Mon
16
Jun
2014
WHY WE LOVE OUR MOSQUITO NET
‘A home away from home’. Probably you read this sentence a lot of times in hotels and hostels during your travel. And it’s true. Some places are so comfortable that you feel ‘welcomed’ from the first moment on. With our mosquito net we feel absolutely the same… wherever we are. Our mosquito net is our ‘home’ and as soon as we are lying in it we feel protected and safe. It’s really a great, simple and cheap way to feel comfortable at night, no matter where you are!
When we prepared our travel stuff (BACKPACK LIST) back in Germany, BoB, Liane and I had no clue if we will really need a mosquito net for our travel around the world.
I know for sure that BoB doesn’t need one. His shell is so hard that no mosquito in the world will ever have a chance to bite him 🙂 But for Liane and me the situation is totally different!
So I did what I always do… I googled 🙂 Surprisingly I found so many websites, blogs, travel tips etc. where people say ‘No, you don’t need a net for your travel!’ and they wrote down their concerns. Today I will explain you why you NEED a net when traveling!
A mosquito net is too heavy
Eeerr, noooo. A mosquito net is probably the lightest thing in your backpack. We have a real big one and it fits perfectly in every little corner in our backpack. Just make sure you buy a polyester net!
Almost every hostel has a mosquito net
Nope, I would say almost no hostel offers a mosquito net. We traveled through Central America and saw maaany hostels but I would guess not more than 10% had a net. And if they had a nice one over the bed, it had so many holes that it did not help at all. Also, usually they are very dusty as they haven’t been cleaned for ages. It’s definitively not a nice feeling to see dust trickling on your bed sheet.
You can’t hang it up
Okay you don’t need to be MacGyver to fix it on the ceiling with some tape or ropes. You will ALWAYS find a way to put it on. You can also buy sticks to fix it directly on the bed. We took these sticks with us and didn’t regret it because they are fast and easy to install.
‘Sticks are perfekt to hang up your net’
You don’t need a net when you have mosquito repellent
Mosquito repellent is VERY important. Especially when you are in areas like the amazon. But the protection will never last longer than a few hours. If you don’t want to set your alarm clock to wake you up every 4 hours I think it is easier to buy a net. And to have mosquito repellent on your skin for 24h is not really nice either.
Mosquitos can be inside the net
Of course this can happen, so catch them and take them out or kill em !?! In a net it is so easy to spot them.
Mosquitos can get inside
Not if you put on the net correctly! You should always tuck the end of the net carefully under your matress, so it is close all around you. If you don’t have a matress place heavy items or clothes around you on top of the net and nothing can come in. Also no bugs or ants etc.
It is hot under the mosquito net
With an average mosquito net with a mesh size of 1.2 mm you won’t feel any difference as the air circulation is perfect.
They can bite me even if I hang it on
Easy! Stay away from the net! Don’t allow the net to come into contact with your skin while sleeping. Mosquitos will be able to feed through the mesh. Also pretreat your net with insecticides to ensure maximum protection!
You know the people who always get a mosquito bite, no matter how well they are prepared and how many other people are around? Yep, well this person is me. In 10 months of traveling I have now more than 500 mosquito bites. And believe me I protect myself as much as I can. I don’t want to imagine how many more I would have without our lovely net 🙂
Lars mosquito bites in 10 months
517
So how are your experiences with mosquitos? Do you have a net? Do you think it’s not necessary?
Leave a comment and thanks for reading!
Safe travels,
Lars
