Florida Love Bugs

[gordonhks]

Being newbie Florida residents, we are just getting our first introduction to the September love bug infestation. It has not been to bad so far. We are thinking of a short week long or so trip to the Fabulous Florida Keys later this month.

I am concerned about love bugs covering the van and generally making a mess.

Any suggestions/comments on the validity of my concern, and possible actions to take to minimize the damage?

The image below is not our RV, but a representative sample pulled from the web.

[markopolo]

Never heard of them - had to look them up. This article http://www.gainesville.com/article/2013 ... l&tc=pgall will give an overview for anyone else that hasn't heard of them.

The article suggests that you wax your vehicle before the two short Love Bug seasons. Maybe something like Rain-X on the windshield will help.

Hopefully we'll hear of a few tips for dealing with this.

[Mike]

Don't drive until they go away. Their life span is relatively short. Be patient.

[gdoug]

Originally Posted by Mike

Don't drive until they go away.

Agree that's the best way to avoid them. Knock on wood we have been on the road the past two weekends and have not encountered them yet this month. Strange. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of September. Keep the paint well waxed. I used to spray Pam on the paint, but that picks up sand so I quit and now just soak the bugs well with water and then apply a little elbow grease. But do it as soon as you stop for the day. They will destroy paint. I've heard dryer softener sheets work well. Haven't tried them. Thank goodness they only show up 2 months out of the year. Thanks for small favors U of FL.

[seadog]

Been traveling to South West Fl over 20 years. The bugs are a pain. I use water and softner sheets in the wash water. Soak on and they will mostly come off with a brush and auto wash. The softner also comes in liquid. Squirt some in wash water. Make sure you protect radiator with materal screen. When they get inside, they really cause a mess. The bugs are better than big python sankes or gators!! Wellcome to Fl, enjoy.

[NLRevell]

Lifetime Florida Native here. Last few years were light for the lovebugs, as it's been so dry. This year is much wetter, so they've come out - still not nearly as bad as I can remember. Waxing a vehicle is good. Then after you get to your destination, a pressure spray at a self-serve carwash is good to knock them off. Don't allow them to remain on the vehicle long, as they are acidic and will damage paint in time. I also ride a motorcycle - I always wear my faceshield on my helmet! (Lovebugs taste aweful...)
No problem with the pythons - they are needed to control the ex-pet Giant Gambian Brown Rats! And remember, the gators always have 'right of way'!

[Mike]

Ever drive the coastal highway during the crab migration season, which I assume is part of their reproductive cycle? This story is from a failing memory, but about 30 some years ago, I was driving the southeastern coastal highway after dark, A1A I believe, and drove through what I thought was leaves blowing across the highway between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Beach. I think we stopped somewhere along the way, probably at a gas station and realized we had been driving through crabs crossing the roadway during their migration. When I found out what they were, I was pretty freaked out. There were literally thousands of them scurrying across the roadway at various spots that bordered the beaches.
I was with my better half and we were returning from Miami Beach, where we had cheesecake at Wolfie's. My aunt had suggested we try it if we were ever in south Florida, so we took a drive while on vacation there many years ago. We had heard on the radio that there were walk up Dolphins tickets for sale 3 hours before the Monday Night Football game, so we decided to try to get a pair and watch an NFL game. Alas, by the time we got there about 30 minutes to kickoff, they only had a few singles left, so we decided to try Wolfie's instead, because we were there. The cheesecake was very good. Wolfie's closed in 2002 I believe.

[Dhowie]

Love the story, Mike. Cheers!

Dave

[Mike]

It's what I do.

[NLRevell]

Mike, were they the "Fiddler Crabs", ie. one claw much bigger than the other? Used to see them on shore when we'd go salt water fishing. They make pretty fair bait.

The much larger Horseshoe Crabs really bugged us - they'd tear our seine net to shreds. I hated it when they came up to lay their eggs. Luckily only once a year.

As to bugs, only once have I experienced a huge Mayfly infestation. I worked at a gas station between military enlistments, and we had them in droves. Made a slick yellowish-white gunk on the ground and all surfaces. A real mess! Only lasted two weeks, but it was a miserable two weeks! Being 'new guy' guess who got to do the most cleanup....?

[Mike]

Hard to tell, after they got hit by 4 LT245 75R16 E tires at 40mph.
I honestly don't recall what kind they were, but it would have been mid to late September when it happened, if that gives a clue?

Back in the early '90s, I drove my Corvette from Burlington Ontario, down the 401 to Windsor Ontario, to visit the newly opened Casino Windsor. It was after dark, and along the highway somewhere between London and Chatham, I ran into a blizzard of bugs which I believe were either damsel flies, or fish flies (lots of corn fields in the area). I used a full reservoir of washer fluid, and made it to my destination. The next morning, I went out to find the nose of the car looking more like a shag rug, than a Corvette's front end, the bugs were so thick on it. Took a lot of quarters, and a lot of elbow grease, at the local diy car wash to get it all off.