# Fl Love Bugs are awful this year



## Wonka (May 2, 2011)

The "Love Bugs" are awful in Florida this year (at least in Sarasota and the surrounding areas.  Honestly, I would avoid travel to this area until they're gone in a couple of weeks.  They generally arrive in May and September and last the whole month.

The "Love Bugs" mate while they are airborne and they're are zillions of them here.  I'm told nothing eats them because they acidic, and that if they remain on the paint of your car their dead carcasas can "eat" the paint.  I don't know if that's true, or not but I have to wash my car after every single trip (even around the block to the health club).  After a short trip on the expressway, it's hard to see thru your windshield if you drive through a cloud of "love bugs" and the don't come off with just windshield washer fluid.  It takes scrubbing.

The "love bugs" seem to like sunshine and they don't seem to be too many in early morning until about noon or after dark.  

I don't even like to venture away from the house while they're here.  They sure could spoil a vacation.


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## riverdees05 (May 2, 2011)

Do they have Love Bugs in the Panhandle area and on into MS & AL?


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## Wonka (May 2, 2011)

Sorry, I don't know.


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## luvsvacation22 (May 2, 2011)

We will be in Florida in a few days. I wonder how rental cars companies and damage to the car due to love bugs is handled. Do we need to wash the car every day?


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## dioxide45 (May 2, 2011)

luvsvacation22 said:


> We will be in Florida in a few days. I wonder how rental cars companies and damage to the car due to love bugs is handled. Do we need to wash the car every day?



We have rented for two weeks from Alamo during lovebug season and never had an issue when returning the car.


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## luvsvacation22 (May 2, 2011)

Thank you! That is good to know because we are also using Alamo.


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## tombo (May 2, 2011)

riverdees05 said:


> Do they have Love Bugs in the Panhandle area and on into MS & AL?



There are love bugs on the panhandle during certain times of the year, but nothing like there are in central Florida. I am in Panama City right now and haven't hit a single love bug so far. Knocking on wood.


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## Dori (May 3, 2011)

We encountered them while in Sebring in March. They really are annoying, but at least they don't drain you of your blood like the nasty black flies we got evey year at the cottage.  Hopefully they will be gone soon, so that you can enjoy the outdoors.

Dori


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## skylizard (May 3, 2011)

I'll take love bugs over blood sucking mosquitos!


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## beanie (May 3, 2011)

I have to rid my windshield and car of love bugs everyday after my commute home from ft. myers . I use a wet dryer sheet and the hose and they come right off . cutting the grass today they were swarming around me . they are reported to like the carbon dioxide fumes giving off by cars and may explain why they are so prevalent at intersections and on highways .


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## Jim Bryan (May 3, 2011)

Bad in Winter Haven also.


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## Wonka (May 3, 2011)

beanie said:


> I have to rid my windshield and car of love bugs everyday after my commute home from ft. myers . I use a wet dryer sheet and the hose and they come right off . cutting the grass today they were swarming around me . they are reported to like the carbon dioxide fumes giving off by cars and may explain why they are so prevalent at intersections and on highways .



Do you wet a dryer sheet, or are they already wet (we don't use dryer sheets at home)?  If this works, I'll give it a try.  I'm finding I have to really scrub the bug splatter off the windshield and have been using a brush and a pad with a netting around it made for that sort of thing...but, it still doesn't remove all the bug remains.  I have to then use Windex.

I heard from our Marina manager in Osprey, FL (just South of Sarasota).  He said boaters are reporting love bugs everywhere even 25 miles out to sea.

The love bugs seem to prefer the color "white".  Unfortunately, my car is white.


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## SherryS (May 3, 2011)

Wonka said:


> Do you wet a dryer sheet, or are they already wet (we don't use dryer sheets at home)?  If this works, I'll give it a try.  I'm finding I have to really scrub the bug splatter off the windshield and have been using a brush and a pad with a netting around it made for that sort of thing...but, it still doesn't remove all the bug remains.  I have to then use Windex.
> 
> I heard from our Marina manager in Osprey, FL (just South of Sarasota).  He said boaters are reporting love bugs everywhere even 25 miles out to sea.
> 
> The love bugs seem to prefer the color "white".  Unfortunately, my car is white.




