No-See-Um Mesh Upgrades in Siesta Key, FL

The no-see-um that owns the barrier islands breeds in salt marsh and mangrove fringe, which describes the bay side of Siesta Key, the bay side of Longboat Key, the Heron Lagoon shoreline, and most of the Cortez waterfront. The adults are one to three millimeters long, and standard 18/14 screen was never designed to stop something that small. If your lanai sits within a few hundred yards of mangroves and dusk drives you indoors, the mesh is the reason.

Siesta Key Lanai Screens connects homeowners on the islands with a local contractor who rescreens lanais and pool cages in 20/20 no-see-um mesh, and who will tell you plainly which walls need it and which do not.

What 20/20 mesh actually does

Standard pool-cage screen is an 18-by-14 weave, meaning 18 strands per inch one way and 14 the other. No-see-um mesh is 20 by 20. The openings are small enough that biting midges cannot pass, which is the whole point, and it is available in the same fiberglass as standard screen or in tear-resistant polyester.

The trade-off is real and worth saying out loud. A tighter weave moves a little less air and softens the view slightly. Most owners describe the airflow difference as noticeable on a still August evening and invisible with any breeze at all. On a Gulf-facing wall that never sees a midge, that trade is not worth making. On a bayfront wall backed by mangroves, it is the difference between using the lanai at sunset and not.

Where it earns its place

Contractors in this network usually recommend no-see-um mesh by wall rather than by cage. The bay-facing and mangrove-facing panels get 20/20, the Gulf side keeps standard mesh for airflow, and lower panels near the deck are handled on their own merits. Homes on Siesta Isles canals, the bayside streets of Longboat, and the working waterfront in Cortez are the classic candidates. The estimate visit is where the contractor stands on your lanai at the right time of day and makes the call with you.

The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program has spent decades restoring the mangrove and seagrass edges that make the bay healthy, and those same edges are why a bayfront lanai needs a tighter screen than a Gulf-front one. It is a good problem to have.

Doing it as part of a rescreen

No-see-um mesh is installed the same way as any other screen, so it slots naturally into a full or partial rescreen or a lanai and porch rescreen. It can also be done as a targeted upgrade on a cage whose other panels are still sound. If the mesh is going in on a fresh rescreen anyway, the premium over standard screen is modest for the walls that need it.

Because the frame is not touched, a mesh upgrade generally does not require a permit in Sarasota County, the City of Sarasota, the Town of Longboat Key, or Manatee County. In a condominium, the association may specify an approved mesh, so check the declaration or ask the contractor to help you ask the right question.

Getting an estimate

Call (941) 555-0100 or use the estimate form. A local screen contractor will visit, look at which walls face the mangroves, and give you a written estimate on site.