Outdoor Screen Shelters: An Ideal Solution for Repelling Bees

During leisure hours, who can resist going out into the beautiful outdoors during the spring and summer months? Going out to water one's garden, for instance, can be quite an enjoyable activity until one is met by unwelcome guests - bees! While bee experts inform that bees are harmless unless provoked, and less than one percent of Americans have life-threatening allergic reactions to bee stings, the sight of long-legged wasps and the buzz of yellow jackets can be ghastly. Also alarming is that bee stings account for 500,000 emergency room visits in the US during a year, according to a report by the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Although bees have a reputation of being a nuisance, they serve the purpose of pollinating flowers and crops that produce fruits and vegetables as well as honeybees making honey and beeswax. For this reason, bees are not to be destroyed with pesticides - after all, going green means preserving nature. Instead, an ideal, harmless way to coexist with bees is to invest in one of the various screen outdoor shelters described below.

Screen Tents or Screen Houses

Self-assembled screen tents and screen houses have the advantage of being portable, allowing individuals to place them in backyards or campgrounds and in shaded locations such as under a tree. Screen tents can be viewed and purchased from websites such as www.overstock.com. Overstock.com carries a Texas Montana Screen Arbor Tent at the sale price of $83.69. Measuring 12x12 ft. and 82 in. high, it has sturdy, mesh walls and two zippered entrances. In addition, there are screen houses that can be self-assembled and are portable. Some examples include the Texsport Highgrove Screen Arbor that is sold at www.sportsauthority.com for $124.99. With a rectangular frame, this screen house has sturdy, mesh walls and four zippered entrances. Then there is the Coleman Insta-Clip 4-Sided Screenhouse available on www.target.com for $129.99. This 11x9 ft. screen house can hold up to five people.

Screen Decks, Gazebos, or Porches

An alternative outdoor shelter is a screen deck, gazebo, or porch. After my grandparents added a screen porch to their house, my grandfather loved to sit there to read the newspaper. A screen deck or porch is like another room in one's house except that it allows fresh air and more sunlight in, while keeping bees out. These shelters must be professionally installed rather than self-assembled.

Screen Gardens or Greenhouses

Gardens and flower beds are a prime hangout of bees. Some gardeners may go to the trouble of encasing the garden with screen walls, a door, and a ceiling to keep bees out while letting their crops benefit from direct sunlight and rain showers. More convenient is to purchase an assembled greenhouse. Various greenhouses are available on www.target.com including the 6x8 ft Rion Silver Line Greenhouse selling for $599.99. Its features are glass-like walls made of polycarbonate, an aluminum frame, apex roof with a vent, and 100% UV protection. Greenhouses and screen gardens allow gardeners to tend to their gardens without being confronted or stung by bees.

Of main value, the distinctive quality of screen shelters and greenhouses, in comparison to typical fabric or wooden shelters, is full enclosure, transparency, and ventilation allowing individuals to take in the wholesome sunlight, fresh air, and scenery while repelling bees. As a result, individuals may enjoy and survive the outdoors while engaging in activities such as having lunch or a picnic, reading, writing, painting, talking on the phone, playing board games, knitting, crocheting, or watering plants.

Sources

"Bee Sting Treatment." Medicine Net.

"Stings." American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.

www.overstock.com

www.sportsauthority.com

www.target.com