Just run a little water on a dryer sheet, and it works like magic!  Buy them at the Osprey Walmart!  I heard this tip a few days ago on a Tampa TV station.


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## dioxide45 (May 3, 2011)

You can also buy special bug sponges in the car care secton at Walmart. They are a sponge covered with a mesh like material. Use them when washing your car, they work great.


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## chicklet (May 4, 2011)

We just got back from Venice April 24 and they were starting to swarm then.  There had been nothing then all of a sudden you couldn't find a spot to sit near the pool without them there.  I think they last about 3 weeks but came early because spring was warmer (at least that is what some of my Florida friends told me)  Makes me think about next year as our renters want to stay til the end of April and we would come in May.....hmmmmm


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## Cathyb (May 4, 2011)

*Never seen one -- have a question*



Wonka said:


> The "Love Bugs" are awful in Florida this year (at least in Sarasota and the surrounding areas.  Honestly, I would avoid travel to this area until they're gone in a couple of weeks.  They generally arrive in May and September and last the whole month.
> 
> The "Love Bugs" mate while they are airborne and they're are zillions of them here.  I'm told nothing eats them because they acidic, and that if they remain on the paint of your car their dead carcasas can "eat" the paint.  I don't know if that's true, or not but I have to wash my car after every single trip (even around the block to the health club).  After a short trip on the expressway, it's hard to see thru your windshield if you drive through a cloud of "love bugs" and the don't come off with just windshield washer fluid.  It takes scrubbing.
> 
> ...



How big are they?  Fortunately we don't get them here in California!


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## lvhmbh (May 4, 2011)

Haven't seen any here in Boca Raton but probably one their way!


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## Jim Bryan (May 4, 2011)

For years I have used the plastic mesh kitchen pot scrubbers and whatever I'm using to wash my car (usually Zip Car wash) Does the trick and doesn't hurt cars finish. I can remember seeing piles, deep piles of them at gas stations where people had rinsed them off.


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## Lardan (May 4, 2011)

Live in Lutz (outside of Tampa).  They are bad here every year, so I don't really think they're worse this year.  They do appear to be earlier than in the past.


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## rapmarks (May 4, 2011)

probably earlier, as i have usuallly gone north by now.  they are awful!!!!


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## Riverwild (May 4, 2011)

Lovebugs are bad in Manatee County where I reside. We are heading to Old Key West Resort on Sunday so my car will be plastered with love bugs after driving on I-4. Will have to look for a car wash and then travel via Disney transportation to keep the car clean.


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## Wonka (May 4, 2011)

Cathyb said:


> How big are they?  Fortunately we don't get them here in California!



They're skinny and about 3" long (because there are two of them).  They are also very delicate just swatting them away with your hand can squash them.  Yesterday, I had a few land on my shirt and simply tried to brush them off instead it squashed them.


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## Wonka (May 4, 2011)

Riverwild said:


> Lovebugs are bad in Manatee County where I reside. We are heading to Old Key West Resort on Sunday so my car will be plastered with love bugs after driving on I-4. Will have to look for a car wash and then travel via Disney transportation to keep the car clean.



Riverwild - I live in Parrish in a Community called Ancient Oaks.  Based on your Tug name I'm guessing you're in Riverwilderness or close by, yes?


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## Pit (May 4, 2011)

They were bad at Disney Wilderness Lodge last week. Ruins the pool lounging, when you have to keep swatting them.


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## suzannesimon (May 4, 2011)

There were a few at the Melbourne, Fl airport last weekend. I'm headed to Destin on Saturday. I've never been there in May.  Has anyone experienced them there?


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## dioxide45 (May 5, 2011)

Wonka said:


> They're skinny and about 3" long (because there are two of them).  They are also very delicate just swatting them away with your hand can squash them.  Yesterday, I had a few land on my shirt and simply tried to brush them off instead it squashed them.



I don't think I have ever seen two of them connected to be three inches long, that would be huge. Connected I don't think they would be longer than an inch, probably less.


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## Riverwild (May 5, 2011)

Wonka said:


> Riverwild - I live in Parrish in a Community called Ancient Oaks.  Based on your Tug name I'm guessing you're in Riverwilderness or close by, yes?



