns out to hang in really strange ways. There is always a door to a room, which supplies at least a handle and a hinge. Most of the time there is another door to the bathroom, with another hinge and a handle. And this is, if there is no grill of a window which is most often there, or a curtain holder and so on. To bring long strings from home is essential, as others mentioned.

There is an additional benefit of having a mosquito-net, which is, well, an emotional one: it can become home-away-from-home, an enjoyable place to identify with when you are constantly in different rooms and places. It gives a constancy and continuity to your intimate times on the journey, a place to withdraw into and cuddle. To me that is an important aspect.

freenote

Quote Atala "There is an additional benefit of having a mosquito-net, which is, well, an emotional one: it can become home-away-from-home, an enjoyable place to identify with when you are constantly in different rooms and places. It gives a constancy and continuity to your intimate times on the journey, a place to withdraw into and cuddle. To me that is an important aspect. "
I have also enjoyed this aspect of a mosquito net( on the rare occasion i have used one ) but have found them a little restrictive .To wake up in the morning in a hopeless tangle of limbs and net can put a bit of a dampaner on the forthcoming days events

Nick-H

My downstairs neighbour used to sit under a net in his living room; the mosquito population there was very much less than where we live now. We used to joke about the dog being free and him being in his cage!

missgolightly has been lucky --- or just maybe doesn't react to mosquito bites? It is a possibility: some people do not attract the insect, others can be bitten without noticing it.

I wish I belonged to either category .

missgolightly

Actually, I react severely to mosquito bites and get big hives. I am usually busy dousing myslef in Caladryl to help sooth the bites. But guess what? i didnt get these bites at night in my room, i got them when out at night for dinner, or when i forgot to apply repellant, or missed a spot. you can't walk around all day/night wrapped in a mosquito net.

maybe i'm just lazy, but when I get back to my room after a long day or arrive after a long night train, or brutal sleeper bus, i don't really feel like messing with string and hooks and searching for places to hang my net. and having to pack and unpack it. there's enought to deal with travelling in India.

there are usually not THAT many mosquitos in the room, and i am safely inside my sleep sheet. i apply mosquito cream to my arms which are exposed, and generally have had only one or two bites at night during my entire trip so far. i have been here 7 weeks and have met few people who have ever used a net. (i've been asking)

as far as free standing nets, since my beds have all usually been pushed up against a wall, i don't see how I could use a free standing one. and even though i travel alone, most beds are double so be sure to buy a double which will be more money and more space in the backpack.

to take up that much space in my bag, and spend the money for something which will be marginally helpful is just not worth it IN MY OPINION and experience in india so far. hotels can often sort you out if the mosquito situation is that bad.

Alohaguy

Missgolightly, what brand of mosquito repellent are you using?

derek cox

l think that the little ammount of smell these plug in,s give, is more than rewarded with the protection they give. l used to buy them in spain, and they were quite expensive, but after leaveing our last one plugged in on the overnight train MOA to TRV we had to find another,which we found on Ligthouse Beach Kovalam for 80/-rps, and lasts 3/4 weeks So no need to even pack them. A little tip plug them into a socket in the bathroom on arrival, to be extra sure put another in the bedroom leave on 24h and you will never get bitten. our next visit to kovalam early Jan 08 still seems a long way off, but just cant wait. Derek Cox

Nick-H

Many bathrooms, even though the room may be air-conditioned and the windows shut, have open ventilators. I've seen one or two with netting, but mostly they are open to the mossies.

An example of not-joined-up thinking!

derek cox

l have been told that the mossi plugs will work even with open windows, once that the plugs have warmed up it has worked for us without fail. Derek Cox.