Get Your Screens Ready for Spring Bug Season

By the San Diego Mobile Screens team · Updated October 2026 · 5 min read

As the weather warms, the windows open and the bugs show up. Mosquitoes, flies and gnats don't need much: a torn corner, a screen that doesn't sit tight, or a door left open. A quick check in early spring finds those gaps before they become a summer of swatting.

Why it matters here

The County of San Diego's Vector Control Program asks residents to keep window and door screens in good repair as one of the main ways to keep mosquitoes out of the house. The invasive Aedes mosquitoes now found in the county bite during the day, so a screen door you keep open in the afternoon matters as much as the bedroom windows.

The spring screen check

Walk the house with the windows open and look at each screen:

Holes and tears. Hold the screen up to the light. Any hole you can see is big enough for a mosquito.
Loose mesh at the edges. Mesh pulling out of the frame at a corner leaves a gap. That usually means the spline (the rubber cord that holds the mesh in) has worn out.
Gaps around the frame. A bent frame or a screen that is too small for its opening leaves a gap at the side or bottom. Bugs find it.
Missing screens. Count them. Screens get lost in moves and remodels, and an open window with no screen is an open door.
The sliding screen door. Does it close all the way and latch? A door that stops short leaves a gap the whole height of the door. See screen door not latching and screen door coming off its track.

Fixing what you find

A torn or loose screen gets a rescreen: new mesh and spline in your existing frame, $45 for a standard window screen and $95 for a sliding door. A bent frame or a missing screen gets a new window screen built to fit, $55 for a standard one. We do the work at your home and most screens are done in one visit.

Window prices are for standard screens. Double-hung, casement, pull-pin and other non-standard windows are quoted separately.

$145 minimum for mobile service

Pick the right mesh while you are at it

Standard fiberglass keeps out mosquitoes and flies and is included in the price.
Pet-resistant mesh on doors and low windows if a dog or cat pushes on them (+$20 per window screen, +$40 per door screen).
Solar mesh on hot west- and south-facing windows, to get ahead of summer heat.

The mesh guide compares all four.

Doors you keep open

If you like the back door open on warm afternoons, a screen door is what keeps the bugs out. A retractable screen rolls out of sight when you don't need it, and a security screen door lets you leave the main door open with the screen locked.

Outside the screens

The County's other advice is to dump standing water once a week: plant saucers, buckets, pet bowls and anything that holds rain or sprinkler water. Mosquitoes breed in very little water, close to the house.

Selling this spring? Torn and missing screens often show up in home inspection reports. Our page for real estate agents covers pre-sale screen work. For the next season, see getting your screens ready for summer.

Common questions

Does standard screen mesh keep mosquitoes out?

Yes. Standard fiberglass mesh keeps out mosquitoes and flies when it is intact and the screen fits its opening. Most bugs get in through tears and gaps, not through the mesh.

How small a hole lets mosquitoes in?

A small one. A mosquito fits through a tear you would barely notice, so fix any hole you can see rather than waiting for it to grow.

What if a window never had a screen?

We build new screens to fit at your home. A new standard window screen is $55.