Your guess is correct. We live on Little Country Road. We often travel by Ancient Oaks going over to Buffalo Creek.


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## rapmarks (May 5, 2011)

where is Manatee county?   We live in Lee county.


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## SherryS (May 5, 2011)

rapmarks said:


> where is Manatee county?   We live in Lee county.



Manatee County is just north of Sarasota County.  The dividing road is University Parkway.  Half of Longboat Key is in Sarasota County and half in Manatee County.


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## tombo (May 5, 2011)

suzannesimon said:


> There were a few at the Melbourne, Fl airport last weekend. I'm headed to Destin on Saturday. I've never been there in May.  Has anyone experienced them there?



Drove home from Panama City through Destin yesterday and during the week we were down there we didn't see a single love bug. Have seen them in the Destin area on other trips, but they are not as bad on the panhandle as they are in central Florida from my experience.


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## Wonka (May 5, 2011)

dioxide45 said:


> I don't think I have ever seen two of them connected to be three inches long, that would be huge. Connected I don't think they would be longer than an inch, probably less.


 
Maybe I'd better measure a couple on a ruler.  I'm not very good at sight measurements, so 1" might be right.  I'll have to take a ruler and measure a couple.  LOL.  The point is they're skinny fragile little "buggers".


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## erm (May 6, 2011)

Wonka and Riverwild, I'm your winter neighbor at Heritage Harbour in Bradenton.  This was only my second season but missed the lovebugs when I left early May last year.  This year they were horrid.  Had encountered them when I taught in Zephyrhills many years ago.  I absolutely love my new seasonal home in Bradenton and being so close to everything.  I think Manatee county beaches are THE BEST.


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## Wonka (May 6, 2011)

erm said:


> Wonka and Riverwild, I'm your winter neighbor at Heritage Harbour in Bradenton.  This was only my second season but missed the lovebugs when I left early May last year.  This year they were horrid.  Had encountered them when I taught in Zephyrhills many years ago.  I absolutely love my new seasonal home in Bradenton and being so close to everything.  I think Manatee county beaches are THE BEST.



So, you're a what's known as a "snowbird" here...Welcome.  Anna Maria is our favorite, but it's rapidly becoming "discovered"...too much publicity.  Good for the merchants, but not so good for those who would like to see the island remain unchanged for years to come.

If it isn't "lovebugs", it seems to be something else.  When we lived in MN, we built a cabin on a lake with tons of trees.  When we went to the cabin after closing, the entire area was stripped of leaves by "tent caterpillars", they were much worse than love bugs and there were zillions of them crawling everywhere.  It was like a horror movie...no joke. You couldn't even see the floor or wood portion of the railings of extensive decking.  They lasted a month.  We stayed home, and one month of summer is about 1/3 of the summer in MN.  LOL.  Also, in MN there were Box Elder Bugs they were awful too.  And, in KY there were bugs that looked like the lady bugs everyone likes...but, they weren't.  They would bite and actually draw blood.


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## JoAnn (May 6, 2011)

I took my car to the car wash today (Lehigh Acres) and it was very busy with bug covered cars.  People were talking about the bugs and a man said to take hand lotion and spread it over the grill and any area that would be hit, but not the windshield.  He said then they will wipe right off.  And I'll try RainX on the windows to see if that helps.


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## ronparise (May 6, 2011)

Love bugs (both of them) are less than a quarter of an inch
This is one or two scraped off my bumper 

Perhaps you are thinking of our roaches they are 2-3 inches long  We call them palmetto bugs  and they can fly


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## Liliana (May 6, 2011)

I'm currently in Ormond Beach and today they were very busy. Wednesday we saw many on the outside wall but not together. I guess our drive tomorrow will be messy. 

Glad it time to go home, we were OK at the beach, pool and balcony until today. I thought it was because of this mornings rain but I guess not.


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## Hophop4 (May 6, 2011)

Do you think these luvbugs will be gone by the end of May.  We are headed down to Sanibel Island then.  We usualy get them here in the Houston area too during the spring but haven't seen any yet, guess you got them all.


