You could attract some of the predatory wasps. I think they like the bee houses. Those and lady bugs are what come to mind.

An anti-bug house sounds great though. It would also keep the squirrels, birds and other critters out. We have a few disturbingly aggressive squirrels in our yard.

Echo the wasps recommendations. Take two regular cinder blocks and stack the end to end like a tall tower. Wasps will nest in the underside since it is protected from sun and rain. It does take a bit to "corral" the wasps only into those designated areas but you will see results. Four nests eliminated my spraying almost complete for a very large garden. Cost is zero if you already have the blocks.

If you are deathly allergic to wasps, obviously don't do this. But you will not get stung so long as you don't mess with their nest.

I hadn't really thought about pollination. Good question. I'll have to look up how it is done with greenhouses as it would end up being pretty much the same issue/resolution I would think.

I like the wasps tips, not sure if the rest of the family will be keen on it though.

Screen house gardening looks like it might be the answer I was looking for. sometimes the trick is just hitting the right keywords when googling. thanks!

Wasps are no more likely to sting you than a bee. Yes, you will have them flying around doing their business just like bees. I became pro-wasp when I could prove the cost and time savings of reduced spraying; most importantly more undamaged harvests.

My only objection to wasps is that the big paper wasps like to let the caterpillars get some size on them before they come back to carry them off.

So how big of an area are we taking about? Window gardening? So is this inside, in front of a window? The horticultural supply people make screen material just for huge commercial greenhouses to keep even the smallest insects out. I can give you plenty of ideas after I hear more about what you are wanting to do. And yes, insect pollination does not happen in a bug free situation. I grow lots of hot peppers and just shaking the plant a little will pollinate it. I'm still out there with a paintbrush anyway, making sure I get increased pollination. For most of the insects I deal with, I use coffee instead if using a regular insecticide. For me, it takes care of the aphids, scales, mealy bugs, thrips, and spider mites. BTW, I am in Lakeland and have had a certified nursery for 30 years.

There is a farmer near here that swears by spraying the plants with a solution of water and laundry detergent.

How much laundry detergent do you use per gallon of water? Liquid detergent? Does this burn the foliage when our hotter temps arrive? I am thinking of trying this.

Good question plantsman... I am thinking a window box or 2 for seedlings and then probably a 5x5 plot or thereabouts to test out the concept, assuming it all goes well 10x10 next year.

Here is the problem with your screen idea: it will keep out the good bugs but the bad bugs will find a way in.

I take care of roses and sometimes my customers will have roses in their screened in pool area. These roses will always have more problems with spider mites and aphids and it is a constant battle.

Food for thought.

I'm planning on letting some lady bugs and/or mantises go in there where the lizards can't get to them.

you don't say exactly what is getting eaten or what is doing the eating. i have friends that moved into a new subdivision and the lubbers were everywhere eating everything in sight. it was not a problem that could easily be fixed.

when i moved into this house it was a freaking mono culture. grass. there were ants everywhere. thankfully they were not fire ants but truly an abnormal amount of several kinds of ants. I got rid of the mono culture and used friendlier cultural practices and the ant population has gone away. Nature has a way of balancing things. I am not saying that I don't get pests in my yard, I do, but usually it isn't that big of a deal.

Then there are plants that are called "indicator" plants: certain varieties of crepe myrtle and gardenia to name two. They will be the first to get aphids, whitefly and scale so maybe don't plant those or get a variety that is resistant to pests.

I guess all of this is a round about way of saying I think the screen idea is not so great. Unless you have lubbers! ;-)

lubbers are an issue for sure, but they are part of why I figure that
the netting would help. Anything I plant gets eaten by them, snails, and assorted smaller bugs
smaller bugs - herbs, tomatoes, squash, etc.

When we got the house it, and a number of houses in the area had gone almost entirely feral. A couple more years and I might have been able to classify it as "wetlands" again. (not really)

The neighbors will always be a source of pests/bugs even if I get our yard fully under control, so that is also part of the issue.