An air curtain supplying a high velocity air stream across an opening reduces substantially flies and other flying insects from entering a building.

The presence of these insects in drink or food production plans, restaurants, community kitchens, supermarkets, hospitals and other food service premises, can cause food contamination and accordingly imperiling public health.

Standard air curtains designed for climate control are not suitable for insects control because a higher air velocity is required.

According to NSF/ANSI 37-2012 Air Curtain for entranceways for food and food service establishments, the minimum performance depending on the type of door is:

• At service window the air jet must be 200mm wide with minimum speed of 3,05m/s at 1/3 distance of the vertical opening above the service window countertop
• At service doors the air stream must be 75mm wide with minimum speed of 8,13m/s at 1 meter above the floor
• At customer entry the air barrier must be 200mm wide with minimum speed of 3,05m/s at 0,9 meters above the floor

Other requirements to protect properly the entrance of insects are:

• Adjustable blades that can angle the air stream away from the area to be protected
• Cover the entire doorway and even slightly surpass it so that there are no gaps for the insects to enter
• Automatic activation of the air curtain when the door is opened
• When the building contains odours that are attractive to flying insects, it is recommended to install outside to work with odourless air

The Insect Control air curtains can be mounted on the inside or outside of the doorway. When the building contains odours that are attractive to flying insects, it is recommended that the air curtain be mounted on the outside so that odourless air is used to create the barrier.

As well as flying insects, air curtains can also discourage rodents from entering a building. Research has shown that rats, mice and other furry intruders do not like the sensation that an air curtain creates on their fur and will avoid it.