Awning Mosquito Mozzie Nets
Australiahas some fantastic landscapes, and our wildlife is famous too. Unfortunately it’s famous for all the wrong reasons. Somebody once wrote a fantasy novel about a country called Ecksecksecksecks that, he claimed, wasn’t at all Australia. It had kangaroos and drop bears and the capital was called Didjabringabeeralong, so we have our own opinions about that. Anyway one of the characters asked for a list of all the animals thatweren’tdangerous. The answer was “Some of the sheep.”
Of course it’s not quite as bad as that – we’re pretty sure some of the cockatoos are harmless – but some of the wildlife can certainly be annoying. Any time you’re camping there’s a good chance a million flies will turn up to eat your dinner, and a million mozzies will turn up to eat you. Swatting them can get old quickly, so there’s a market for a way to keep them off.
If you have an awning on your vehicle there’s a ready made solution for you; get a set of mozzie nets to hang from it. These are available to fit most awnings and they can do a really good job. It’s important to get the right one when you want full protection, though.
The simplest and cheapest mosquito nets are just a set of net curtains that hang from the sides of your awning. Usually they use sail tracks that slide in along the bottom of the base and end bar, then the sides are fastened to the awning’s side struts with Velcro straps. These will keep a lot of insects out, but there are usually gaps along the sides where they’re tied to the struts and some determined bugs will get in there.
A better solution is something like the Tough mozzie nets from Tough Toys. These have a sealed in roof enclosure as well, which suspends below the roof of the awning, and when it’s pegged down along the bottom it’s completely sealed.
There are a few other points to look for when buying a mozzie net. The most important is the gauge of the mesh itself. If it’s too large then smaller insects might be able to squeeze through, which sort of defeats the point. Check that the edges are reinforced, because netting frays easily and damage can quickly spread; doubled or trimmed edges will help prevent that. A rear door is a good feature because it lets you get easy access to your vehicle without having to venture out into the bugs.
A mozzie net won’t give you the same shelter and privacy as a tent, but in fact that’s part of its appeal. You still get to be outdoors, with just an almost invisible mesh between you and the scenery, but at the same time you’re protected from all the stuff that wants to crawl into your ears. We don’t recommend heading into the bush without one.
