Love Bugs
 

People mention lovebugs to me when I mention moving to The Villages in the future when I can finally retire. How bad are these bugs? Normally, bugs do not really bother me. There are bugs everywhere. Some people must really think I am going to freak out with these lovebugs!

Nothing to freak our about. They don't bite. They just mess up the front of your car during season.

They're not as bad here as in South Florida...not a big deal...just a bunch of slow horny bugs....sounds like some people I know. Oops, I didn't say that.

Love bugs
 

wow!!!! People are really strange. I for one am the biggest chicken when it comes to bugs. I won't even walk on the grass barefoot,, for fear of being stung, or touched by bugs. The Lovebugs DO NOT sting, bite or hurt you in any way. They're annoying at times, as they'll fly right infront of you, around you, etc. So, you just swat them away. They're gone in about 3 weeks, and are around twice a year total. Ask the people who mention Lovebugs to you, how they deal with bees all Summer, or with Mosquitos most of the time. Those are the bugs that bother me. Most of us here don't even see Mosquitos, (unless you're on a lake or pond). I've seen very few Bees....definitely not as many as I saw in New York. So, forget about fearing Lovebugs, and come down here and live in Paradise. Have fun, Trish

One person that does mention lovebugs lives in South Fl. :coolsmiley:

Thank you, Trish. Sometimes I think people just want to bust my bubble! :ohdear:

Just don't let the love bugs that get smooshed on the painted areas of your car stay on there too long. Their remains can damage the paint.

Bill :)

If you have a motorcycle you might want to keep it in the garage in May and September. Fortunately the one time I got caught I was wearing a full face mask. Also the Love Bugs are attracted to white, so all the white trellis and fencing around our neighborhood pools attract the bugs like crazy. You'll end up staying in the pool and forget about doing any reading. Also, if your car is rather new you'll be spending a lot of time cleaning the front. It's one of the reasons you see so many of the plastic air dams on the front of cars and screening strapped to the front of car grills.

I remember in the 60's and 70's when we had metal bumpers I could clean them off with a Brillo pad with no problem, unfortunately the plastic car parts are not as easy. I do find myself driving my golf cart a lot more, it seems the bugs don't stick to the front of my Yamaha cart very much, however cleaning the windshield is a different matter.


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Their "season" is two weeks twice a year...once in May and once in Sept. They're just annoying (they don't sting or bite) is all. You will have to make sure the front of your cars and carts get cleaned often when they're out as their remains will ruin the paint on your vehicles. That's about all.

As for other bugs in The Villages...we've been here about 4 years and really hardly are bothered by any (out and about). We have exterminators for mosquitos etc. as well as for the bugs (termites and ants etc) that might invade our houses. I'd say we hardly see any bugs anywhere.

Love Bugs, May and September. If you only drive a golf cart they don't go fast enough to squish them. Cars and motorcycles will pick up several hundred in a short drove, especially in the country. Get them cleaned off asap since they will damage your paint. Leave them on to bake in the sun and you will have one hell of a time removing them. Many recommend spraying them with peroxide, let it foam for awhile them clean them off. Also dryer sheets are said to make them easier to remove. Personally I haven't had luck with either. I had good luck with putting WD40 on the front areas that were prone to bugs and that made them easy to remove. Whatever, they are a PITA and something to get through twice every year.

I don't know....they sound like strange little creatures.
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We have been down in Florida in May about 2 years ago. We went from The Villages to Cape Canaveral and the lovebugs were hitting our windshield like it snows up North. Unfortunately our windshield wipers were broken on our rented car. You can imagine! When we got to our destination, we clean those lovely dead creatures off the car right away as we have been told they can ruin the car paint.

We saw the lovebugs in the pools in The Villages, but we saw more in Cape Canaveral. If lovebugs are the biggest problem in The Villages, I can live with them for four weeks per year.

I think they are longer than 2 weeks per season (or at least it seems so) and keep your mouth closed or they'll be all over you white teeth. They are horrible, but a small price to pay to live in Florida.

I guess Lovebugs are more pests than anything else. I had my experience with them that one time in May, I have never seen them other times I went down to FL. I guess I wasn't there in May and Sept.