While rain can certainly dampen the mood while camping, flying insects — like mosquitoes, yellow jackets, hornets, and flies — have the power to ruin a good camping trip. When conditions are perfectly wrong — when there are gobs of mosquitoes trying to suck your blood or yellow jackets crawling all over your food — a screened tent, a.k.a. screen house, keeps the bugs away and lets you enjoy the fresh outdoor air. Sure, some people can ignore bugs just fine, but some people are allergic and some freak out . . . a screen house gives you an oasis. Are they worth the investment? Definitely.
To find the right screen house for you and your family, check out my guide to the best screen houses at Man Makes Fire.