Southerners.....are the love bugs not showing up in your area?

[dixiegrrrrl]

This is 2nd year in a row that we have not seen hardly any love bugs around our town.

As Southerners know, these swarms of bugs show up in the spring and in the fall, millions of them, and can make a huge mess on cars, esp. the grille.

But the swarms have been gone in SW Ala. it seems, for 2 years now. I saw ONE love bug yesterday afternoon...well, 2, since we see them when they are mated together.

[BronxBoy]

1. I was in Mississippi last week

They were all over

[LuvNewcastle]

31. Yes, I'm on the Miss. coast and we've got a bad case.

[nolabear]

49. Hey, where are you? I grew up on that coast.

[LuvNewcastle]

54. Biloxi

I actually grew up mostly in Pascagoula and Gautier, but I've been in Biloxi for about 25 years so I consider Biloxi my hometown. I've lived here longer than anywhere else. I always thought you were from New Orleans. I didn't know you grew up over here.

[nolabear]

56. Hah! I grew up mostly in Pascagoula. Lived in Biloxi for years too.

I went to NO as soon as I could escape and lived there for several years too. You know, it's hard not to be in love with it. Seemed like I was always pointed in that direction no matter where I lived.

[LuvNewcastle]

58. Oh yeah, I've always loved New Orleans.

I used to go over there every week on my days off. I almost moved over there back then but I was in the casino business then, and making good money, so I thought it wouldn't be smart for me to give all that up. Sometimes I wish I had gone ahead and done it, but now I'm wanting to move out west, so New Orleans isn't as important to me as it was back then. I still love it and I always hate to leave, but I don't think I would want to settle there anymore.

[oneshooter]

59. Worked at the Grumman Shipyards there.

Is the water still undrinkable?

[nolabear]

61. Hah! It was last time I was there. Worst tasting water ever.

[oneshooter]

62. I went back to houston a week before Katrina hit.

Took me 6 months to get my final check.

[ecstatic]

2. No, what I've been seeing are gigantic water bugs

Never in my life have I seen so many, and they are aggressively entering homes through any crevice they can find.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. I have never seen one of those.....

Doesn't sound like I want to, either.

[Solly Mack]

5. You probably have seen one. Some call them Palmetto bugs, but their actual name is

American Cockroach. They don't live in the water, but they do enjoy moisture.

The fairly large roaches that fly? I know they have them in Alabama.

We have them in Georgia, (where I'm from) and we have them here in Louisiana.

[Maru Kitteh]

9. lived in NC for more than half a decade

Had some of those gross ass mothers hanging around a wood pile - neighbors were like oh, HA HA, they're only WATER BUGS.

Like HELL.

Those are giant-ass super-disgusting end-of-the-world muthafrackers.

GROSS.

[Solly Mack]

16. When I lived in Florida, beach side, the sidewalks were covered with them at times.

People walked in the street to avoid the squishing and popping sound they make when stepped on.

When one got in the house, and those things always find a way, we'd hear it bumping into walls and hitting other objects while flying about.

Florida also has the Florida wood roach. (which is also called - (rightly, in this case) - the palmetto bug - because it does live in palmetto trees. But it's still a roach by any other name.

[Go Vols]

38. I lived on the intercoastal waterway

outside Destin years ago.A carpenter buddy down the road set off 10 bug bombs to kill them flying fuckers,when I got there his house was scattered over prolly 3 acres,fire dept. said the fridge kicked on,telephone rang,an electric spark blew it up.

:/

[ecstatic]

64. Wow that's crazy! I bet the bugs survived too. SMH. nt

[smilodon populator]

60. That's no giant water bug mate, THIS is a giant water bug

[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]

If you don’t know what this beautiful creature is, it’s the Giant Water Bug (Lethocerus insulanus). Or more commonly known as the Toe Biter in many parts of the world. These guys feed in water (although they can fly)on small fish, tadpoles and your toes, should you step in the water. Just kidding…sort of. They feed by sticking their mouthpart, which is basically like a soda straw, into their prey, injecting a saliva that helps liquify it, and then sucking it up. And I’ve heard rumor that a piercing from one of these guys is quite painful. But aren’t they stunning to look at?

from https://wannabeentomologist.com/tag/giant-water-bug/

I've seen these critters for sale (dead - wrapped in cellophane) at Asian markets. Apparently cooks in Thailand toss them into soups and curries for seasoning. Like all true bugs, they have scent glands (hence the name "stink bugs" - though the scent is sometimes pleasant - spicy even) and they lend a certain quality to authentic Thai cuisine. I suspect they are fished out before serving, especially in stateside restaurants. You know, kind of like bay leaves

[Solly Mack]

63. What a cool looking bug!

Don't want one playing soda pop on me but they are kind of awesome.

