Lovebug Plague!

Velvet · 06:50 AM

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coffeebean · 05-10-2019, 05:50 PM

Not sure if I read it on here but one thing I tried after reading about it is Dawn dishwashing liquid. I cleaned the windshield with Dawn and water on paper towels and the dried mess just melted away as I wiped. The windshield was immaculate when I was done and only took a couple of minutes to clean it then a couple more minutes to rinse. I would have used the Dawn on the body of the car but thought it may be too harsh for the paint.

This morning I doused the car with Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover and let it sit for 30 minutes. The stuff melted away and the car was a piece of cake to wipe down. Off to the car wash and our car is sparkling clean again.

EdFNJ · 05-10-2019, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeebean

Not sure if I read it on here but one thing I tried after reading about it is Dawn dishwashing liquid. I cleaned the windshield with Dawn and water on paper towels and the dried mess just melted away as I wiped. The windshield was immaculate when I was done and only took a couple of minutes to clean it then a couple more minutes to rinse. I would have used the Dawn on the body of the car but thought it may be too harsh for the paint.

This morning I doused the car with Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover and let it sit for 30 minutes. The stuff melted away and the car was a piece of cake to wipe down. Off to the car wash and our car is sparkling clean again.

They use dawn on baby ducks coated with oil so I doubt it would be any harsher on a car finish then PLEDGE. (start at 1:42) Dawn Saves Wildlife Episode 1: Duck, Duck, Oil - YouTube it was all over the news after the big oil spill in the gulf years ago. Also check out post #10 in this thread re: dawn.

aninjamom · 05-11-2019, 06:02 AM

Those who have lived in Florida most of their life claim that WD40 is actually the best thing to keep love bugs from sticking to their car. The trick is to apply it before! I must admit that I have never tried it.

Joeint · 05-11-2019, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdFNJ

They use dawn on baby ducks coated with oil so I doubt it would be any harsher on a car finish then PLEDGE. (start at 1:42) Dawn Saves Wildlife Episode 1: Duck, Duck, Oil - YouTube it was all over the news after the big oil spill in the gulf years ago. Also check out post #10 in this thread re: dawn.

Dawn will strip the wax off your car.

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Chi-Town · 05-12-2019, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pooh

We were in Walt Disney World for 4 days and the lovebugs were the worst I’ve seen in the 13 years I’ve lived here. Felt badly for those who are unfamiliar with the flying critters, especially the little ones who initially reacted as we all might not knowing they’re relatively harmless...with screams. Pretty soon they’ll all be gone....till the next time...lol.

Believe it or not, they used to be worse.

Think lovebugs are bad now? They once caused safety crisis - News - The Ledger - Lakeland, FL

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bilcon · 05-12-2019, 10:14 AM

Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover is pretty good. It also put a thin coat of wax. Next year wax your car before they come. It helps get them off easier. I saw the results of not cleaning them off in a Toyota used car lot. The paint jobs were ruined. It looked like their hoods was pelted with stones. Only solution was repaint. Get them off within 48 hours.

"I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong."

OrangeBlossomBaby · 05-12-2019, 11:58 AM

I'll be in TV on Thursday. Do y'all anticipate this to still be in full swing by then? Or mostly done? Or is it almost done already? I know once they start mating, they're more or less done within a couple of days. But I also know the whole process can take a week, two weeks, three weeks? in any given area.

Reason I'm asking: Should I prepare a spray bottle for my windshield to prepare for my drive down from New England. The car itself I can always wash when I get there but it'd be really helpful to know if I will need a "bug kit" just in case a swarm happens by while I'm driving up Morse.

jerseyvillager · 05-12-2019, 12:55 PM

Your exposure to love bugs in The Villages is so minimum that it is laughable. Other areas of Florida, primarily Brevard County, have these pests in numbers that you would not believe. Entire walls of condos will be totally black. I would guess we have about 1% of the volume here that residents experience over in Melbourne and surrounding areas. Fortunately, they only last a few weeks and don't bite.

OrangeBlossomBaby · 05-12-2019, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseyvillager

Your exposure to love bugs in The Villages is so minimum that it is laughable. Other areas of Florida, primarily Brevard County, have these pests in numbers that you would not believe. Entire walls of condos will be totally black. I would guess we have about 1% of the volume here that residents experience over in Melbourne and surrounding areas. Fortunately, they only last a few weeks and don't bite.

I don't care if they bite or not, and their percentage of volume is meaningless. What I want to know is if there's a likelihood that I'll encounter a swarm, next week, or is the worst of it (however bad or not-so-bad it might be) over?

I experienced it in September when we were on our Lifestyle Visit. Our car wasn't affected at all down in the Brownwood area. But we looked at house up on Schwartz that was infested and the lovebugs had gotten onto the glassed-in lanai and into the kitchen. If we had been living in that house, I'm sure I would've needed to keep the car washed and the windshield sprayed regularly til it was over.

So is it over, or isn't it?

CFrance · 05-12-2019, 04:18 PM

I don't think anyone can give a definitive answer to your question, Jazuela. It will be over when it's over, and it will come back in the fall, but who knows when and how heavy it will be. The last two years were slight. It's just something to live through, like the May flies in Michigan.

OrangeBlossomBaby · 05-12-2019, 05:41 PM

It seemed like a pretty basic, simple, easy to answer question to me. If the swarms have mostly died down and are just a trickle now, then it's "mostly over already." If they're still in full force, they're "not mostly over yet." If they were at their worst and only in the past day or so started getting lighter, then they're "just starting to die off now." If they just started getting worse then they're "getting worse."

Am I not explaining my question right?

jerseyvillager · 05-12-2019, 06:57 PM

Drove to Marion Market this afternoon. Returned with NO bugs on my windshield. I'd say they have said goodbye until the Fall.

OrangeBlossomBaby · 05-12-2019, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseyvillager

Drove to Marion Market this afternoon. Returned with NO bugs on my windshield. I'd say they have said goodbye until the Fall.

Thanks, that's pretty much the nature of an answer I was looking for. So even if they move slowly northward, they should be "not a problem at all" by Thursday.

Glad I have a broom ready to brush whatever landed on the driveway and porch!

vintageogauge · 05-12-2019, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseyvillager

Drove to Marion Market this afternoon. Returned with NO bugs on my windshield. I'd say they have said goodbye until the Fall.

Drove to Leesburg this evening and the car was so bad that I had to wash the entire front end and windshield to get them off, there were swarms of them all along 470.

Lovebug Plague!

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