I HATE love bugs!!!

[mach4444]

but love my new six spokes.

had to drive cross state this weekend, bout 200 miles each way.

my usual route takes me down the back roads of FL. mostly cow pastures and swamps.

no major interstates for me, just 2 lane country roads where my car can breath freely, or so I thought.

traveling from southwest to east, 40 miles or so into my trip I started noticing the love bugs.
halfway through it was like the plague!

Never in 20 years of living in Florida have I ran into so many and I do a lot of driving.

I had to stop 7 times on the way there because I couldn't see out my windshield.

this isn't the first or last time my car will get caught in the rain or splattered by bugs, this is Florida after all, but it was by far the worst.

when I arrived it took 2 hours to get it presentable.

took I-95 and alligator alley home, no problems with bugs just idiots....

 

[plumcrazy]

thats bad... wow

 

[Phun70]

OH MY FUC$ING GOD!!!!! You are kidding me RIGHT?????
You're gonna need a scraper to get all that off!!!

 

[my viper]

WOW. You disturbed their peace with your exhaust

 

[Martin]

I wonder if those are the same things as the Love Bugs (F*&K Bugs as we call them here...) we have. I can't stand the damn things - they don't bite, but they swarm all over the place the minute the weather starts getting warm. It's so bad some times that you can't walk to your neighbor's house without inhaling one or two...

Anyone know how to get rid of them? Nothing eats them - and I haven't found a good trap to get rid of them. Here's a pic of the ones we have:

You must be registered for see images

 

[v10enomous]

Those things are nasty. I was staying at the Coronado Springs about 10 years ago and there was an infestation of them. You couldn't move about the resort without stepping all over them. They were on everything and they were... well you know... joined at the hip. The walls and walkways were covered. They were all over the pool floats.. Hotel staff was out with brooms and snow shovels...

 

[mad0953]

We call them a "Box Elder Tree Bug" out here. They are gross and get all over inside the house when yo leave the dorr open.

 

[VIPER 93]

I wonder if those are the same things as the Love Bugs (F*&K Bugs as we call them here...) we have. I can't stand the damn things - they don't bite, but they swarm all over the place the minute the weather starts getting warm. It's so bad some times that you can't walk to your neighbor's house without inhaling one or two...

Anyone know how to get rid of them? Nothing eats them - and I haven't found a good trap to get rid of them. Here's a pic of the ones we have:

You must be registered for see images

Is that a VVO Bug

 

[Martin]

Yeah, they're damn disgusting. This time of year, they emerge, go on a love fest, and then you've got billions of them by June/July. They drive you crazy all summer, and then when it starts getting cold, they swarm into the house. Typically they don't hurt anything, but I've had instances of them getting into bags of food and ruining everything. They also crawl on you when you're watching TV or getting to sleep, and they have a way about them that feels kind of like a big spider. I'd like to nuke them, but everyone I talk to says there's no good way to control them without killing everything else first. They're tough.

 

[v10enomous]

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

 

[RapidTransit]

v10enomous .....why do they do this...I see no food source????

 

[goldcup]

Man that means you had alot of fun!!!The more bugs the more fun you had!!!
Lots of soap lots and water then you can do it again!!Alligator alley?We dont get those critters in Missouri but man they would be horrible to get of the front of the car LMAO

 

[v10enomous]

v10enomous .....why do they do this...I see no food source????

Well... If we zoom in a little we see that this has nothing to do with food...

You must be registered for see images

 

[Viper ACR]

Well it looks like it was worth the trip . Those six spoke look great on your car .

 

[RapidTransit]

Well... If we zoom in a little we see that this has nothing to do with food...

You must be registered for see images

Insect **** on the net..... There has to be a market for this.....

 

[eucharistos]

this is what they look like in

You must be registered for see images

from here: LOVEBUGS

It may be helpful to remember the following points during swarming periods:

1) Lovebugs do not fly at night, so driving schedules could be arranged to avoid swarming flies.

2) Fewer flies are smeared over car finishes if vehicles are driven at lower speeds. Some types of commercially available wind deflectors positioned on the front hood of cars and trucks may help deflect some of the flies and keep them from hitting the windshield.

3) Netting stretched over front grills can prevent crushed flies from clogging radiators and thus prevent overheating on long trips. These devices are commercially available.

4) There are commercially available products containing petroleum distillates advertized to facilitate the removal of crushed, dried insect parts from car finishes.

 

[EllowViper]

May in Florida here they come. Had the same thing happen this time last year on a drive to Orlando from Tampa. Felt like a real doob pulling into this exotic hotel with the car looking like it was kissing the rear of a cow. And to top it off, I was "allowed" to park it right by the big centerpiece fountain by the entrance with all the other high end cars. So the following AM when it came time to leave, the wind had blown fountain spray all over the car coating it with high mineral content water marks from front to end. SO I had a car that looked like it hit the rear of a cow and had dried piss on it from head to toe. Yeah, real fun to clean up from that weekend. Hard to fire it up and leave unnoticed too. Driving a Viper should not be an effort in embarrasement. It was that day. But I guess a dirty Viper is better than most clean alternatives now that I think about it. I feel better now.

 

[mach4444]

Agreed, A dirty Viper IS better than a clean alternative.
That's not what I was thinking when I was sweating my a$$ off for 2 hours while cleaning them off my car...... you don't even want to see the pics of my radiator.

 

[bluesrt]

holy sheep shxt

 

[Rollin4]

The easy way to clean them off is take two Bounce dryer sheets and wet them. Rub over the bugs gently, they come right off with no elbow grease needed. You will be amazed how easy they come off. Rinse vehicle with clean water, and dry.

 

[Martin]

Agreed, A dirty Viper IS better than a clean alternative.
That's not what I was thinking when I was sweating my a$$ off for 2 hours while cleaning them off my car...... you don't even want to see the pics of my radiator.

Also check your air filter - if you got that many on the front of your car, just think how many got sucked into the intake...

 

[LaViper]

Passing thru Florida today from Ft.Pierce to Lake City & ran thru them. I thought we had them bad in Louisiana, but I think you got us beat. I heard if you spray Pam on the front of your car it stops them from sticking ? ? ? Just don't spray on windshield.I heard they have no natural enemies that eat them that's why they have so many every year. If someone would invent something to get rid of them, they would become a Billionare overnite.

 

[viper GTS-R]

there's only one solution...

You must be registered for see images attach

--RS

 

[white out]

So I was driving my truck with the top off today. Looked back at a stop light and a lady bug landed on my back seat. Instantly thought of this thread. :lol:

Worst bug/car thing I ever encountered was the Cicada swarms of 2004 on the east coast during a road rally. People in convertibles were getting pelted by them at over 100mph. It was like a wall of HUGE grasshoppers. The front of my car was nasty.

Nick

 

[Finsfan]

I hate those dam things. I have to drive through several swarms daily on my commute to work. Rollin4 is correct; I have my wife save all of her used Bounce dryer sheets to clean my cars daily. If you leave them on too long they will eat through your paint. So if you ever plan on visiting Florida this time of year you better bring a box our Bounce