[morelisp]

They do not, and it's unfathomable why. One of the first things I did after moving to Berlin was put screens on our major windows. My European friends constantly complain about insects coming in (wasps are a big offender in Berlin - and technically you can't kill them) but for some reason never just put up a screen.

[OJFord]

Because I don't want some ugly thing strapped to my window?

Because I want to let more light in?

Because things flying in is approximately not a problem anyway?

Seems perfectly fathomable to me.

(I live in London, occasionally a fly will come in and chill out for a bit before sodding off again.. fine? I've never had a wasp inside even. Our mosquitoes will extremely rarely give you anything nasty. Moths that would fly in aren't the fabric-eating kind. Even leaving aside the other issues, there's no reason to, it wouldn't be worth my time or money to buy them/fit them/have them fitted. I've spent longer writing this comment than being irritated by anything flying in through my windows.)

[jbb_hn]

This sounds like a potentially lucrative business opportunity!

[morelisp]

They are for sale, for cheap, in every drug store.

[minitoar]

The number of presumably Europeans in here citing screens blocking light as a reason for not installing screens makes me think maybe those screens are pretty low quality?

[morelisp]

They are low-quality in that they tear pretty easily, you need to replace them every 3-4 years or if a bird/cat goes nuts on them (5 eur or so per sqm, probably there are cheaper brands if you are price-sensitive), but they don't block any more light than screens in the US. Less than some I've had.

[zimpenfish]

> They do not, and it's unfathomable why.

Our current windows pivot in the middle which makes a fixed screen impossible.

(They do have a "pane inside" mode which would let you put a screen on the outside but we're 3 floors up and it would be a bit tricky, not to mention inconvenient when the temperature drops.)

[morelisp]

I can see this being an issue, though everyone I know has some variant of the standard "German window" (https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gv8PbeT2Ktk/TDiZRMA5oGI/AAAAAAAAA...) where they work fine.

[yarcob]

Maybe because screens make the appartment darker?

[Tempest1981]

Fortunately, the sun is getting brighter

[only_as_i_fall]

I mean generally you can't tell from more than 5 feet away so...idk seems like a minor difference

[tk75x]

Why can't you kill wasps?

[OJFord]

This calls it a 'myth', but really concludes that it's hyperbole arbitrarily calling out wasps; they're technically a protected species and you could be fined but.. almost certainly not going to happen for one or two wasps bothering you at a cafe or whatever?

https://medium.com/@sophanemwise/the-wasp-killing-myth-in-ge...

[morelisp]

I had a friend kicked out of a cafe once for killing a wasp because they didn't want to deal with the situation if the Ordnungsamt was walking by or something.

Wasps are the usual example because it's legal to kill flies/mosquitoes and no one wants to kill the other protected insects like bumblebees. The wasps in Berlin are common and pretty aggressive, and have free rein in an awful lot of the chain backeries.

[clort]

I was at a country cafe in the UK where there were plenty of wasps nearby. They had some 'fake nests' hanging up, as apparently wasps will swarm and kill intruders, so they also don't go near nests that they know are not their own.

If it works or not I don't really know but at least I had a bowl of ice cream and wasn't especially bothered..

[OJFord]

Interesting, but are they justified in that fear do you know?

What I mean is, if this is a commonly believed exaggeration then it could just be that in this case the person believing it wasn't the wasp-killer (or would-be-killer) but the cafe owner. Has your friend ever actually been fined for doing it, or did the cafe owner/manager mention having had to deal with it in the past?

Certainly does seem odd that this law would (a) exist; and (b) be intended to stop this sort of behaviour; and (c) actually be enforced!

[morelisp]

I doubt anyone has been fined the full value just from killing one wasp from some random fine. It is regularly enforced against people who try to burn down or otherwise remove nests on their property (without engaging a professional to try to remove it safely for both parties).

I would say mainly it's not enforced because b) has been effective - Germans (or Berliners at least) don't kill wasps! If doing so became common, it would probably be enforced more consistently.