Love Bugs (not the VW kind)

USFSDTAlum · #1 05-14-2001, 11:36 AM

IS anyone else plagued by these pests? Being relatively new to Fla I didn't know too much about them until I moved closer to school. When are they going away? Is there anything I can do to avoid them. Are they attracted to scent, because I was bombarded at the pool over the weekend and it seemed like no one else was being too bothered. I hate these bugs!!!!!!!!

carnation · #2 05-14-2001, 11:42 AM

Ewwww, they're really bad in Texas and south Georgia. Their "positioning", shall we say, is hard to explain to little kids, too!

dzrose93 · #3 05-14-2001, 11:55 AM

They're bad all over Georgia! Ugh! I'm not a big fan of the love bugs either.

Hootie · #4 05-14-2001, 01:07 PM

What is a love bug. LOL. When I was little my mom used to call me her little love bug...I'm just dying to know what the REAL Love Bug is and looks like.
Hootie

------------------
What do you get when you cross an Alpha Omicron Pi and a Sigma Phi Epsilon? A beautiful Chi Omega!!!
Zeta Delta Chapter of Chi Omega
http://www.unomaha.edu/~comega

AXO Alum · #5 05-14-2001, 01:08 PM

Are these the black and red ones -- shaped kind of like lightening bugs?

USFSDTAlum · #6 05-14-2001, 01:20 PM

yeah- they sound cute but THEY'RE NOT!!! they get the name because they fly around stuck together spreading the "love" ie mating. here are some links Hootie: http://floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe00508.htm http://www.lnla.org/lovebug.html

Hootie · #7 05-14-2001, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by USFstudent:
yeah- they sound cute but THEY'RE NOT!!! they get the name because they fly around stuck together spreading the "love" ie mating. here are some links Hootie: http://floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe00508.htm http://www.lnla.org/lovebug.html

LOL...they kinda look like what we here in Nebraska call Boxelder Bugs. If they are the same then they're what AXO ALUM described them as. Sorry I couldn't totally tell because that picture wasn't very focused.
In that case you'll be amused to know I once swallowed one of those suckers when I finished drinking water from a cup and realized part of it's body was in the bottom. YUCKIE. GROSS. EW.
LOL
Hootie

ZTAngel · #8 05-14-2001, 05:13 PM

It's love bug season again in Florida. USF- I have the same problem. I fell asleep by the pool yesterday and woke up with them all over me. Also, I drove home the other day and I-95 must be love bug breeding grounds bc they're plastered all over the front of my car. I should have tons of fun cleaning that off.

AlphaChiGirl · #9 05-14-2001, 06:28 PM

I'm from Florida, going home Saturday, and I had forgotten what those were like. Ugh. Was anyone as sadistic a child as I was and tried to separate them?

ZTAngel · #10 05-14-2001, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AlphaChiGirl:
I'm from Florida, going home Saturday, and I had forgotten what those were like. Ugh. Was anyone as sadistic a child as I was and tried to separate them?

Yeah, I use to do that.

I feel kinda bad about that now.

AEPhi-QTPie · #11 05-14-2001, 09:23 PM

USFStudent-welcome to my world. If anyone is concerned about keeping the car clean, make sure you wash the car as soon as you can after getting bombarded with love bugs. If you go too long with them on your car, they become increasingly difficult to get off.

On a different note, I heard that they mate for 24 hours, then die. What a life! The single ones have to find a partner in so much time, otherwise they die. Talk about pressure!