Mosquito Nets for Kids' Rooms in Goa

Mosquitoes find the one gap you missed. In a child's room that means every window that opens, the door to a balcony or garden, and the window of an attached bathroom — a surprisingly common way in, because the bathroom door is left open at night.

Ventilators and fanlights above doors in older Goan houses are another route. If they can't be closed, they need a fixed mesh too.

Sliding windows take a sliding mesh panel in its own slim track beside the glass, so the window and the net move independently. Outward-opening casements, common in older houses, suit a fixed or hinged mesh on the inside of the frame. Balcony and terrace doors suit a pleated net that folds to the side, or a sliding door net — both with a low threshold that a toddler won't trip over.

We plan nets in a separate plane from the curtain track or blind, so a blackout curtain can still close fully over a netted window at nap time.

Children lean on mesh, push toys against it and pick at the corners. A firmly fixed aluminium frame and a sturdier mesh hold up far better than a loose, stick-on net. Handles placed a little higher keep a toddler from sliding the net open on their own.

Be clear about what a net is for, though: it keeps insects out, it does not stop a child falling. Upper-floor windows in a child's room need proper grilles or restrictors as well, and beds, cots and climbable furniture belong away from the window wall.

A net draped over a cot or bed works, but children kick it loose, it collects dust and it makes the bed hard to reach at night. Fitted window and door nets protect the whole room instead, so the child can sleep, play and read without being enclosed — and the room can stay open for air rather than sealed with the air-conditioner on.