[csziggy]

30. "Those are giant-ass super-disgusting end-of-the-world muthafrackers."

You've got that right!

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. Yeah, I looked up the difference...if they are coming into the house they are indeed roaches.

I did not know the buggers could fly until 1998 when I opened the door and one flew in right over my head.
Then my cat chased it around for awhile.
cannot bear them, they give me ooogies.
We have termite control which also kills any roaches in the house. Amazing how big they are in the South compared to the German roaches on the West coast.

[DawgHouse]

45. When I first moved to Florida, I encountered those gigantic bugs

when my new Florida friend was at my apartment.

Me - " Jesus H Christ, that is a the biggest cockroach I've ever seen!"

Friend - "That's not a cockroach. It's a palmetto bug."

[Solly Mack]

46. Yeah, calling a roach a roach can make people squeamish.

Waterbug or Palmetto sound better. Though the Florida wood roach is known as the Palmetto bug because it lives in the(Sabel) Palmetto tree. So, while accurate in description, it's still a cockroach.

Running joke growing up around a rather large lake was how to tell if it's a roach or a waterbug - if you're poor, it's a roach. If you're rich, it's anything but a roach.

It's a cockroach. No judgment in that. Just nature.

[nolabear]

50. I used to do wildlife rehab. I've handled bears, Cougars, snakes, wolves...

And palmetto bugs make me run into walls and scream like a four year old. Grew up with them, hate the very thought of them. 😬

[Solly Mack]

53. I like bugs, a lot - but some are less pleasing than others.

Like roaches. If one flies on me or at me, I contort and dance myself off.

What a cool job you used to have! I love animals.

[Are_grits_groceries]

13. Those are effing Palmetto Bugs.

You could put some of them on a leash. That's a fancy name for cockroach.
They also fly. Squadrons of them are tasked with attacking certain areas.

[mercuryblues]

52. I remember the 1st time I saw one

I had just moved to the south. I was talking on the phone to a friend up North,

Me: Oh my God a big flying cockroach just flew in past me when I opened the screen door.

Him: well get a newspaper and kill it.

Me: No way am I going near that thing, it just picked up a knife on the counter and is flying after me.

Him: get a shoe and throw it at it.

Me: No it is hovering between me and the bedroom.

Him: well open the door, maybe it will fly back out.

Me: What if his posse it out there waiting?

I eventually killed it. It did take a few whacks and a trip down the garbage disposal, just to be sure.

[Solly Mack]

4. Not as bad as years before but they are here and they are on and in everything.

[DFW]

6. No idea

I live in the German Rheinland now--a bit far for even ambitious bugs

[lillypaddle]

7. Are you talking about lady bugs? nt

[TexasProgresive]

10. Not Lady bugs. These bugs make periodic breeding flights that are incredible

The reason they are called love bugs is they "hook up" in flight.

Lovebugs

Lovebugs are what we term a "nuisance pest." They are actually little flies related to gnats. They are a real bother but do not bite, sting, poison or spread diseases. We have no effective poisons or repellents but it is possible to minimize their effects on your environment. Lovebugs are poor fliers and can be kept out of your home by leaving your air-conditioning fan on to create positive pressure. If a few lovebugs get in, use a vacuum cleaner to remove them. They aggregate when there is a lack of wind. Obviously, have screens on your windows and keep doors closed on the up wind side of your house. A fan can be used outside near a chair. Lovebugs only fly during the day and are much less abundant in the early and late parts of the day. This can help with driving. They are easy to clean off of vehicles before they get baked on by the sun. Lovebugs are abundant only for a few weeks each year, usually in May and September. Although lovebugs exist all over the state, they can be abundant in some areas and less common in others.
http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu/community/Lovebugs.shtml

Here's a pic:

[lillypaddle]

11. Learn something new every day

Thanks for the detailed description. I remember seeing some of these when I lived in Atlanta, I'm in KY now and haven't seen any of them. Lady bugs, on the other hand, used to swarm in our house in Georgia. It's the fruit flies that drive me nuts.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Lady bugs come into our house too

when it gets colder.
I hate that only because they might get killed by the roach spray that is on the baseboards.

