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Love Bugs:
- Thread starter couchpotatooo
- Start date
DisneyLeo18
Active Member
I was in WDW in May and was the first time i noticed so many. They were just everywhere especially if you decide to golf on disney property.
However when i was waiting for the bus to MK one day a CM who works at Port Orleans Riverside told me they were brought in because they kill off the mosquitos (idk how but i would assume they swarm them or something to that effect) and are harmless to us
However when i was waiting for the bus to MK one day a CM who works at Port Orleans Riverside told me they were brought in because they kill off the mosquitos (idk how but i would assume they swarm them or something to that effect) and are harmless to us
sarabi
New Member
I was there last year from Sept 26 - Oct 3rd and the love bugs were pretty bad.
My mother was driven absolutely crazy by them, trying to squish them all. It's true, there were times when some got in your hair or your drink.
But ultimately, they are harmless. They don't bite or pinch or sting. They pretty much ignore you because they are mating.
My mother was driven absolutely crazy by them, trying to squish them all. It's true, there were times when some got in your hair or your drink.
But ultimately, they are harmless. They don't bite or pinch or sting. They pretty much ignore you because they are mating.
KrazyKowboy
New Member
ZambeziZelda
Member
Oh goodness, lovebugs...haven't thought about those in a few months. Try not to wear white during LB Season; they seemed to be particularly attracted to me and my coworkers in our mostly-white custodial costumes.
Firewolfe51
Member
spray WD40 on the front of your vehical prior to leaving this wil make it easier to get the bugs off. we tried PAM cooking spray NOT A GOOD IDEA. Its easier to remove the bugs than the PAM! dont forget the mirrors
The Wolfes
The Wolfes
PigletIsMyCat
Well-Known Member
A few miles West of AK, where I live, the lovebugs seem to already be dying down. Lovebugs last September were (according to most locals I talked to) THE WORST they had been in the entire time they (lovebugs) have been in Florida.
Lovebugs are so called because of their habit of spending their entire 2-4 day life cycle copitulating with their mates. (My vulgar friends and I do not call them 'lovebugs'. We have a much nastier name for them which I don't feel suits mixed company.) They taste disgusting, which is why there are so many of them: with the exception of lovebug larvae, a popular bird treat, no bird nor insect eats the acidic lovebug. So intense is the acidity that it will eat into car finishes including paint and chrome, which is why so many of us who love our cars must wipe the front ends down almost daily.
My husband has heard stories from locals that the government tried to introduce another type of bug (unknown what species) to kill off the lovebugs, but the lovebugs' love was so strong, they interbred and became more lovebuggy.
Lovebugs are actually dangerous, due to the density of some swarms of lovebugs, which can drastically reduce visibility while driving. Also, the smushy insides of lovebugs are regularly splatted on your windshield, and no amount of wiper fluid and frantic windsheild wipers will do any more than make them a smeary mess, almost impossible to see through.
When I first moved down here, I wondered why almost every gas station in Florida had it's own car wash (only a couple - literally - have them on Long Island). After my first lovebug season, I knew...
Lovebugs are so called because of their habit of spending their entire 2-4 day life cycle copitulating with their mates. (My vulgar friends and I do not call them 'lovebugs'. We have a much nastier name for them which I don't feel suits mixed company.) They taste disgusting, which is why there are so many of them: with the exception of lovebug larvae, a popular bird treat, no bird nor insect eats the acidic lovebug. So intense is the acidity that it will eat into car finishes including paint and chrome, which is why so many of us who love our cars must wipe the front ends down almost daily.
My husband has heard stories from locals that the government tried to introduce another type of bug (unknown what species) to kill off the lovebugs, but the lovebugs' love was so strong, they interbred and became more lovebuggy.
Lovebugs are actually dangerous, due to the density of some swarms of lovebugs, which can drastically reduce visibility while driving. Also, the smushy insides of lovebugs are regularly splatted on your windshield, and no amount of wiper fluid and frantic windsheild wipers will do any more than make them a smeary mess, almost impossible to see through.
When I first moved down here, I wondered why almost every gas station in Florida had it's own car wash (only a couple - literally - have them on Long Island). After my first lovebug season, I knew...
