How To Make A Mosquito Net

A mosquito net is like a canopy that hangs over your bed to keep mosquitos – and others – away from you.  These nets are typically used when someone sleeps. These nets are helpful if you live in a warmer climate or you enjoy keeping your windows open at night. Although these nets don’t come as expensive as other bedroom accessories, homemade nets cost for less than Rs 2000. Here’s how to make a mosquito net in DIY project.

Also read: Making A Homemade AC with A Fan And A Few Water Bottles!

Before we get into the procedure, let’s get a quick know-how behind the importance of having a mosquito net:

• Mosquito nets are one of the most important ways to protect against malaria and other diseases spread by mosquitoes.
• These nets are effective for three to five years.
• To be effective, nets must be used properly.

DURING HUMID SEASON ONLY (EASTERN SEABOARD):

Encourage every member of the community to sleep under a mosquito net every night. It is particularly important for children and pregnant women to do so

 

Measure Netting Axis | How To Make A Mosquito Net

Grab a measuring tape and measure the length and width of your bed and frame.

Jot down both the length and width of your bedding frame. Then add an inch (2.52cm) to each measure. Here’s why:

• If parts of the net hang directly against the frame, bugs may bite you through the net if you roll against it in your sleep.
• The ring-style canopy nets you may have seen are not as effective as the rectangular nets that cover each side evenly. These ring canopies tend to hang unevenly and are fairly distracting when you’re trying to sleep.

Purchasing

If you can’t visit stores at the moment, go online and find a net that’s bigger than your bed by an inch.

Note: Most nets have sleeves for mounting on frames, but just double-check that your purchase is not an uncut fabric!

• The height doesn’t matter unless you have a vaulted ceiling or a loft-style home. The netting always comes with plenty of height to work with.
• You cannot effectively sew a mosquito net on your own. The holes need to be incredibly small and the fabric has to be extremely breathable. Plus, pre-made mosquito netting is relatively inexpensive.
• You can still use uncut fabric by hanging it over the frame you’re going to assemble, but you’ll need to reposition the fabric by hand whenever it slides to one side or another.

Mosquito netting is pretty cheap. Expect to spend around Rs 1300 on the netting itself.

Doing some LEGO Work | How To Make A Mosquito Net

Buy 2 curtain rods that match the lengths of your bed and pick up 2 curtain rods that match the width of your bed. In addition, buy 4 elbow joints that match the width of your curtain rod. These joints essentially connect the rods together!

• The thickness of the rods doesn’t matter so long as they fit in the sleeve openings on the net.
• If you can’t find curtain rods that match the dimensions you need, buy some longer curtain rods. Then, cut each rod to size with a handsaw.

 

Installation Blueprint

Mark 4 perpendicular spots on the ceiling above your bed with a pencil. Usually, ceilings have studs in them, so it’d be easier to locate them by using your knuckles.

• Get 4 screw hooks and grab a pilot drill bit that’s slightly thinner than the width of your screw hooks.
• Insert the pilot drill bit into a drill and bore a hole for each hook in the ceiling, just outside the corners of your bed.
• Place each hole in a stud to keep the frame from ripping the drywall out.

• Then, twist the screw hooks into the holes you drilled.
• As the above image shows, get your hands on a heavy-duty fishing line. This is just an optional reference – any type of cord would do the trick.
• The exact length of the cord or line doesn’t matter. You’re going to cut the excess off later!
• After fastening each cord to hooks on the ceiling, tie a loop at the end of each line.

Note: Just to clarify, you are not placing the loops you just made on the hooks. You just need these hoops to hang your frame and adjust the length before tying it up.

Frame Assembly | Almost There!

Take your mosquito net and spread it out on top of your sheets. Adjust the corners of the top of the net to line up with the corners of your bed frame.

• Grab one of your longer rods and feed it through the sleeve on a long side of the net. Run the rod through all the way until it sticks out a little bit past the end of the net on each side.
• If you find it hard to feed the rod through the sleeve, you can crumple the net up as you work the rod through to keep the net from catching on the end.
• Connect each rod with elbow joints. These joints keep the frame intact and protected from future breakages.

Last One | Hang The Net

• Tie each cord or line around the joints to secure the net in place
• You can also tie the cord or fishing line to the loop you made. It doesn’t really matter how you secure the line or cord.
• Some mosquito nets have a default strip to let you get inside the net. If your net doesn’t, just lift the base up and slide underneath it!

Just FYI: The most effective nets (LLINs) are treated with long-lasting insecticide (which kills mosquitoes). If you can get your hands on one of those, it’ll be a plus!

Well, there you have it guys! This was all about how to make a mosquito net. If you have any questions, refer to the comment section below.

Good luck!