[Separation]

65. Careful

What most people think are lady bugs, more often than not end up being Japanese Beetles. They are almost identical with the exception of markings on the head. Lady bugs = good. Japanese Beetles = very bad.

Whenever it gets cold up here and then a warm snap happens, they come out in droves. Killing them can leave a nasty stain if you squish them.

[dixiegrrrrl]

66. ahhhhhhhhh....

and I would not see them clearly without my glasses, which I do not wear often around the house.

Next time I can grab one I will use the magnifying glass.

thanks....

[Separation]

67. Here is some more info for ya!

These are the asian beetles. They have a lot more white to them than the true lady bugs. They have what looks like a M or a W on their head. They also can be from bright red to orange, to brown sometimes. But the best way to tell them apart is the white on their heads.

?itok=lZ0iPrGe



Notice how little white is on their heads.




We get swarmed in the winter by the bad lady bugs. Ill hop into a nice hot shower in the winter and the next thing I know, there are 20-30 lady bugs. Im pretty sure they are coming from the window frame above the shower, this year I wll be ready for them and seal it off!

If you do find a real lady bug, count yourself very lucky! They are getting rarer and rarer because they are being pushed out by the Japanese lady bug. They were imported during the 70's to help farmers control aphid population.

[dixiegrrrrl]

68. looks like real lady bugs have fewer and maybe bigger? spots...n/t

[GaYellowDawg]

20. Fruit flies are the WORST.

Once they get in, just one breeding pair is all you need and then all of a sudden they are EVERYWHERE.

[lillypaddle]

21. Did you know

that if you put a little apple cider vinegar in a glass with a drop of dish detergent, cover it with plastic wrap, punch small holes in it (I use a toothpick), those suckers will get in there and die! I've got 3 juice glasses rigged in my kitchen right now.

[GaYellowDawg]

26. I do a different type of trap

Take a 2 liter bottle, cut the top off, invert it, and put it back into the bottom part. The thing I've found to work best is a 50:50 mix of apple cider vinegar and cheapo white wine.

[lillypaddle]

32. Whatever works!

[GaYellowDawg]

37. Definitely!

What I'd really like is a trap that sends them straight to hell, but I can't build one of those.

[oneshooter]

18. Their bodies are also slightly acidic. That is why the birds don't eat them.

That is also why you need to wash their squished bodies off of your vehicle. They can ruin a paint job.

[pinboy3niner]

8. The only Love Bug I've seen...

...is Herbie. Of course, I'm in Southern California.

[raccoon]

12. Never heard them called that. (SC lifer).

And looking at the picture below, I don't recall seeing them.

[TexasProgresive]

14. We don't get them often

Several years will go by without a flight. When they come it's horrible. We've notice a lack of June bugs, red wasps and hoppers. The red wasps have been replaced by Guinie (sp) wasps, smaller and meaner, if you can believe it.

[trof]

15. They are acidic.

Right now I'm seeing them here and there. Not in our neighborhood, but around town.
They're slightly acidic and can ruin a car's finish if not washed off fairly soon.

[mcar]

22. None this spring and nothing yet this fall

Central Florida here.

I write articles (on a freelance basis) for our local newspaper. In the spring, I was assigned a story on lovebugs, to be run once the season started.

I interviewed a UF entymologist who told me, among other things, that lovebugs used to be way, way worse in FL. In fact, they would swarm cars so badly its the reason rest stops on the turnpike include windshield washing stations.

He also said that they would be migrating elsewhere as green spaces and mulchy areas were reduced. Perhaps that is what has happened.

Needless to say, the story never ran.

[OriginalGeek]

39. Central FL here too

I love those bug washing stations on the turnpike.

But yeah, haven't seen any love bugs around here in at least a couple years. My grandma always told me they were an experiment gone wrong. Created at UF for some nefarious purpose. (We're FSU folk so everything UF does is nefarious.)

