Quick rant about windows
 

I’ve traveled a few times in Switzerland and every time this boggles my mind. Currently in Murren; one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Weather is perfect. However we can’t open the windows or tons of flies and other bugs come in. At night we are hot even though it’s 50 degrees outside. I can’t understand why they don’t use window screens?? Just wondering; otherwise this has to be the most beautiful place we have ever had the pleasure of visiting

When the temperature is 50 degrees in Mürren at an altitude of more than 1600 m (this certainly is the exaggeration of the year for FT) and the rest of Switzerland the temperature inside buildings is certainly much lower, even without AC. So, keep your window shut, thus avoiding both heat and bugs.

We don't use window screens that much here.... it's ugly and it hides the view. They are on sale every Summer but I've never seen many people actually using them. It's one of the "problems" of living in the country side in the Summer, you get pros and cons, and flies are one of the cons. My parents live in the country side and near farmers and they do get flies but never to the point where it's unbearable. We hang those ugly sticky fly traps sometimes when it gets out of control.... or just kill them with a fly thingy (sorry, forgot the name)...
You can't have the fresh air, the views and no flies. In the cities you don't get many flies but you get pollution and noise. :p

I grew up in Europe and dealt with the flies, the wasps, etc. without much thought when I opened windows (99% of the year, I like fresh air!) However, now living in Canada, with window screens as standard, I am baffled as to why Europe hasn't adopted them! The ones I have are very fine mesh, and don't obstruct the view to any particular degree, yet keep all of the bugs out of the house.

Now on the flip side, I can't understand why Canadian windows don't have a 'little' opening window at the top, like most British windows do - you don't always want your 'big' window open, especially if it is windy or raining!

I completely understand the reason not to put screens on any windows with views. However the house we were staying in had many smaller side windows without a view. The weather can get quite warm and with no a/c and no open windows it can get quite uncomfortable. Either way just something I noticed and decided to rant about after a warm night. And coming from Florida I see lots of bugs but these flies in Murren were quite large and obnoxious. Just by having the balcony door open throughout the day the house had many flies inside. And a fly buzzing around your head while trying to sleep ranks as one of the most infuriating things in life lol. Either way with a view like this we’ll definitely be back!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9cf17c753.jpeg
View from home

When I am in Southern Europe, even with full door and window screens, we are constantly fighting around 15 types of bugs/insects...About 5 types of them live permanently and peacefully in the house, and another 10 types we try to keep outside, lol...

sounds like somebody needs to start a screening business

If it hides your view, you need a better grade of screen.

Actually, you can have all 3 with a good quality window screen, and you can protect yourself from being exposed to the up to 65 diseases that flies can transmit to humans.

Occasionally a swallow gets in the house, and then the real fun begins trying to get it out...:p

After nearly 20 years living here in Switzerland I totally feel the OP's pain. At night, when there is a fly about, I generally can entice it into the bathroom with the light turned on, and then quickly turn out the light and go to sleep. Fortunately, our current place stays pretty cool inside in the Summer and we can keep the windows shut. It's a good thing, as we're close to the airport and even closer to a train station.

We've had bats get in a couple of times in the past.

Why do you say that? It might just be that the OP is American and speaks in her own native dialect -- Fahrenheit -- without even thinking that the rest of the world uses Celsius.

Bingo.

Screens are available for sale in various Northern European countries, but they are not commonly in use; and of the ones used, they are mostly like a temporary thing to unroll and stick up around a window frame and then remove as soon as possible. Wasps, bees, flies and mosquitoes do otherwise come in. Somehow the dragonflies don’t. Where insects go, so do spiders and even bats follow to get their food.

I can’t say much about how common it is to leave the door open for “fresh air” in Switzerland, but many people in Scandinavia, for example, at this time of the year leave house doors wide open when they want to cool down the houses. When I’m around, I’m one of the rare people with loads of wasp/insect spray and screen nets on the ready. Screen doors really should be more popular there than they are.

In southern Europe there are often sliding screen doors for ever door and window (three layers: the outside door, the screen door, and the inside glass door). But because the screen doors are sliding (on some windows are fixed, but most are sliding) and people open and close them all the time, insects get in. In our house there are 20 screen doors and windows all around and several people in and out all the time, so it is a never ending battle with nature, lol...

That may indeed be true, but a simple solution (I obviously "misunderstood" the American way of measuring themperature) would be to turn off the central heating. By the way, at this low temp (50 oF equals 10 oC) there are few insects flying around at night (mostly moths) and certainly not flies. ;)