Just a matter of minutes: I’ll tell you how I fix a hole in a mosquito net

In spring and summer, life without “mosquitoes” on the windows turns into hell - annoying insects, along with poplar fluff and scales from birch buds, try to enter the apartment through the window around the clock. And if mosquitoes find a hole in the mosquito net faster than the owner of the home has time to mend or seal it, the people in the room will be in trouble. For this reason, I have several emergency mesh repair methods in stock.

Method 1. Darning

Darning is not the easiest way to repair a hole in a mosquito net. It is only suitable for cases where the hole has a small diameter, since restoring weaving on large tears requires perseverance and a lot of time.

As a material for darning, I usually use a thin fishing line, securing its ends with a lighter. One day there was no fishing line at hand, and a persistent titmouse made several holes in the mesh with its beak and claws - I had to take ordinary sewing threads.

If you want to do the same, first try unwinding a small piece of thread and tearing it off by hand. If you succeed, look for another coil. A good thread must be strong and synthetic, otherwise it will quickly rot.

Method 2. Scotch tape

The one who came up with a joke about stationery tape and the fact that with its help you can repair anything was right.

Repairing a torn mesh using tape is as easy as shelling pears:

• Moisten a small piece of bandage or cotton cloth with rubbing alcohol or vodka.Treat the damaged area, covering 1–1.5 cm on each side. Make sure that there is no dirt or dust left on the canvas, otherwise the tape will peel off very quickly.
• Cut two pieces of tape of the same size and stick them onto the mesh on both sides, so that all sides overlap each other as evenly as possible. The size of the pieces should be such as to not only cover, but also overlap the damage by the already mentioned 1–1.5 cm.

My tape patches don't last very long. On northern windows they are enough for about a season, and on southern windows - for a maximum of 2 months. But if one of the patches comes off, I simply replace it with a similar one.

Method 3: Adhesive mesh tape

Scotch tape is cheap and practical, it can be easily bought in any store, even in a grocery supermarket. But it has one drawback - airtightness. If there are a lot of holes in the mesh, you can’t just take them and seal them with tape, otherwise the path into the house will be closed not only to midges, but also to fresh air.

One day, while walking through Leroy, I noticed adhesive tape on the shelf, made in the form of a grid, and realized: this is it, my salvation! As it turns out, this tape is ideal for removing tears in the mosquito net. A patch made from it is almost invisible, and most importantly, it is completely permeable to air.

This tape is sold in small rolls. The cost of one roll is about 120–150 rubles, and it lasts for about a year.

If you want to save money, order this tape in advance - in the fall or winter - on Aliexpress. During the promotion period you can buy it for 70–80 rubles with free delivery.

Using adhesive mesh tape couldn't be easier:

1. Degrease and clean the damaged area from dirt using alcohol.
2. Cut two pieces of tape of the required size from the roll. Determine the size using the same principle as you did for tape - you need the tape to cover the hole by 1.5 cm in each direction.
3. Remove the protective film.
4. Glue one piece of tape on one side of the “mosquito”, the second on the other side, so that they stick to each other.

I like this repair option much more than the others. And I recommend it to you too.

Now you know exactly what to do if you suddenly find torn marks from bird paws or hail on your mosquito net. Of course, repair! A “mosquito” with patches, if treated with care, will serve you for at least another 2–3 years. Just don’t forget to remove it from the window in the winter and hide it in a clean, dry place.