Love Bugs -population (Orlando: elementary school, living, move)

[LuvOrlando]

Just saw my first couple of lovers on my car window at the ATM. The first I've seen as a resident, anyway. I probably won't be this happy about them forever, but am now.

Averages- how long until they are seen in full force and then how long until they are gone?

[rayofsunsunshine]

You won't love them long. A wet dryer sheet will get them off your car.

[poodlestix]

Ray, that's the first time I've heard that advice-I'll have to try it! Up until now, I'd thought the only real solution was a pressure washer if you didn't want your paint eaten off of your car.

[LuvOrlando]

Do they really take paint off of cars or is that just something people say?

[FL2MT]

Originally Posted by LuvOrlando

Do they really take paint off of cars or is that just something people say?

If you leave their smushed remains on long enough it will certainly damage the paint but they're no worse chemically-speaking than any other bug splatter or bird poop. If you leave any of those things on long enough they can damage the paint. Love bugs get special blame for it however because there are just so-darn-many of them twice a year that you can barely make any kind of trip without having at least a few dozen die on the car.

They come off just like any other smushed bug. Get the remains wet and they'll wipe right off. I like to park the vehicle on the lawn when I'm running the sprinklers for an hour or so, then come out and wipe them off. That or soak an old beach towel, lay it on the area with all the bugs, let it soak for an hour or so and come back and wipe them off. Some people will tell you to use all manner of chemicals but most of them are just as damaging to the finish of a car as the bugs are. Keep it simple, soften them up with water and wipe away.

[HomesickFloridian]

Originally Posted by poodlestix

Ray, that's the first time I've heard that advice-I'll have to try it! Up until now, I'd thought the only real solution was a pressure washer if you didn't want your paint eaten off of your car.

WD40 also safely removes all sorts of bugs and other things such as road oils, rubber, old sticker adhesive and tar without any damage to your cars paint, in fact it will initially make a nice gloss but will then attract dirt so clean it off with Simple Green and re-wax as it will remove the wax too as will the Simple Green..

[HomesickFloridian]

Originally Posted by FL2MT

If you leave their smushed remains on long enough it will certainly damage the paint but they're no worse chemically-speaking than any other bug splatter or bird poop. If you leave any of those things on long enough they can damage the paint. Love bugs get special blame for it however because there are just so-darn-many of them twice a year that you can barely make any kind of trip without having at least a few dozen die on the car.

They come off just like any other smushed bug. Get the remains wet and they'll wipe right off. I like to park the vehicle on the lawn when I'm running the sprinklers for an hour or so, then come out and wipe them off. That or soak an old beach towel, lay it on the area with all the bugs, let it soak for an hour or so and come back and wipe them off. Some people will tell you to use all manner of chemicals but most of them are just as damaging to the finish of a car as the bugs are. Keep it simple, soften them up with water and wipe away.

As long as the sprinklers aren't well water as if it is you'll eventually get a nice brown iron staining you'll now have to remove..

[Alyzza]

Oh boy, time for them again? I thought their seasons were March and September and that they were just here. I hadn't thought about WD40 (it definitely helps muscular aches and pains) and for as long as I've been living here I never heard about the wet dryer sheet, so thanks for the info!

[HomesickFloridian]

Originally Posted by Alyzza

Oh boy, time for them again? I thought their seasons were March and September and that they were just here. I hadn't thought about WD40 (it definitely helps muscular aches and pains) and for as long as I've been living here I never heard about the wet dryer sheet, so thanks for the info!

Eh? WD40 for aches and pains?? Are you confusing it with something else that sounds the same? WD40 is a spray lubricant/penetrant commonly used for lubricating, loosening rusty and corroded bolts etc..

[Chulchinmae]

Hmm, it depends. I honestly think, years ago when I was in elementary school, there was a much larger population of love bugs than I ever have had to deal with now as a young adult. Sure, a few of them come every now and again, but for the past, I don't know, half a decade or more (?), I just don't see them in the large swarms that used to come. I see maybe a couple every now and again, or a few hanging around the cars, but never enough to have them covering the window of my car.

I remember in my third grade year, and I'll never forget it, but the whole outside corridor of my elementary school, from ceiling, to the walls, and to the rails were completely CAKED in love bugs, to the point that it almost looked like oil spots in the places that were densely packed with them. You couldn't walk through that corridor without a ton of them just parking themselves on your arms, hair, etc.