Love Bugs

[Marc Wulf]

All you Cobra owners in Fla.How do you deal with those annoying bugs getting in the radiator?

[Sailfish]

I had my local ACE hardware build me a screen (cost about $25) that covers the majority of the radiator. I used Velcro on each corner to hold it in place. Easily to remove and re-install and cheap enough to replace if necessary.

[DanEC]

For what it's worth - I don't know much about love bugs but I have been trying Mothers Bug Remover lately on the front end of our daily drivers when I wash them. It works very well and quickly. It probably does strip most of the wax off but I usely mist Spray and Dry Wax over the car before drying so no big deal. Probably a spray with Mothers and then a light scrubbing with a soft brush would remove most of them. You may have to rinse from the inside out to get most of the remains flushed out of the radiator.

[Tom Wells]

Marc,

Actually they are protein and they are already cooked; kinda taste like chicken.

Couldn't resist.

Screen sounds OK for the radiator but I've never had very many there and don't have a screen.

As for the paint, the trick invented by my wife is to cover the front with soaking wet towels - let'em sit on there for an hour or so. Then the bugs just wipe right off! Naturally you need to do this within and hour or so of finishing the ride before they turn into concrete.

Tom

[CobraDan]

Love Bugs and Cars - An Infuriating Relationship
Love bug season in Florida occurs twice each year, April-May and August-September. Love bugs get their name from flying connected end-to-end. These tiny flies are a nuisance pest and related to mosquitoes and gnats.
Florida love bugs travel in huge swarms and are blown along by the wind. Although it appears that vehicles are like Velcro to them, it just that their swarms are unavoidable.

Car and truck owners can pretty much reach the end of their string after a day of hitting a few swarms and their vehicle looks like a dot-to-dot mutation.

Here's what to do to help maintain your vehicle's paint job during love bug season.

* Keep a good coat of wax on your vehicle. Locals who want to keep their paint job looking primo, wax every other week.

* If you hit a swarm of love bugs and cannot clean your vehicle immediately, park it OUT OF the sun. This will reduce the effect of the acid from these little flies from etching your paint.

* Wash love bugs off as soon as you can, if you hit a swarm. You'll be amazed at the carnage on your grill and bumper.

* Many locals who commute longer distances, attach a screen over the grill to keep love bugs from clogging the radiator and making the vehicle overheat.

* Some locals spread a very thin coat of non-stick baby oil over the bumper, grill, hood, and above the windshield. They say this makes it easier to clean off the love bugs.

* Use a small amount of Stoner 91156 Tarminator Tar and Bug Remover to get the residue off after washing.

[STEVE-O]

Those bugs sound like a real pain! During the love bug season or even any other time, why not plasti coat the front end of the car and then peel it off after driving.

https://www.dipyourcar.com/

[OnyxRider]

Maybe I hit the tail end of the season. Drove up this early morning from Naples to a little north of St. Pete. with a '60 AC. I saw a few buggers around the garage but nothing crazy. Little over cast now and no garage to put it in. Three car garage with one auto in it. You know how that goes. The suggestions are good ones especially keep it out of the sun.

[CSX3183]

Trying using PAM, it works fairly well.

[CobraDan]

Will PAM Cooking Spray Keep Love Bugs Off The Front Of My Car?
PAM, a combination of corn oil, grain alcohol, soybean lecithin and a propellant, is made by Boyle-Midway Inc. of New York. Use of the cholesterol-free pan spray on cars to help with love bugs is a common inquiry.
While Pam might help keep love bugs off your car, it can be more damaging for your cars paint job than the bugs. According to some car detailers “Getting the bugs off the car isn’t one-hundredth the problem as getting PAM off”.
While PAM might cause more harm than help – we did some research to find some helpful love bug advice.
A recent article, Love Bug Season Back on the Treasure Coast, by Elliot Jones, talks of these amorously annoying pests, how to keep them off the front of your car and how to safely and easily clean your car after a long drive.

Jones offers these helpful tips:
◾Drive at night or in the early morning to avoid the bugs. They are most active after mid-morning in bright sunlight when temperatures rise to around 80 degrees.
◾Use a high-pressure washer, such as a hose with adjustable nozzle, to blow bug remains off a vehicle.
◾Avoid turning on windshield wipers. This will just create a slurry of bug parts.
◾When going through a bug-infested area, take along a gallon of water and window squeegee to remove them.
◾Wash them off as quickly as possible. Within days, their remains can pit or mar car paint.
◾A coat of fresh wax or baby oil helps keep them from sticking to the front hood, grill or bumper.
◾Some effective commercial cleaning products are SuperClean, Simple Green and Spray ’n Wash.
◾Stores sell deflector shields and protective screens for mounting on front of vehicles.

Also, a traveling blogger, Solo Travel Girl, had these tips to share:
◾Spread a light film of baby oil over the front of the hood, above the windshield and on the grill and bumper. This practice will make their removal a simpler task.
◾Gatorback Automotive Protection System utilizes the latest in nano-technology to provide your vehicle’s finish with an amazing maintenance-free protective layer. Water is repelled from the surface even better than a freshly waxed finish and dirt is washed off easily by a simple rinse or a rainstorm. Your paint is protected from the ravages of insects, chemicals and dirt. Simply wash your vehicle with a hose and watch the dirt and bugs roll away. More stubborn dirt and insect remains can be easily removed with a soft cloth and water.
◾Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. Just some warm water and rub and they come off real easy.
◾Dryer sheets to remove squished love bugs from his car. (http://www.solotravelgirl.com/bounce...ovebug-season/)
◾A little degreaser on the windshield and bumper, let that set for a minute or two and the love bugs should wipe clean!
◾Baking Soda and water. It will take the bugs off.
◾Rain-X on the windows makes for much cleaner glass, even when you don’t have a chance to wash, they leave much less mess. Add 1/2 cup lamp oil to our bucket of wash water it removes them with ease and doesn’t streak windshield.Gives car a beautiful shine!!
◾High pressure washer works most of the time. You can also get bug and tar remover for the car, that works too.

[smccobra]

I just simply quit driving the car for 3 weeks and thats not hard after you wipe it down a few times and see the damage they do. They are attracted to petroleum products and so construction sites and roofing jobs will make them set up camp and reappear in the same spot season after season. We had this happen on a fresh garage build and had to spray them directly where they were breeding and congregating. Our daily drivers get pressure cleaned to get them off. It really is a probelm that we face twice a year down here.

[OnyxRider]

Drove my mom to the doctors this morning parked next to a SUV that was literally destroyed by them. Looks like they drove through a rain forest covered with these bugs.