Wasps have taken over your balcony: How Mitico reclaims the territory

You know the scene. It’s a lovely evening; you’ve set out the glasses, there are people gathered around the table, and everyone’s in a good mood. And then they show up. First one, which we absentmindedly shoo away. Then two, three. Someone knocks over their glass while waving their hands. The kids start to panic. A wasp is circling the salad. Another is inspecting the rim of the juice glass. And within ten minutes, the lovely evening on the balcony turns into a chaotic retreat indoors, with doors and windows shut tight behind us. They’ve won.

Why Insects Love Your Balcony Just as Much as You Do

It’s nothing personal, wasps, mosquitoes, and flies aren’t specifically targeting you. They’re simply following their instincts. Wasps are attracted to sugars and proteins, which means your patio dinner is like an all-you-can-eat buffet to them. Sugary drinks, grilled meats, fruit, everything that makes a summer dinner so enjoyable is exactly what wasps are looking for this time of year. Flies, on the other hand, are drawn to the smells of cooking and food. And mosquitoes show up right on cue at the end of the day, attracted by body heat and the CO2 we exhale, with a particular preference for children, whose skin is thinner.

The problem is that your balcony or patio is, by definition, an open space, and in Quebec during the summer, an open space is a place that insects consider their territory just as much as yours. They don’t respect invisible boundaries. They don’t understand that the dinner table is your personal space. And they won’t leave just because you ask them politely.

Popular Solutions and Why They Only Work Partially

When faced with invading insects, most people try the same solutions, and quickly discover their limitations. Chemical spray repellents are effective against mosquitoes, but they have an unpleasant odor, their effect is short-lived, and having to apply them before every meal is a hassle that eventually becomes discouraging. Mosquito coils produce smoke that effectively keeps insects away, but it also drives away guests, who would rather put up with mosquitoes than have smoke in their eyes.

Wasp traps, those small containers filled with sugary liquid that you hang around the patio, catch a few wasps but have no effect on the entire colony. For every wasp trapped, ten more arrive. Citronella candles are marginally effective within a radius of a few centimeters and prove completely useless as soon as there’s even a slight breeze. And electric mosquito swatters are psychologically satisfying but don’t fundamentally solve the problem, you can’t spend the whole evening hunting down insects.

What all these solutions have in common is that they try to repel insects, not keep them out. But repelling insects in an open space is like trying to empty the ocean with a bucket. The real solution isn’t to discourage them; it’s to create a physical barrier that they simply cannot cross.

The Real Solution: A Physical Barrier, Not a Repellent

Insects respect one thing that repellents cannot provide: A physical barrier. A web, a wire mesh, a screen, no matter what it looks like, if the barrier is there, insects won’t get through. This is the principle behind door and window screens, which everyone is familiar with and whose effectiveness everyone recognizes. The challenge is to apply this principle to outdoor spaces, your balcony or patio, in a way that’s both functional and aesthetically consistent with your space.

An extended outdoor screen creates exactly this barrier. The taut, stable mesh encloses the space on the sides and physically prevents insects from entering. No chemicals needed. No smoke needed. No constant monitoring needed. The barrier is there, doing its job silently, so you can forget about the insects and focus on what matters: Enjoying your evening.

Mitico: Reclaiming the Territory

That’s exactly what Ombrasole’s Mitico crank-operated screen does, and with a style that wasp traps and smoke coils certainly can’t claim. Designed and manufactured exclusively at Ombrasole’s Montreal factory, it unfurls a mesh that creates an elegant wall of privacy around your balcony or patio. This mesh physically blocks wasps, flies, and most flying insects, while allowing the cool evening air to circulate. You stay outside, feel the breeze, and hear your surroundings, but the insects stay outside.

For evening mosquitoes, those little vampires that appear as soon as the sun goes down and particularly target children, Mitico is incredibly effective. As soon as you sense them coming, you can lower the screen with a simple turn of the crank. In thirty seconds, your space is completely protected. Children can keep playing until nightfall without getting a single bite. Adults can finish their drinks in peace, without waving their hands around, without slathering on chemical repellent, and without having to go inside before they’re ready.   

And what makes the Mitico particularly well-suited for this purpose is its windproof locking system; It creates a true, seamless, and uncompromising barrier.

A Two-for-One Benefit: Protection from Insects and the Sun

What sets the Mitico apart from a standard balcony screen is that it does more than just keep insects out. The mesh also effectively filters sunlight, reduces the perceived heat under the awning, and creates a privacy barrier that blocks neighbors’ view. One product solves three problems at once: insects, sunlight, and privacy.

And unlike temporary mosquito screens or cheap patio curtains, the Mitico is designed to withstand Quebec’s harsh weather conditions. It doesn’t warp, tear, or fade; it remains beautiful and effective season after season, performing just as well in its fifth season as it did on the first day of installation.

Take back your balcony

Insects are a part of summer in Quebec, and they’re not going anywhere. But your balcony shouldn’t be their hunting ground. You invested in this space to enjoy it, not to give it up every dinner time to the first wasp that comes along.

The Mitico crank-operated screen from Ombrasole is an elegant, permanent solution that gives you back control of your outdoor space—no chemicals, no smoke, no stress. Made in Montreal, custom-built with the best fabrics on the market, it transforms your balcony into an insect-free zone where you can finally enjoy your summer evenings to the fullest.