Minnesotans joke that the mosquito is the real state bird and anyone who has tried to eat dinner on the deck in late June knows it isn’t much of a joke. From the first warm evening in May until the first hard frost, mosquitoes, gnats, no-see-ums, and wasps turn the best part of summer (that long golden hour outside) into a slapping, swatting retreat back indoors. A well-built sunroom hands that evening back to you.
Homeowners are often surprised by how much a bug-free room changes their summer. Here’s what they actually get back:
- Evenings outside, finally: Sit out past sunset without citronella, sprays, or constant swatting
- No mosquitoes, no wasps: A sealed, screened or glazed room keeps the bite-and-sting crowd on the other side of the glass
- Meals that stay yours: Dinner and morning coffee without gnats in the lemonade or flies on the food
- Kids and pets, worry-free: A safe place for the family to spread out all summer without bug spray on everyone
- Comfort in any weather: A still, protected space on the buggy, breezy, or muggy nights when the deck just isn’t pleasant
In a state with a famously short summer, losing your evenings to bugs means losing the season itself. A sunroom is how you keep it.
Screened vs. Glassed, Which One Keeps the Bugs Out for You?
Both a quality three-season screened room and a four-season glassed room will keep the bugs out. The real question is the rest of the year. A screened porch handles the bug problem for the warm months, but it sits cold and unused from October through April. In a humid Minnesota July, screens don’t do anything about the heat. A genuine all-season sunroom keeps the bugs out and stays comfortable in every season, with:
- High-performance glazing rated for our climate zone with clear views and no screens to squint through
- Insulated walls and roof built for Midwest snow loads and freeze-thaw cycles
- A dedicated PTAC unit (Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner) with self-contained heating and cooling so the room is pleasant in August and January alike, without taxing your home’s furnace or AC
- A frost-protected foundation rated for Minnesota’s 42–60″ frost depth
If the goal is just a bug-free spot for warm-weather mornings, a screened room can be the right call. If you want those summer evenings and the room you’re missing the other eight months of the year, all-season is the build that earns its keep.
Built to Be Used All Summer and Long After
At Signature Sunrooms by Allan Dorney Construction, we build all-season sunrooms using Betterliving systems engineered specifically for harsh Midwest climates. As your one-stop sunroom builder, we handle the full scope including foundation, structure, PTAC, electrical, flooring, and finish work all under one schedule and one warranty, so the room is delivered ready to enjoy. If you’re tired of giving your summer evenings back to the mosquitoes, the right starting point is a simple, no-pressure conversation about your home and how you want to use the space.
Learn more about our sunroom services or get in touch when you’re ready.
