Love Bugs

[WDWRLD]

Ok, I searched but didnt find exactly what I was looking for but when is the Fall love bug season. More importantly, I will be traveling down on Sept 29th to Oct 3rd. Will they still be around then or will they be gone. Just wondering so I can plan car wash time in the short weekend schedgule.

 

[Fashionista007]

I'll be down at the same time. Last year we went the week before Sept 19 - 25 and they were everywhere. All over the front of the busses and don't even get me started on how we had to walk through a field of them on the tarmac at MCO :hurl: I'm expecting more of the same this year but nothing could keep me away from the 40th anniversary!

 

[PlutosPalace]

Yes, those are approximately the same dates that we went last year (09-24 to 10-03) and they were everywhere. :hammer: I really wish there was some sort of repellant too. If you sit down for very long they will land on you. Ewwww

Btw, my son was calling them Two Headed Bugs because he didn't understand what they were doing and I didn't want to have that conversation at WDW. LOL :ROFLOL:

 

[boufa]

Yes, those are approximately the same dates that we went last year (09-24 to 10-03) and they were everywhere. :hammer: I really wish there was some sort of repellant too. If you sit down for very long they will land on you. Ewwww

Btw, my son was calling them Two Headed Bugs because he didn't understand what they were doing and I didn't want to have that conversation at WDW. LOL :ROFLOL:

I'm not sure that is actually what they are doing. If they are, good for them since they spend their entire lives connected.

They are annoying, but they don't bite, or hurt in any way (no claws, etc) They can be a bit damaging to your paint on your car, and I would not squish one on your clothes. Just brush them away. They don't respond to any form of repellant. Avoid wearing white clothes since they are attracted to it. Avoid wooded, or shrub areas. A light breeze and night are your best ways to get rid of them.

They are icky, but harmless, they should not effect your vacation significantly.

 

[MissM]

I'm not sure that is actually what they are doing. If they are, good for them since they spend their entire lives connected.

No, that's exactly what they're doing. It's why they're called "love" bugs.

"Love Bugs are small flies that are in the process of mating when they swarm over the roads. So usually there are two individuals: the large one is the female and the small one is the male. The female usually gets her way and she drags the male around with her."​

 

[PlutosPalace]

The female usually gets her way and she drags the male around with her.

Ain't that the way life usually works. LOL

 

[Scuttle]

The love bugs are here already. They haven't gotten bad yet, but I can tell they are progressively getting worse as the days go on.

 

[PlutosPalace]

They hit their peak around the third week of September don't they?

 

[Xethos]

I dont know about those insects in particular but I use Neem Oil at home and there isnt a thing that it doesnt keep away...though, if you spray it on yourself it will probably keep people away as well. Maybe you can dilute it a little bit and put it on your shoes or something if you are really insect crazy.

 

[boufa]

I dont know about those insects in particular but I use Neem Oil at home and there isnt a thing that it doesnt keep away...though, if you spray it on yourself it will probably keep people away as well. Maybe you can dilute it a little bit and put it on your shoes or something if you are really insect crazy.

No, it has been proven that absolutely nothing effects them. Since they don't bite, sting, or cause any other problems other than some creepyness, there is no reason to torture yourself or others with bad smells.

My kids get freaked out by most bugs (5 and 8 yo). However since these look like lighting bugs, they don't seem to bother them much.

From Wikipedia...

Lovebug flights can number in the hundreds of thousands. The slow, drifting movement of the insects is almost reminiscent of snow fall except the flies also rise in the air. Two major flights occur each year, first in late spring, then again in late summer. In south Florida, a third (but smaller) flight can occur in December. The spring flight occurs during late April and May, the summer during late August and September. Flights extend over periods of four to five weeks. Mating takes place almost immediately after emergence of the females. Adult females live only three to four days, while males live a little longer.

This species' reputation as a public nuisance is due not to any bite or sting (it is incapable of either), but to its slightly acidic body chemistry. Because airborne lovebugs can exist in enormous numbers near highways, they die en masse on automobile windshields, hoods, and radiator grills when the vehicles travel at high speeds. If left for more than an hour or two, the remains become dried and extremely difficult to remove. Their body chemistry has a nearly neutral 6.5 pH but may become acidic at 4.25 pH if left on the car for a day. In the past, the acidity of the dead adult body, especially the female's egg masses, often resulted in pits and etches in automotive paint and chrome if not quickly removed. However, advances in automotive paints and protective coatings have reduced this threat significantly. Now the greatest concern is excessive clogging of vehicle radiator air passages with the bodies of the adults, with the reduction of the cooling effect on engines, and the obstruction of windshields when the remains of the adults and egg masses are smeared on the glass.

