It’s lovebug season in Florida, and they’re doing it all over. How to get them off cars
“Love is in the air,” and with all apologies to Australian singer John Paul
Young, it’s an affair that we Floridians would love to break.
We’re talking lovebugs, of course, since they’re in mating season a couple of times a year, such as May and September.
As any local who has driven on Florida’s Turnpike on vacation to Disney or any other rider on the highway knows, lovebugs are attracted to cars almost as much as they are to each other. And the end result is a sticky and sometimes costly, damaging mess.
For those who are unfamiliar, here’s what you need to know about the frisky bugs.
WHAT ARE LOVEBUGS, ANYWAY?
The small flies — a third of an inch for females, a fourth for males — are in the same family as gnats and mosquitoes, according to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida. They are primarily black with a little red coloration.
They have a cumbersome scientific name — Plecia nearctica, the species most attracted to cars, and Plecia americana, the species that tends to stick to woodland areas.
But we know them as lovebugs because of their mating habits.
When the male and female are locked in their ritual, they float in the air for several hours as they feed, and the female eventually lays her eggs in soil under partially decayed vegetation, according to the University of Florida.
That is unless they smash into your speeding car’s windshield or front grill or (gag) your face should you bike into a swarm of them.
Unlike mosquitoes, however, they are no threat to us except as a nuisance. They don’t bite or sting.
They don’t carry diseases or destroy crops.
Lovebugs are not native to the United States, according to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation. Piecia americana originated in North America; Piecia nearctica migrated from Central America. The bugs are believed to have arrived in the Florida Panhandle in 1949 and reached the southern end of the peninsula in the 1970s.
“It is unclear what brought lovebugs to the U.S., but the increase in highways and pastures between Central America and the United States could have created a pathway that eased their dispersal,” the foundation said.
And, no, lovebugs, which are most active by day, were not genetically engineered by scientists at the University of Florida to eradicate mosquitoes, which are most active by night, as one myth holds. Lovebugs aren’t equipped to be predators. They are lovers, not fighters.
SO WHAT’S THE ATTRACTION TO CARS?
Lovebugs actually aren’t attracted to the cars themselves. According to the foundation, lovebugs are attracted to some odors produced by plant and plant matter and one of those components — UV irradiated aldehydes — is also a major component in car exhaust. The creatures confuse car exhaust with their favorite habitat and are drawn to roadways, highways and interstates.
As a car zips by, the result is a smashing failure for the couple — and a potential headache for the car owner.
That’s because the acidity of a squished lovebug’s bodily fluid and the baking effect of sunlight can erode car paint. And if too many of them swarm into an unprotected radiator, your engine’s coolant system could clog and cause you to overheat on the roadway.
Lovebugs tend to be attracted to lighter colors.
HOW DO YOU REMOVE LOVEBUGS FROM YOUR CAR?
Remember what Mr. Miyagi said in “The Karate Kid” movie? “Wax on, wax off.”
That’s one good preventative measure. At the start of lovebug season, get your car washed and waxed. The wax coating will make it harder for the lovebugs to stick and make them easier to remove.
A little baby oil might make it easier to remove the dead bugs, suggests HomeQuicks.
Carry water in a closed container and a squeegee so you can remove the lovebugs when you get to your destination, suggests the Herald-Tribune.
A high-pressure hose can blast them off your car’s surfaces. Be careful not to blast off the paint.
Another recent HeraldTribune feature suggested the use of wet dryer sheets, along with baby shampoo, hydrogen peroxide, soft drinks and Pledge. But be careful not to rub too hard if the sheet is abrasive.
Florida Today said Spray ’n Wash might work.
Others recommend the multipurpose WD-40 as a product that can help you easily wipe away the residue.
Consider installing a shield to the front of your car’s grille if you expect to drive on roads where lovebugs congregate. Autosupply stores carry these shields. The stores that sell cleaning fluids can help remove the mess safely.
And one other tip from Florida Today: “Resist the temptation to clear them from your windshield with a blast of washer fluid and a swipe of wipers. It’ll create a slurry of bug parts.”