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Coming soon to a car near you
It's time for love bugs' second appearance of the year. Protect your car and make cleanup easier with these tips.
By Times Staff
Published August 26, 2006
It's the time of year we've been dreading. Not hurricanes: love bugs! The second flight of the love bug occurs during late August and September. These flights may last for four to five weeks. Love bugs - Plecia nearctica to their close friends - are black-and-orange flies that are typically seen mating in midair in early spring and late summer. They travel in swarms, so cars driving through these clouds of lovesick insects are spattered with their smashed body parts. Scientists theorize that lovebugs are attracted to highways because they think exhaust fumes smell like decaying organic matter, where they like to lay their eggs. Some drivers spread a light film of baby oil or cooking pan spray over the front of the car's hood, above the windshield and on the grill and bumper to make removal simpler. Once your car is encrusted, though, time is of the essence in removing the residue, which can pit or etch the paint and chrome. Our Reader Exchange column last spring solicited suggestions for removing love bugs from cars. Here are some ideas offered by readers: * Mix a half-cup of baking soda into 1 gallon of water, apply the mixture to the area with a sponge and let it stand for one minute. Wash off and rinse. * A commercial cleaner, Shaklee Basic-H, can be mixed and applied to the area. Let it stay for two minutes, then rinse. * Spray on the laundry product Spray 'n Wash, let it sit for a couple of minutes, then wash off. * Super Clean, a Castrol product, can be applied, left for a few minutes, then washed off. * Simple Green, a product sold in supermarkets and discount stores like Kmart and Wal-Mart, should be mixed according to directions, applied and washed off. You can avoid the bugs by traveling at night, because love bugs do not become active until about 10 a.m. The combination of exhaust fumes and ultraviolet rays is particularly enticing to lovebugs, which is why they tend to be out and about during daylight hours. Traveling at slower speeds will reduce the number of bugs that will be spattered. A wind deflector or net stretched over the grill may keep the radiator fins from clogging and will protect the finish and the windshield. - Compiled from reports by Times staff and files, Pinellas County Extension Service agents Pam Brown and Carol Suggs, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and "That Gunk on Your Car: A Unique Guide to Insects of North America" by Mark Hostetler, Ph.D.
[Last modified August 24, 2006, 13:07:31]
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