Lovebug adults are attracted to light-colored surfaces, especially if they are freshly painted, but the adults can congregate almost anywhere by reacting to the effects of sunlight on automobile fumes, asphalt, and other products affected by environmental factors still not completely understood.

 

[Xethos]

No, it has been proven that absolutely nothing effects them. Since they don't bite, sting, or cause any other problems other than some creepyness, there is no reason to torture yourself or others with bad smells.

My kids get freaked out by most bugs (5 and 8 yo). However since these look like lighting bugs, they don't seem to bother them much.

From Wikipedia...

I didnt realize how much of an issue they could be. Im surprised Disney hasnt found a way though over the years to draw them away from the people, or maybe they have and the problem could be a lot worse :shrug:

Im surprised is has no effect on them though becuase it either kills or prevents almost any insect from reproducing after exposure.

"It repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids, the cabbage worm, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars, locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle. Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as butterflies, honeybees and ladybugs. It can be used as a household pesticide for ant, bedbug, cockroach, housefly, sand fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide."

 

[PlutosPalace]

Lovebug adults are attracted to light-colored surfaces, especially if they are freshly painted, but the adults can congregate almost anywhere by reacting to the effects of sunlight on automobile fumes, asphalt, and other products affected by environmental factors still not completely understood.

Okay, mental note.... nothing but black on our next trip.

 

[PlutosPalace]

Im surprised is has no effect on them though becuase it either kills or prevents almost any insect from reproducing after exposure.

"It repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids, the cabbage worm, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars, locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle. Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as butterflies, honeybees and ladybugs. It can be used as a household pesticide for ant, bedbug, cockroach, housefly, sand fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide."

Believe me, I have no doubt Neem oil has already been tried. everything has. LOL Nothing gets rid of these nasty things. And their swarms are so huge there just isn't anything Disney logistically can do about them. They are massive in numbers.

 

[WDWRLD]

Ok....note to self, pack glass cleaner and lots of quaters for the car wash for the 40th weekend.

 

[Master Yoda]

I didnt realize how much of an issue they could be. Im surprised Disney hasnt found a way though over the years to draw them away from the people, or maybe they have and the problem could be a lot worse :shrug:

Im surprised is has no effect on them though becuase it either kills or prevents almost any insect from reproducing after exposure.

"It repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids, the cabbage worm, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars, locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle. Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as butterflies, honeybees and ladybugs. It can be used as a household pesticide for ant, bedbug, cockroach, housefly, sand fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide."

The simple point is why should they? Why risk the pitfalls of introducing some kind of a natural predator or spreading potentially harmful substances when love bugs are only present for a couple of weeks per year and pose no threat to humans whatsoever.

 

[MissM]

The simple point is why should they? Why risk the pitfalls of introducing some kind of a natural predator or spreading potentially harmful substances when love bugs are only present for a couple of weeks per year and pose no threat to humans whatsoever.

Yup, they're at most just a nuisance. Honestly, they don't even carry any known disease, so even if they land on your food or drink, you can just pluck 'em out and continue on without worry.

The biggest annoyance is that they splatter all over your windshield and smudge when you try to clean them off with your wipers. That is a pain. Beyond that though, they aren't even remotely a danger to people like Yoda said.

 

[The Mom]

I saw my first pair yesterday up here in NE FL.

And yes, they are harmless, but make a huge mess when they swarm. Last late April/earlyMay they seemed to be worse than they have been for the past few years. I hope that isn't an indicator for their Fall swarm.

 

[PlutosPalace]

I saw my first pair yesterday up here in NE FL.

And yes, they are harmless, but make a huge mess when they swarm. Last late April/earlyMay they seemed to be worse than they have been for the past few years. I hope that isn't an indicator for their Fall swarm.

Last year they were pretty horrible in September. I think the population is growing each year.

 

[Xethos]

The simple point is why should they? Why risk the pitfalls of introducing some kind of a natural predator or spreading potentially harmful substances when love bugs are only present for a couple of weeks per year and pose no threat to humans whatsoever.

I completely agree with you but we all know that there are people out there that expect perfection from disney every second of the day. So I can see it from their point of view as well, they plan all this time, save up, to arrive at the parks during the "buggy" season, I could see people being annoyed.

Correct me if im wrong but doesnt disney already introduce natural predators and spread tons insecticide every night?

 

[ItsFigmentFan]

And here I thought the real Love Bug problem was Herbie being taken out of LMA... :shrug: