Insecticidal bednets: should you or shouldn't you?

This is a decision for you to make. The mosquito nets that students have purchased in the past have been largely unused. It is unlikely that you can hang a net in the tents you will stay in for most of the course. Tents normally function like mosquito nets in that they prevent mosquitoes from getting to you.

If used in an environment where it is possible to hang the net properly, nets are good at stopping mosquitoes from biting you. Nets, if tucked in properly around the sleeper, will also kill bedbugs should you be unlucky enough to be in a room with some of these in it. The problem is that nets require hangers and a bed, which we generally won't have. The dry season in Tanzania has few mosquitoes that bite humans, so insect repellent and anti-malaria drugs (that is: malarone, doxycycline, or lariam, depending on your doctor's advice) are effective at addressing this problem. 

A properly treated mosquito net will set you back very roughly $50 and it lasts two or three years (at most). After that, the insecticide has faded out of it, and it's just a regular net that creates a physical barrier against mosquitoes.