Review: Instant Bug Screens
Last summer, we added a set of French doors that opened onto our deck. We loved them, but soon found that leaving the doors open during the summer months let lots of flies and other insects into the house. After looking at several ways to screen it off, we decided that the Instant Bug Screen could be the answer.
We took some measurements and decided the 40” x 80” Instant Bug Screen (Solutions product number 64236) would be a perfect fit. Soon, the long square package containing all the pieces needed to get the job done arrived: two sections of screening, a long rod to go across the top, and some sticky Velcro® tabs.
Set-up was very easy. The screen sections were looped over at the top so the rod would simply slide through them (like setting up a tent). The rod itself is similar to a small shower curtain rod, and just wedges in place with a little give from an internal spring. Its rubber feet hold it in place at each end without scratching the doorframe. (Tip: get the screen as high up against the top of the doorframe as you can to keep bug-friendly gaps to a minimum.) Each screen panel has a Velcro® patch about 2″ square sewn into it; the stickies mentioned above are the other half of that Velcro®. Stick them to the doorframe where the screen patches are, and the sides of the screen will hold tightly to the doorframe. We were impressed at how well this worked – and with how it left almost no gap due to the straight seem on each side of the screen. With all the Velcro® tabs in place, the screen fit perfectly to the door on all four sides, and didn’t have any excess slacking or overhang: just a nice flush fit all around the door. The two panels overlap by about an inch in the middle of the two-door opening, and are held together by two pairs of small magnets: one just below the middle (so as not to obstruct the view) and one at floor level. There are no attachments at the floor, so the curtains just hang there – nothing to get your feet tripped up on. The setup does not affect the doors themselves at all…they open and close normally, and neither interferes with the other. (More pictures below.)
Impressions
After about two months of use, we can say this is definitely a great purchase! We can now leave one or both French doors open whenever we like. Bugs don’t get in, and we can enter and exit effortlessly. They are “walk through,” meaning you can have plates, bowls, glasses, etc. in your hands and still get through the opening with no effort. The magnets closed it tight behind us every time. The Instant Bug Screen has not fallen or stretched at all that we can see, and it still fits as tightly around the door as the day we put it up – despite several 100+ degree days (though it is protected much of the day by shade from our deck’s roof).
This has been our favorite home-improvement purchase of the summer, and lets us enjoy our French doors even more.
Highlights:
-Very easy set-up
-Excellent fit around the door opening
-Simple, walk-through use
-Great durability so far
Our personal rating: 5 out of 5
-Carter
Solutions Team Member
I love the screen. Excellent solution for homes with pets that could damage a screen door. It took maybe a day or two for my dogs to get used to just “nosing” their way into the screen for entry but no worries. (As a dog owner, you learn that they WILL find a way to get in no matter what!) My mistake was peeling off all the velcro sticky tabs before I had an idea of how I wanted to hang it. I thought I could “tweek” it and just move around those strips but you really shouldnt do that. They stick REALLY well and once you peel them off, you will have to get new ones. Otherwise you will be very aggravated when the sides keep coming loose!