Charleston insect screen notes
Bug screens around
the Charleston area.
Where the request comes from most.
- Marsh & creek-front homes — James Island, Johns Island, West Ashley, and the Wando side of Mount Pleasant.
- Island porches — Kiawah, Seabrook, and Sullivan’s homes where dusk on the porch is the whole point of the house.
- Outdoor dining — screens that turn an outdoor kitchen into a bug-free dining room on summer evenings.
- Convertible porches — pair with clear vinyl so the same porch is bug-free in July and windproof in January.
When they are worst. No-see-ums, the biting midges that breed in the salt marsh, are at their worst around dawn and dusk on calm, warm days. A breeze keeps them down. A still evening near a tidal creek is when an unscreened porch empties out, and it is exactly when most people want to sit outside.
Why ordinary screen fails here. No-see-ums are small enough to pass through standard mosquito mesh. Near the marsh, the finer no-see-um mesh is the one to specify. For homes away from the water, standard mosquito mesh is often enough and keeps a clearer view. We look at where the house sits during the measure and recommend one or the other.
Gaps at the edges. Fixed porch screens often leave small gaps at the corners and along the floor, and that is where the smallest bugs get in. Motorized screens run in side tracks that seal the edges, and they can be added to a porch that is already screened.