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## Wonka (May 7, 2011)

ronparise said:


> Love bugs (both of them) are less than a quarter of an inch
> This is one or two scraped off my bumper
> 
> Perhaps you are thinking of our roaches they are 2-3 inches long  We call them palmetto bugs  and they can fly



Well. maybe those here in Sarasota are involved in threesomes, or maybe foursomes.  LOL.  The size doesn't really matter, does it?  There a PITA whether they're 1/4", 1/2" or more.  However, I stand corrected.  I didn't have a ruler when I overestimated the size.  I work for the government, you can't count on my estimates.


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## Born2Travel (May 7, 2011)

Wonka said:


> Well. maybe those here in Sarasota are involved in threesomes, or maybe foursomes. LOL. The size doesn't really matter, does it? There a PITA whether they're 1/4", 1/2" or more. However, I stand corrected. I didn't have a ruler when I overestimated the size. I work for the government, you can't count on my estimates.


 
:rofl: :hysterical:


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## Wonka (May 7, 2011)

Hophop4 said:


> Do you think these luvbugs will be gone by the end of May.  We are headed down to Sanibel Island then.  We usualy get them here in the Houston area too during the spring but haven't seen any yet, guess you got them all.



The media is saying they'll be mostly gone by the end of next week.  I hope they're right.  Today, they didn't seem as plentiful but it was a cooler day.  As I recall, there generally here most of the month of May and October.  But, they seem to have arrived early this year.  The previous 3 years weren't too bad.


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## rapmarks (May 9, 2011)

started the trek north on Friday, lovebug corpses were impairing visibility.  then ran into a terible thunderstorm near Ocla and washed the car totally clean.


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## caribbean (May 10, 2011)

Thanks for the warning, we are headed down to Lido on Saturday for 2 weeks. I am not going to tell DH ahead of time so he doesn't get in a bad mood. He just got the car washed today before the trip, go figure?


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## Jim Bryan (May 11, 2011)

I think they are about done here.


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## Happytravels (May 11, 2011)

We are here at LIttle Gull and haven't had any trouble..seen a few but not that many...anyone else at Little Gull this week?


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## Wonka (May 12, 2011)

caribbean said:


> Thanks for the warning, we are headed down to Lido on Saturday for 2 weeks. I am not going to tell DH ahead of time so he doesn't get in a bad mood. He just got the car washed today before the trip, go figure?



They're getting fewer, but still here.


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## silverfox82 (May 13, 2011)

I returned a rental to Hertz, West Palm Beach wednesday, guy who checked me in just laughed. No problem.


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## deemarket (May 16, 2011)

silverfox82 said:


> I returned a rental to Hertz, West Palm Beach wednesday, guy who checked me in just laughed. No problem.



We arrived at Cocoa Beach on Saturday.  Drove over from a flight arriving at Tampa.  (That is a whole other story).  It was raining driving over and so we didn't have any problems with the love bugs sticking to our windshield.  They are still here and hubby doesn't want to go to the beach because of them.    This morning we walked a half hour north to get closer to the shuttle launch site and they were out.  They weren't too bad but they were sticking to you but not overly heavy.  Just a little bit of a nuisance as far as I am concerned.  I'm not going to let them get the best of me.  I'm here and I'm going to lay out and go in the beautiful ocean water.  I have been waiting for a long time for this trip and I'm going to enjoy it.


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## Mimi (May 17, 2011)

We had lots of lovebugs in Satellite Beach this month. Spraying them with water kills them. Walking along the ocean, there were so many dead bugs on the shore line! Double yuk!  We just headed back to the Jersey Shore!


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## MichaelColey (May 17, 2011)

FWIW, we were in Orlando from 5/6 - 5/13 and we saw some but not too many.


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## abbekit (May 17, 2011)

Are they bad in Miami Beach?  We'll be ther next week, not renting a car thankfully.


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## Wonka (May 17, 2011)

The lovebugs are still here, but the numbers are much lower.  They are dying off.


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## Jaybee (May 17, 2011)

Don't forget to check your radiators.  They've been known to clog them completely. That's one thing I don't miss about Florida..Those, and the Palmetto bugs....and giant mosquitoes (on the west coast)....But there are no snails!


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## lvhmbh (May 18, 2011)

Just saw our first ones yesterday - hope they go away soon!


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