The Dreaded Love-Bug :-(

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Just when the Mrs. and I thought we could get away this season with 'whole skins' from (the man-made...maybe genetics experiment gone wrong...just folklore mind you), scourge and bane to all vehicles on the road (and now our Hummer Bird Feeder...some way they crawl inside to the sugar water....forget the ant moat)...the dreaded Love-Bug.

Out here, the mere mention of these pests and what they can do to a paint job (if left 'unchecked' on one's vehicle...I tend to visit the local car wash at every end destination, but still they are hard to get off despite all the scrubbing), is likely to bring about thoughts of pure dread and the battle ahead to combat them (they are out here 'in force' [like a biblical plague...I kid you not...must be the heat]).

Q. What are your plans, schemes, tips in combating this pest (car paste wax [long distances], dryer sheets ect...), and protecting your vehicles form all matter of flying bugs

"The purpose of [a car wash] is washing the dust of daily life off...[your ride]". Pablo Picasso

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

I mean...isn't there a 'spray' (the inventor would be 'set-for-life'), or something out there

"Happiness is driving your [vehicle] after the car wash". Anonymous

PS Don't forget to 'detail' your rims.

 

[Traveling Man]

We don't have these in Tennessee. My first encounter was in boot camp in Florida. We were standing in formation, and a pair landed on my upper lip. I blew them away, and they went down the collar of my shirt. When I started twitching to get them out, I was noticed, and the rest of my day was spent doing pushups!

 

[Ad Astra]

Keep a coat of wax on your car - especially and if you have to drive between Pensacola and Miami during love bug season.

AA

 

[jkingrph]

I can remember, back in the early 60's heading down the highway from Natchez, Ms to Baton Rouge. We saw what we thought was a cloud of smoke blowing across the road until we hit it. Love bugs!. Stopped at a service station for gas, fortunately everything was full service then, and the attendants came running out with a big bucket and brush for the windshield.
Last week I picked up quite a few coming out of Lufkin, Tx, just north of there on US 69. I have learned the best way to clean them off is to wait until the day cools off, or even better, the next morning, spray with some detergent, wash off, then spray more detergent and let it sit for a while, then was again. I use a big, soft brush designed for car washing.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Ladies & Gents:
Urecka...I'm a 'believer' and I tried the Dryer Sheet method (after a long drive to Shreveport and back...they were a plague of there);

[... Thanx Jeff] the best way to clean them off is to wait until the day cools off, or even better, the next morning, [...]

1) Rinse off heavy debris (car wash or at home).
2) Wet a Dyer Sheet and wipe down your vehicle (you may have to use more than one...the chemicals in the sheets produces a mild abrasives that simply 'breaks-down' and washes the bugs away).
3) Rinse off.

"Car washing: bringing back that new car feeling". CBJ

 

[bamafan64]

Fortunately, this wasn't a bad year for love bugs, spring or late summer hatchings.

 

[chilehed]

Love bugs... the existence of a critter so perfectly designed to have car exhaust pheromones and paint-etching inner fluids might seem to be more proof that God (or Satan) really does exist. I remember scooping up them up by the shovel-full at a motel one hot day in Sebring. My dad tried waxing, spraying the car with PAM, smearing it with peanut oil, ugly bras... it seemed that nothing could keep those licentious little demons from sneaking though somewhere and gumming things up.

They were one of the seven seasons we have in Florida: Wet, Dry, Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Next Summer... and Lovebug.

 

[Daiķon]

Full body hazmat suit! lol. Just kidding, but yeah, they are horrible!

Thankfully they are not as bad as they used to be. Going across the alley was rough. ...although the fact that bugs are disappearing is eyebrow raising as well.