Mosquito season in New Zealand: when to install fly screens

The best time to fit fly screens is not the height of summer: it is just before the season, in September, when the first warm days wake the mozzies. A made-to-measure screen takes 6 to 9 business days to make: order in September and you are sleeping soundly by November; order mid-invasion and you lose a week or two of good nights waiting for the parcel. Down here the calendar is the mirror of Europe's: our spring is called October.

Here is what a mosquito season really looks like in the southern hemisphere, and the right moment to act depending on your situation.

The real calendar of a mosquito season

Mosquitoes do not read the calendar, they read the thermometer. Once nights settle around ten degrees and above, the first species come out of their winter pause. Activity builds through spring, peaks over the warm months, especially after rain, then fades with the first cool autumn nights. Two moments catch everyone out: the very start of the season, because nobody quite believes it yet, and the weeks after a summer downpour, when every saucer under a pot plant becomes a nursery.

In practice that means a season running roughly from October to April, peaking over the summer months. In other words: if you wait until you are bitten to act, the mozzies are already two to three weeks ahead of you.

Why equip before the peak (and not during)

The maths is simple. A made-to-measure fly screen takes 6 to 9 business days to make, plus delivery: ordered in September, it is up when the first wave arrives with the spring warm-up; ordered mid-season, it costs you a week or two of ruined nights, often just after the rains that get mozzies going.

Equipping early also means measuring and fitting calmly: about ten minutes per opening, no pressure, at a time you choose. Our measuring guide walks you through it step by step, opening by opening.

The right moment for your situation

Moving in or renovating? Take the opportunity to measure every opening in one go: equipping the whole house in a single order saves you chasing fly screens room by room once summer arrives, and quantity discounts work in your favour. A holiday home deserves the same reflex: equip it when you open it up in spring, not the day before the August holidays.

Renting? The no-drill version goes up and comes down without leaving a trace, which makes it worthwhile even for a single season. Already equipped? Spring is the time to check the mesh and fixings: our guide to maintaining and repairing your fly screen covers it all in ten minutes. A tired adhesive strip or a small snag spotted in April gets fixed calmly; discovered in July, it has to be endured.

When autumn comes: remove, leave in place, or plan for next year

An E-glass fibreglass mesh handles the seasons and lasts 8 to 20 years: leaving it in place over winter does not damage it. If you prefer a bare window in the off season, the magnetic fixings let you take the mesh down in seconds and put it back up in spring, without re-sticking anything. Nothing stops you from turning it into a seasonal ritual, down in autumn and back up in spring: the mesh spends winter folded in a cupboard and comes out as good as new.

And winter has a hidden virtue: June to August is the perfect window to measure and order calmly, with no urgency and no mosquito on the ceiling. The truly organised fit their screens in August and never hear the first buzz of October.

Northern hemisphere: same logic, six months earlier

In Europe and North America the logic is identical but the calendar flips: the season runs roughly from mid-spring to early autumn, peaking in July and August.

Same product, same anticipation, opposite dates: while windows are closing in Sydney or Auckland, they are opening in Paris.

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Frequently asked questions