Love Bug Season in Florida
 

Love Bug Season has begun in SW Florida. That means it's time to put an extra coat of wax on the mirrors and the front end, and put that bra/nose cover on, especially if you will be traveling on the freeway.
If they're not cleaned off right away, the Love Bugs have an acid that will eat through your clearcoat and then your paint. They longer they are left on the finish, the harder they are to remove, even with bug cleaner.
A good way to clean them off is to use a wetted Dryer (fabric softener) Sheet.
Don't be lazy and not clean them off !!

you can also soak a towel or two in warm water and place them on the front end of the car for 5-10 minutes before washing and they come off pretty easy

Because my C5 vert is not my daily driver, I tend to keep it tucked away nice and clean in the garage for the 2-3 weeks these little bastards are flying around.

For my DD, I spread a thin layer of Cisco cooking oil over the front bumper and side mirrors. I then try to hose them off every evening after a day of driving.

I was out this Easter Morning and they were everywhere! I pity the poor guys who are riding their motorcycles. :ack:

For those who are not familiar with "Love Bugs", the smaller male and the larger female hook up for some mid-air action and stay connected through this mating ritual until the smaller male literally dies from exhaustion. (What a way to go I guess!) :yesnod:

Happy Easter!

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/r.../LoveBugs1.jpg

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/r.../LoveBugs3.jpg

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/r.../LoveBugs2.jpg

Having a Yellow car in bug infested areas is not a good idea either ...:willy::D

Toque

:eek:NOOOOO, Please dont do that. Ihad a mustand yeasr ago and i put oil on my hood and the sun baked the paint, but i live in fla. so just be carefull.

Thanks for the heads up! How long do they stick around or is this like june bugs that come and go?

4-5 weeks or so around May and September. Being a lifetime FL resident, some love bug seasons are worse than others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebug

Yeah, but I'm not going to change colors just because of a BUG.
Plus, what color other than black wouldn't show them ?? and, they will eat up any color of paint, whether they "show" or not.

I agree. I think they were relatively mild last spring, however so far this season, they seem to be out in masses.

The key is you remove it every day and make sure your car does not bake in a parking lot during the day. I drive from (home) garage to (work) garage so I only spread a light covering over the front bumper and mirrors and never on the hood top. It helps with my evening cleaning when I hose off the front end. I do this daily during the time they are swarming and so far I've had no issues or marks in the clearcoat. I moved to Florida in 2005 and my neighbor gave me the tip.

I think that I would use a bra.

Wow, I didn't even know love bugs were such a problem in your neck of the woods.

I find that Lucas Slick Mist is an excellent product to keep bugs from sticking to the front of the car. A good application once a week does wonders.

Daily wipe down with spray detailer is about the best I can do. Garage is full so my C5 has to sit outside. So far they aren't that bad on the Cocoa Beach area but they are coming.

Use PAM. Cheap, easy to apply and washes right off along with the bugs.

:iagree: we get them real bad down here and the wet towel does it real easy , especially if you get alot of them, virtually no wiping

Thanks for the info, I just purchased a 2nd home in Fla. and good to know about these bugs

SEAFOAM makes a product called BUG B GONE. It's contents breakdown the protein of the bug!!

BBG works great for sunglasses, glasses, helmet visors, snorkel masks, etc!!

:thumbs:

Sure glad we don't have those bugs up here. I can only imagine the mess they make on the car.

I despise those little buggers....Thanks for the tips guys...:thumbs:

Whatever method you use, you want to get them off of the paint IMMEDIATELY when you get home or to your destination. If you run into swarms of them on the freeway, you can have hundreds, even thousands on your car. And they seem to like the freeways. Some people say they are attracted to the exhaust gasses.