Lovebugs?????

[ASweetLov]

I have another thread and someone mentioned lovebugs. How bad are they in September? are they that annoying? Does anyone have horror stories about them or do they not bother anyone?

I hate bugs, even butterflies makes me run away in fear! I am not afraid of flys, mosquitos or ants :)

[LauraleeH]

I'd have to say if you're not afraid of mosquitos, lovebugs shouldn't bother you, since they're about the same size, maybe just a bit bigger. Honestly, I think they're around earlier in the year, anyways. I don't remember seeing any in September, and I live here! They're not agressive like bees, so I can't imagine any horror stories...they don't chase or bite or anything. Don't worry about it ;)

[ASweetLov]

Haha thanks! I feel much better now :D

[DestinationWDW]

I have never experienced them in the parks, but I can tell you that I always have to stop 3 or 4 times in the 8 hour drive to clean the windshield. When they go splat they make a huge mess.

[mitchsfan]

Honestly they are so harmless. They don't bite you.

Though......I was there in September 06 and there were alot of them. We were there mid to late Spetember and the parks were filled with them. My one friend had to leave the AK because there were so many of them. But that person is neurotic so I would not worry about them.

[paulsheri]

We were there in Sept. 2006, and there was a lot of them, but they didn't bother us. We were told they didn't bite, just ignore them, they'll leave you alone.

[WDW_Obsessed]

I was also there in Sept. '06, and I do remember being just covered in them if I stood still for a minute. But they won't hurt you...they just hang out on you for a minute and then move on :mickey:

[CaptSmee]

There are lots of them around, but other than annoyances they will not bother you.

[joonyer]

Learn a little bit about them and you'll have no reason to worry about encountering them. They can be a nuisance but they are harmless.

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

[DisneyHoneymooners]

We make the trip every Sept., some years they are not bad at all, others it is worse. A couple years ago the closed the pool bar at the AKL because they were so thick and getting into everything. As I recall we were unable to be around the pool or our balcony they were so thick. The are harmless however and can not bite. Some people just ignored them and others just could not stop waving them away (they do love to land on you). My understanding is that they are usually only heavy for a week or so in the spring and then again for a week in Sept. Even at their worst, they were not bad in the parks.

[Imagineer1981]

They are just ANNOYING. We went during flower and garden festival at Epcot and if you stopped you were covered. You get that creepy crawly feeling for quite some time after walking through a mass of them.

[spoonful of sugar]

are these lovebugs out the end of april beginning of may? i have only been to wdw in feb., july, aug., oct. & dec. and have never experienced them and would really like not to.:ack:

[SandmanGStefani24]

here's the weird thing...i have never once seen a bee, a fly, a gnat, ANYTHING! the parks seem to be devoid of any pests whatsoever, or at least it seems that way to me. the most i've encountered have been a curious squirrel or a hungry bird or two. you shouldnt have any issues...

[Mfarquar]

I have visited WDW in Sept. 2005, 2006, (Universal area in 2007), and 2008.

The only year to really speak of was 2006, like mentioned above. They were EVERYWHERE. Although it was usually forgettable in the parks, the bus stops and pools were especially buggy. They really ARE harmless, but I HATE bugs. The waterparks were actually OK, so we hung out there more than the pool.

The only thing I would recommend is to look before you sit on a bus stop bench. Other than that, you should be ok - if I survived with happy memories ANYONE can :)!

Plus, the other years they were noticeable every now and then, but very few were present. I don't remember seeing them AT ALL in 2005, and last year we saw very few.

[beksy]

How are they usually in mid-May? Do you find them floating in the pools like you find bugs floating in the pools around here in the summer? :bug:

[grumpyguy]

we've experienced the lovebug's in september.
like most have said their more annoying than anything.one day at bb we had to leave because they were literally everywhere!!
i took several pictures to show folks at home.
if you're creeped out by "bugs" at all,you may want to schedule around the lovebug season.

[TinkerMel]

We were there in September 07. I don't remember having any bug issues. Maybe 06 was just a bad year for them. Sometimes it doesn't get cold enough in the winter to control the population??? I know that is our problem with mosquitos some years.