[mcar]

41. That's an urban legend

I've heard it too. Truth is they migrated from the Yucatan.

[NightWatcher]

23. I killed them all! I had to go back and forth on I-10 for 2 weeks

You're welcome.

[Whiskeytide]

24. They're around, DG...

... but it seems not in quite the numbers as past years. I've been at ball parks all across the FL-AL-MS coast over the last few weeks, and they've been pretty thick at times, but not the swarms we saw a few years back.

They still get into your sweet tea, though, if you're not vigilant about swatting them away. I also theorize that they are drawn to white clothing, but that's purely based on anecdotal experience.

[GulfCoast66]

25. Has your DOT reduced mowing?

With the building of the interstate system and surface road building and paving and consequent shoulder mowing we greatly increased their population. Love bugs lay their eggs in rotting vegetation. That explains the urban myth in Florida that love bugs were created by U of F in the 50s and let them escape! I have heard that 50 times if I have heard it once.

With states cutting back on road mowing like it has been in Florida, often only doing it 2 times a year rather than bi-monthly we have cut back on their breeding habitat.

I saw some yesterday but there are less than 10 years ago.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. We are 40 miles from the Interdatate..

I live in a small rural town, our house is surrounded by woods on 3 sides. We get lots of lightening bugs, at 3 different heights, I know they love having all the grass and shrubs and trees around.
when lovebugs were plentiful here, we mostly noticed them in our driveway and local streets cause of course that is where we were moving around.

[OriginalGeek]

40. I am very very jealous of your lightning bugs

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of catching them in jars with my cousins.

I mean, catching them with my cousins, not putting my cousins in the jars with them.

I can't even remember the last time I saw a lightning bug in the wild. Never got to catch them with my kids and now I expect my granddaughters are too old to care about finding any.

[dixiegrrrrl]

42. lol...I made mental pic of teeny cousins...or big jars

I read that lightening bugs prefer grown over areas, tall grass, tall shrubs, and of course suburbia is mown yards....

This is actually the first time I have seen a lot of them, in our yard, because of all the woods.
The bugs have specific heights that they fly in..some are close to ground, some are about our head high, some higher.

I can understand why they are so enchanting to the minds of kids, we grin as we watch them also here.

[GulfCoast66]

44. Ironically,

Because they breed in rotting vegetation they are attracted to CO2 which is released by rotting vegetation. It is also released by automobiles! So roads attract them.

We really created a love bug nirvana when we made our roadways and then cut the grass every week or so.

And I envy you your fire flies. In the Suberbs we have none of them.

[doc03]

27. I am in Ohio and see very few fireflies anymore nt

[doc03]

28. I am sure lovebugs searve some kind of purpose in the enviroment

but I doubt anyone misses them.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

29. I've never heard of love bugs before

I just googled and saw a picture. I've seen those around here in Maine before. We don't get swarms of anything around here (thankfully). I know they get swarms of mayflies in Minnesota in the summer. I saw it once years ago while visiting family. It was crazy.

One bug I get too much of are these red lily beetles. A couple years ago I had some lovely lilies, but these bugs seemed to have gotten wise to the fact that I have lily plants. This year they totally ate up my lilies and none of them flowered because of those bugs.

[greytdemocrat]

33. LOL! Don't complain.

This year has been light in Pensacola.

[Avalux]

34. Here in Texas the snout-nosed butterflies are swarming.

They are EVERYWHERE and my car is littered with their remains. Doesn't happen every year but this year is a doozy.

[Different Drummer]

35. Georgia lifer. Can't say I remember ever....

seeing any of those.

[REP]

43. We get boxelder bugs here in the spring

SWARMS of them. They're harmless but so many!

[dixiegrrrrl]

47. I won't even mention the cicadas......

except to say at times they are so loud you cannot carry on a normal conversation in the yard.

[TexasProgresive]

48. Saturday a friend drove up from Rosenberg

SW of Houston. The front of his car was coated with love bug carcasses.

[tosh]

51. They are here!

In the Florida panhandle for the last three weeks.

I'm in SW GA today and they are now HERE.

Funny, when I first saw them in the panhandle I realized what a nice long break we'd had from them.

[SomethingNew]

55. They have been everywhere in Mobile.

[dixiegrrrrl]

57. Looks like I am lucking out then

or speaking too soon........