MissM
Well-Known Member
Lovebugs are the least of your worries if you hate bugs. Florida has giant flying roaches afterall among many, many other nasty insects.
One of many urban legends about the bugs. They're a naturally occurring Central/South American bug that was accidentally brought to Florida around the 1940's. (No, they weren't created at the University of Florida to eat mosquitoes either. Adult bugs don't actually eat at all.) They flourished here and have since swarmed into some surrounding Southern states like Georgia and others along the Gulf coast.
They're crap to be sure, but the only real damage is to your paint job. (The bugs are dumb and are highly attracted to cars, thus the tendency to get covered in them on the highway.) They're a nuisance and a hassle but not dangerous. They just suck. Some years are worse than others. Last few years I haven't seen that many in the Tampa Bay area but this May they were back in much greater numbers. It's a ebb and flow population.
-m
IROC it
Member
Best tip I can give you is from my own experience...
If driving your own vehicle...
I wax my car pretty much weekly anyway with a spray wax, or at least from the $4 drive thru car wash place...
Wax the hood, windshield, top, mirrors... basically the whole car before you go.
Forget cleaning it while you are on vacation. You're on vacation!!
Then, when you get home.. if it won't come off with a high powered car wash wand... then grab a rag and some 7-UP, yes the soft drink... apply liberally.
Then wash again and wax.
My truck is white, and I had no problems with my paint using this technique/formula.
I had even forgot to wash it an extra week, with the sun baking in the bugs.
A pre-trip wax does wonders.:animwink:
If driving your own vehicle...
I wax my car pretty much weekly anyway with a spray wax, or at least from the $4 drive thru car wash place...
Wax the hood, windshield, top, mirrors... basically the whole car before you go.
Forget cleaning it while you are on vacation. You're on vacation!!
Then, when you get home.. if it won't come off with a high powered car wash wand... then grab a rag and some 7-UP, yes the soft drink... apply liberally.
Then wash again and wax.
My truck is white, and I had no problems with my paint using this technique/formula.
I had even forgot to wash it an extra week, with the sun baking in the bugs.
A pre-trip wax does wonders.:animwink:
summerluvin
New Member
do those flying roaches bite? :lookaroun I think i saw a few of them last year flying in a circle. They looked like they were at least an inch long and I think they were glowing.
MissM
Well-Known Member
No, they don't bite. Don't glow either, so I'm not sure what you saw. :lol: Palmetto bugs get to be 1-2" in length and they're good flyers. I had one dive bomb me as I was sleeping once. Talk about a rude awakening!! They're really disgusting though. *brr*
-m
cdunbar
Active Member
Yeah the only thing that is slightly dangerous about these love bugs is that they will ruin your car's paint job and your clothes! I lost a pair of shorts last weekend due to them, thank god they were my mark down mark down pair from target like 3 yrs ago, lol. And yes they like white, and unlike other bugs they don't go to those who have perfumes or colonges on they stray to the opposite it seems...and the taste is one that after one accidental taste you learn to keep your mouth closed!:lookaroun
raven
Well-Known Member
dixiegirl
Well-Known Member
Yeah we always go in September and from talking to many CM's it was one of the worst september seasons that they seen with them..I know we were at typoon lagoon...uhhh so nasty with those bugs and nnear the water...yuck!!..But I'll suck it up and stay with September!!
fillerup
Well-Known Member
Oh my gosh - that is absolutely hysterical!! Proof positive that some CMs will say absolutely anything that pops into their heads.
On the other hand, might be pretty good pay over there for "Lovebug Herders".
LBs are almost gone around the World as of now. Well, except for the pair that last night decided to take a romantic skinny dip in my clam chowder.
This May has actually been a pretty light season for them.
OneLuckyMom
New Member
:ROFLOL: :ROFLOL: :ROFLOL:
I think it's hilarious how everyone complains here about Love Bugs. I grew up in Louisiana and dealt with them twice a year like clockwork - it never occurred to me that folks would get so upset about them. Just consider them part of the "Southern Charm" folks!
WDWRLD
Active Member
Really !! We have been hearing about how bad they are this season. I have a black truck and was just wondering if I needed to plan on getting them off when we get down there. After 12 days of baking in the FL sun I figure they would be impossible to get off the paint.