Mosquito Net for Windows in Singapore: Fixed Nets vs Framed Mesh, and What NEA Recommends

When someone in Singapore searches for a "mosquito net for windows", they usually mean one of three quite different things: a soft net stuck to the frame with velcro, a fixed aluminium-framed screen, or a retractable framed mesh that rolls away. All three stop mosquitoes if the holes are small enough and there are no gaps round the edge. They differ a lot in price, how long they last, and whether you can still open the window properly.

Mosquito screens on windows and doors are also one of the protective steps in the government's own dengue advice, which most people do not know. So this article sorts out which product you actually want, explains why hole size is rarely the problem, and covers when an old-fashioned bed net still earns its place. We install framed mesh, and we will say plainly where a cheaper option is good enough.

The three things "mosquito net for windows" can mean

The soft net is what most people picture, and it has its place: a small toilet window in a rental, or a stopgap during a cluster. Its weakness is not the net but the tape. HardwareZone parents describe double-sided tape that stops holding after a single wash, and once a corner lifts, that corner is a door.

A fixed screen seals best of all and costs less than retractable, but you cannot open it, so cleaning the outside of the glass means unscrewing it. Framed retractable mesh is what we sell, and it is the middle path: sealed along the rails when closed, gone when you want the full breeze, and lockable so kids cannot pull it. We took the cassette apart in how retractable insect screens work; for the wider comparison of materials and formats, see insect mesh for windows in Singapore.

Hole size vs the Aedes mosquito

An adult Aedes aegypti is about 4 to 7 mm long. Standard window screening (the common 18x16 fibreglass weave, or the tighter 20x20 sold as "no-see-um" mesh) has openings of roughly 1 mm. The soft nets sold online are generally woven just as fine. A mosquito cannot fold, cannot chew, and cannot squeeze; if the net is intact and the hole is around 1 mm, it stays outside.

So when a HardwareZone member with nets up reported 35 bites in three days and wondered if tiny mosquitoes were squeezing through, they almost certainly were not. Either something smaller (sandflies, midges) was getting through, or the mosquitoes were coming in another way: a gap at the grille, an open door, or breeding inside the flat. Our piece on whether mosquitoes can go through window mesh walks through the full list, and mosquitoes on a high floor covers the entry points that have nothing to do with windows.

The practical rule: pick any product with holes around 1 mm, then spend your attention on the seal, not the weave.

What NEA's dengue advice says about window screens

NEA's public advice runs on two acronyms. B-L-O-C-K is about removing breeding water at home (break up hardened soil, lift and empty flowerpot plates, and so on). S-A-W is about not getting bitten: Spray insecticide in dark corners, Apply repellent, Wear long sleeves.

Screens sit alongside those. The government's Block Dengue tips page (on cgs.gov.sg) lists, in so many words, "installing mosquito screens on windows/doors to keep mosquitoes out of your home" as a protective measure, right next to repellent, long sleeves and spraying dark corners. It also recommends sleeping under a mosquito net, and adds a line worth reading twice: especially during the day, since Aedes aegypti is a day-biting mosquito.

Two more NEA facts matter here. First, in cluster areas inspected in 2025, about 65 per cent of Aedes breeding found was inside homes, which is why screens never replace the weekly B-L-O-C-K routine: a screen keeps outside mosquitoes outside, and does nothing about the ones hatching in your own flowerpot plate. Second, although Aedes is mainly a day biter with peaks at dawn and dusk, NEA notes that in Singapore's well-lit urban areas it may also bite at night. A window screen covers all of those hours without you thinking about it, which is its real advantage over repellent.

For context on 2026: NEA's weekly dengue count has been running at roughly 100 to 120 cases a week through July and into August, in what NEA calls the traditional May to October peak season. A low year by recent standards, but not a zero year.

When a bed net still makes sense

Window screens do not make bed nets obsolete. There are four situations where we would still hang one.