[tinklover]

How are they usually in mid-May? Do you find them floating in the pools like you find bugs floating in the pools around here in the summer? :bug:

we were ther ein may of 07 about the 3rd week in may and though they were awful on the turnpike they were not bad in the parks and i never once saw any in the pool. and we swam all 3 days that we were there.

[Imagineer1981]

i wonder if they spray for them now?

[DizNee143]

count me in for being in disney in sept of 2006..and wow that was the first time i really ever exprecinced them..yuck...they are annoying!!

[Seasonscraps]

count me in for being in disney in sept of 2006..and wow that was the first time i really ever exprecinced them..yuck...they are annoying!!

Me too - they got me nuts. I know they are harmless but they were everywhere! I had to leave the pool area one day because I couldn't take it anymore.

[Ed]

They're back!

Love bugs have started making their presence known in Central Florida over the past few days.

Although they're absolutely harmless, they are annoying, and tend to make a mess out of your vehicles when you drive through a swarm of them.

Unfortunately, their smooshed little corpses release an acidic fluid that can damage your car's paint finish. Therefore, the only locals glad to see them back are the owners of car washes.

Hopefully, their visit will be a brief one.



:bug:

[PixieMagic]

I was probably the one who mentioned them, as I remember doing it recently :blush:!! Sorry! They are annoying but you'll really only notice them on windshields and at AK....I had more problems them most b/c 1) I am allergic to most bugs and was being extra cautious and 2) I was wearing a bride Minnie veil and they kept getting caught in it...

[PixieMagic]

Also, after reading the other posts...maybe we caught a bad year for them because we were there the last week of September 2006......

[PETE FROM NYC]

What is the best way to clean them off your windshield?
I usuallytravel in March , so they are not a problem.
But on one Fla trip in the 1980s, we went to Silver Springs and the mosquito problem was totally unbearable, clouds of them everywhere making them unavoidable.
Anyone have AFTERBITE?

[MNNHFLTX]

Love bugs are most noticeable in May and September (worse in September, IMO), when the larva morph into mature bugs that swarm and mate. There tends to be more of them if there had been a significant amount of rain in the months prior to this. The only way to deal with them splatting on cars (as far as I know) is to wash the car frequently, especially after driving through areas with swamps and lots of vegetation.

[RBrooksC]

Maybe it was a good year, but back in September 2007, the "Love Bugs" weren't nearly as bad as everybody said they were. Yes, they were flying around everything and you couldn't miss them. But, they were barely an annoyance. I have had worse trouble with just run of the mill insects in Maryland than I did with the "Love Bugs" at Disney.

[JabberJaws]

Given that this thread is 2 pgs long, you have probably heard all you want to hear about lovebugs haha.

But, my wife and I lived in Kissimmee off of 192, just 5 minutes from DAK, from Jan - Nov of 2006. During April and September, the love bugs came-a-callin, and let me tell ya, they were EVERYWHERE! I live in So. Carolina and we sort of get them here, but NOTHING like that. There were SWARMS of them all over the place!!

Now, let me say that they are NOT dangerous, poisionous, aggressive, etc. They are just an annoyance. The biggest part of which is that they get squished on your car, and due to having acidic guts (literally), if you don't wash their remains off of your car within a few days, they will begin to slowly eat away at your car's paint. I am not joking!

Apparently they come out in such droves because they have VERY few natural predators, due in large part to the aforementioned acidic guts (makes them very untasty to birds and other predators). So they just mate...and mate...and mate...and mate...24/7!

Also, be aware that you will notice them congregating on the roadways, particularly streets/highways 45 mph or less. The reason for this is apparently they are attracted to the heat and auto-emissions that gather on the dark asphalt roads during the hotter months in Florida.

So anyways there is your lovebug 101. I was not exaggerating in any of my above statements, at least based on my personal experiences.

Let me reiterate though that they DO NOT bite, sting, etc. They are not dangerous, malicious, aggressive, etc. They are VERY slow moving "hoverers" so they do not zoom at your face or dive-bomb your head.

They are just annoying...and weird.

The end!