Pesky Lovebugs!

Ahh…..the lovebug! As you drive down the highways, you may encounter a nuisance in the form of splattered insects on your windshield, hood, and radiator grill. The nuisance may occur in joined pairs that are less than an inch long. Lovebugs can be a big hazard while driving. They love to swarm near roadways and as a result, cars that have driven through the clouds of these insects end up with decreased visibility and a need for a serious car wash! Although referred to as bugs these insects are actually flies. These insects often end up splatted on your windshield and front grill. Many of the cars coming off the highway are covered in insect gunk

They’re more closely related to biting midges and mosquitoes rather than other common bugs like grasshoppers or termites. Their bodies are black with redheads, and they’re usually seen in pairs. The lovebug (Plecia nearctica Hardy) is a species of fly that happens to flutter about as a male and female attached together. Both sexes are a dull black with a red blotch just behind the head.

Annoying to drive, they can swarm so thickly that driving through a cloud of lovebugs may impair your visibility while driving. There have been claims that the lovebug gunk, when left on the car, will etch the paint on a car. At times, the mating of lovebugs become so abundant in an area that they become a serious traffic hazard.

But why are they attracted to roads and vehicles? Lovebugs are attracted to automobile exhaust that has been irradiated with UV light (i.e., sunlight). It has been proposed that the chemicals in car exhaust, aldehydes, and formaldehyde, are similar to the chemicals released by decaying organic matter.Even heat is an attractant for lovebugs and heats radiating off asphalt may be attracting these insects. They love to swarm on automobiles as it a very good attractant for them.

Let us look at some evidence:

Pesky love bugs are back on the Suncoast creating a nuisance

Love bugs are back. (Source: WWSB)

May 12, 2020

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WWSB) – They’re back! love bugs are swarming across the Suncoast. They are here every year, usually for a month around May and for another month around September.

“We don’t like them, it’s a lot of work to keep them off our cars, off our paint and off of our windshields,” said Stacy Young, a Myakka Head resident.

Although they are a nuisance, an expert with UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County says they are harmless.

“They don’t bite, they don’t sting, they’re here for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to reproduce,” said Carol Wyatt-Evens, a Chemicals in the Environment Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County.

Bug off! Florida locals complain about ‘extra annoying’ swarms of lovebugs invading the Sunshine State in mating season, splattering cars and sidewalks
  • Millions of lovebugs are descending upon Florida and plaguing local residents
  • The pesky insects splatter their guts and eggs on car windshields and bonnets 
  • They swarm twice a year to mate but locals say this season is especially bad 
  • Experts agree but say swarms of the invasive species were worse in the 1970s

By SOPHIE WINGATE

PUBLISHED:  9 May 2019

Massive swarms of lovebugs are turning Florida’s skies black as they descend upon the Sunshine State to mate.

Locals are calling it the worst invasion ever.

Despite their cute name, which comes from the insects flying around in mating pairs, they are a nuisance pest for residents.

Millions of lovebugs are invading Florida. The insects are attracted to the heat of highways and splatter their guts and eggs on windshields and bonnets

‘Instead of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, it’s the lovebugs,’ Okeechobee County resident Katrina Sheffield told WPTV.

‘They are absolutely everywhere. It’s horrendous.’

While they are around all year, the pesky bugs usually live underground and only form their dreaded swarms during their mating season in May and again in  September.

Attracted by the heat of asphalt and vehicle fumes on highways, the swarms madden motorists as their guts and eggs splatter on windshields and hoods.

They often fly into joggers’ mouths, get caught in people’s hair and force outdoor restaurants to close.

Their carcasses speckle homes, businesses and sidewalks.

What can be done when such unwanted guest is invading on our vehicles.

The current methods which are being used to combat such pests are fumigation and toxic pesticides to combat against this pest menace. Fumigation is tedious and expensive. These pesticides kill the target as well as non-target species.

This problem needs to addressed immediately.

We have a solution for you!!!

We at C Tech Corporation offer a solution TermirepelTM which is a non-toxic,non-hazardous additive that helps to keeps the lovebugs away from the vehicles. It is a broad spectrum repellent which works against almost 500 species of pestering bugs thus efficaciously keeping them away from the application.

Our products are available in the masterbatch, liquid concentrate(which can be mixed in paints in a predetermined ratio) and lacquer.

The product available in the form of liquid concentrate can be mixed with paints in a pre-determined ratio and can be applied on the interior and exterior of houses, offices, schools, hospitals, warehouses, etc. To repel these insects the product can be coated on the automobiles in liquid concentrate or lacquer form.

The masterbatch can be incorporated in polymer applications of automobiles to keep the pests away. The polymeric applications like wires and cables, pipes agricultural films and mulches, irrigation pipes etc. can be manufactured using our masterbatch.

The product available in the form of lacquer can be used as a direct application and used on most of the surfaces like wood, metal, polymer, concrete, ceramic. The lacquer can be applied on the wooden fences, metal decors, already installed applications like wires and cables, pipes, tree guards etc.

TermirepelTM spray can be used to spray around the vehicles and car bonnet to keep the bugs away.

Our product works on the mechanism of repellency. It temporarily inhibits the mating cycle of the insects.

Termirepel™ is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, RoHS3, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Contact us at  technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away.

Also, visit our websites:
http://www.ctechcorporation.com/
http://www.rodrepel.com/
http://www.termirepel.com/
http://www.combirepel.com/

Follow our Facebook pages at:
1] https://www.facebook.com/Combirepel-411710912249274/
2] https://www.facebook.com/Termirepel-104225413091251/
3] https://www.facebook.com/Rodrepel-120734974768048/

Follow us on our Twitter pages at:
1] https://twitter.com/rodrepel
2] https://twitter.com/termirepel
3] https://twitter.com/combirepel