• Daytime naps for babies and toddlers. Many parents would rather not put repellent on a very young baby, Aedes bites in the day, and a cot net is cheap and total. This is exactly the case the Block Dengue tips are pointing at.
• A bedroom you cannot screen yet. A landlord who says no, a wait for the installer, or a louvre window with nowhere to mount a frame. A net covers the eight hours you are least aware.
• The door is the problem, not the window. If the main door stands open in the evening, screening the bedroom window fixes half the room (windows and doors need mesh together). Until the door is done, a net covers the bed.
• During an active cluster near your block. Layer everything: net, screens, repellent and the B-L-O-C-K routine. No single measure is complete, including ours.

Outside those cases, screens on the windows and doors do the job of a net for the whole flat, day and night, without sleeping inside a tent in Singapore's heat.

What each option costs

• Soft velcro or magnetic net: the cheapest option, from Shopee, Lazada, Taobao or a hardware shop, plus your own afternoon to fit it. Budget on replacing it within a year or two.
• Fixed aluminium screen: quote-based; contractors and window shops price it per opening. Usually less than retractable, more than a net.
• Retractable framed mesh: priced per window, and size drives the figure so much that we quote from a photo rather than publish numbers. Our Base is the insect-only, most affordable model; the Sleek suits narrow toilet and kitchen windows, with the Core and Pro above it. Other retractable options quote per job or per square foot.

Doors are extra and worth doing: a door mesh covers the opening most people forget. If you are pricing a whole flat, our window mesh price guide has the per-flat bands.

In short: a soft net for a small rental window on a tight budget; a fixed screen for a window you never open; retractable framed mesh (with polyester or fibreglass on the Base) for windows you open daily. And if there is a cat at home, none of the above unless it is rated in kilograms; start with cat mesh in Singapore instead.

If you would like a quote for framed mesh, WhatsApp us photos of your windows and doors and we will give you a rough figure, then a free site visit with samples if you want it. No obligation. And whichever product you pick, keep doing the flowerpot plates: mesh covers the windows and doors, and nothing else.

Frequently asked questions

Does a mosquito net on the window really work in Singapore?

Yes, as long as it is intact and sealed at the edges. Holes of around 1 mm are far smaller than an adult Aedes mosquito, and the Block Dengue tips list screens on windows and doors as a protective measure. Where nets fail is the tape lifting at a corner, gaps at grille bars, an open door, or mosquitoes breeding inside the flat, which no window product fixes.

What hole size stops mosquitoes?

Around 1 mm or smaller. Standard 18x16 window screening and the tighter 20x20 weave both fall in that range, and so do most soft nets sold online. Anything getting through an intact 1 mm net is smaller than a mosquito, usually a sandfly or midge, which is where 20x20 helps. Spend your attention on the seal rather than chasing a smaller hole.

Should I use a bed net if I already have window mesh?

Usually not, if windows and doors are both screened. The exceptions are daytime naps for infants (Aedes bites in the day and many parents skip repellent on young babies), a room you cannot screen yet, a bedroom near a door that stays open, or an active cluster nearby, when layering a net on top of screens is sensible.

How much does a mosquito net for windows cost in Singapore?

A DIY velcro or magnetic net is the cheapest, a fixed aluminium screen is quoted per opening by window contractors, and retractable framed mesh is quoted per window based on size and mesh. We quote from a photo rather than publish figures; the insect-only Base is our most affordable model. WhatsApp us photos of your windows and we will give you a figure.

Sources

MeshMates product specifications are from our own product pages.

1. HardwareZone Forums — [Parents] BTO installing anti insect window grills (Mar 2025). forums.hardwarezone.com.sg
2. UF/IFAS Extension — Yellow Fever Mosquito, Aedes aegypti (EENY-434). ask.ifas.ufl.edu
3. HardwareZone Forums — Mosquito problem, any tips? (Sep 2024). forums.hardwarezone.com.sg
4. NEA — Singapore Enters Peak Dengue Season, Public Urged to Stay Vigilant (16 May 2026). nea.gov.sg
5. Clean and Green Singapore — Tips and FAQs (Block Dengue). cgs.gov.sg
6. NEA — Is it true that the Aedes mosquito does not bite at night? (NEA Vox). nea.gov.sg
7. NEA — Dengue Cases (weekly figures). nea.gov.sg