Naples FL (June 16, 2012) A little waterfall cascades into a crystal-clear swimming pool. Below the 4 feet of water not a leaf can be seen. Standing around the pool in the sticky summer there are no bugs. Yet this pool and many others like it have no pool screens.
Screenless lanais are becoming a trend in upper end homes in both Collier and Lee counties.
“For the last seven to eight years 90 percent of our homes are without pool cages,” said Dan DiComo, head architect for London Bay Homes.
Residents like the unobstructed views and the open architecture. Now with new technology in bug control and attention to what plants and trees are nearby people can have their pools in the open without the typical problems.
“It’s this view,” DiComo said as he walked through a home at Grey Oaks, pointing to the view from the living room that stretches to the pool and beyond to the golf course. “The outdoor area is like part of the inside of your house. It’s all view.”
One of the reasons many people screened in their pools was to keep the bugs away. But DiComo said there is a better way.
“We use natural pest control,” he said.
DiComo designs the homes with a sprayer built into the gutters and plant beds. Twice a day the sprayers mist a natural spray such as chrysanthemum that repels bugs.
Another problem to overcome is leaves in the pool. DiComo said this is solved by planting trees and bushes that don’t shed much.
“We pay attention to what we plant,” he explained. “Pygmy palms work well because they don’t drop a lot and when they do it’s a palm frond.” We have plants that don’t make a mess.”
Another invention helping the trend is roll-down screens. Many of the lanais are designed with shaded sections near the pool. Under this roofed section are outdoor kitchens and posh patio furniture. Wide archways keep this area cozy while not limiting the view. At the push of a button screens roll down in that section, giving residents the extra protection when needed.
“It’s kind of the best of both worlds with the roll- down screens,” DiComo said. “I think the retractable screen relieves any reservations.” Don Correll is having a home built in Mediterra that will have a screenless pool.
“We have a golf course lot and the views are very good and we didn’t want to obstruct the view,” Correll said. “When you look at the home or any other home in Cortile from the golf course, the architectural features in the back of the homes are almost as nice as the front of the homes, and I didn’t want to obscure that with the pool cage.”
Correll said he’s seen how the chrysanthemum spray works so he’s not concerned about bugs
“It really does work,” he said.
DiComo began noticing the trend after 2005 when two years of hurricanes destroyed many screens.
“Many people did not replace them,” DiComo said.
Homes are still required to have safety features so DiComo designs a 42” high fence around the pool and a gate door with a latch.
“Code requires us to protect it,” DiComo says.
Josh Graeve, general sales manager for Pulte homes, said screenless lanais are a trend that began on the east coast of Florida.
“On the east coast it has become more popular,” Graeve said. “Maybe they are out in front of us and it is working its way to this coast. We’ve tried it on this coast and found the majority of people who are seasonal still prefer low maintenance and still prefer the screens. I think once you get up in the $1 million homes here you see more of the no screen."
