Topic: Not a good day to go riding in the country = love bugs YUCK!!

[Hope]

All week long, I wait for Saturday....  Some Saturdays, I ditch the chores and just go ride...  Other Saturdays, I cut the grass and clean the house, and long country rides are my rewards for work well done.

Yesterday, I hit the road and soon noticed that there weren't many motorcycles on the back roads of Southeast Louisiana.  After a couple of miles, I realized why.  The population of love bugs have grown exponentially, and they all seem to flock to the rural areas.

I rode about 35 miles despite the disgustingly gross little boogers.  I cut my ride short because the ride just got too disgusting plus I could barely see through my face shield.  I came home to find the damned bugs all in my hair, in my shirt, in my bra....  EVERYWHERE...  like sand when you go to the beach, every-friggin-where you can imagine the bugs.  Ugh, my beloved Saturday, what happened?  I was cheated!  I want my Saturday back minus the love bugs!









Later on, after parking my bike, I went into town in my car to run errands.  I saw all the bikes in the city.  I thought to myself, "yeah, I know why everyone is staying in the city...  because those friggin bugs aren't in the city....  but that's no way to ride."

I mean, I do not spend all week waiting for Saturday just to get on the street and be stopped by traffic and red lights.  If that were the case, I would ride my bike to work more often than I do.  Traffic in Baton Rouge is a nightmare.  Truckers have rated Baton Rouge the #1 worst city to drive in.  Yes, we are even ranked higher than Los Angeles!!!

I might try to fit in a ride today...  but I have been knocking the idea around about painting my spare tank...  So I might not get to fit in a ride today.

I want my Saturday back!!! 

Damned love bugs...

[wadarush]

Holy Crap! 
Those are some nasty little creatures... I've never been "blessed" by their presence up north here in Indiana. 
Check out what wiki says about them:

"Love bug larvae grow up in grassy areas and feed on dead vegetation. The adult love bug does not eat, but subsists on the food taken in during its larval stage. Upon reaching maturity the love bug spends the entirety of its life copulating with its mate, hence its numerous romantic nicknames. The male and female attach themselves at the rear of the abdomen and remain that way at all times, even in flight. In fact, after mating, the male dies and is dragged around by the female until she lays her eggs. Females lay up to 350 eggs in debris, and about 20 days later the eggs hatch into larvae. The larvae may live for months before passing into adulthood."



"Its character as a public nuisance is due not to its bite or sting (as it is not capable of either), but to its apparently highly acidic body chemistry. Because airborne love bugs exist in enormous numbers near highways, they die en mass on automobile windshields, hoods, and radiator grills when the vehicles travel at high speeds. If left for more than an hour or two, the remains become dried and extremely difficult to remove, and their acidity pits and etches automotive paint and chrome [1]. Driving in more developed areas where breeding is less likely to occur, or driving at lower speeds for the breeding season are both alternatives to having to scrape them off daily."

here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_bug

[GroovieGhoulie]

Spray/rub a light coat of PAM onto the front of your car or bike, (after washing and before driving/riding), and they wipe right off.

[Steve F]

I hate it when those bugs get stuck in my bra.  Damn things! 
At least you're doing your part on reducing their population by going out and comitting insecticide. 

[Bob Wessner]

Spray/rub a light coat of PAM onto the front of your car or bike, (after washing and before driving/riding), and they wipe right off.

Hmm, thankfully, not infested with Love Bugs up here, but the standard, garden variety of bugs do a number on the fronts of my mirrors. I will have to give this a try.

[neil young]

i went to a buddies cottage about a month ago.it was about a 300 mile trip one way.anyway i left at 9:30 pm.about half way there (in very rural country)i thought it had started raining.the bugs were so bad that after a few Min's i had to stop to clear my visor.i was covered head to toe.it took about 20 Min's until they dissipated.good thing i had a full face on.

[333]

A favorite trick of the off-road racing crowd back in the day.  An entire can of Pam on the bike all over and mud comes off easier.  I don't know if todays dirt bikers still use this trick.

[masonryman]

A favorite trick of the off-road racing crowd back in the day.  An entire can of Pam on the bike all over and mud comes off easier.  I don't know if todays dirt bikers still use this trick.

I use WD-40

[UnCrash]

  Wow!

Thanks for sharing the pictures, they're worth a thousand love bugs!

That's what it looks like you caught out on your ride.  That's just crazy.

I've never heard of a love bug here in Maine.  Just the stupid "Herbie The Love Bug" movie.

We do have some rather large flying insects like pine beetles, goliath beetles
, and bumble bees to contend with.   

Your lovebug mess would be enough to leave the old girl in the corrall though. 

I hope they don't last for too many weeks, or you may turn into a city rider! Yikes!

[GroovieGhoulie]

I hope they don't last for too many weeks, or you may turn into a city rider! Yikes!

They last for weeks and months in the fall and spring.  They are drawn to rotting vegetation to lay eggs, and they find it by sniffing out the gases given off by decomposition: methane and CO2.  Since vehicle exhausts produce similar gases, they are drawn to freeways and roads.  Here in Louisiana, they swarm so badly over roads during this time of year, the clouds of bugs block vision and foul windshields to the point of forcing motorists to pull over, clean their windshields and wait until the swarm clears.  I've seen a massive pileup caused directly by lovebug swarms.

"Genocide" is such a nasty word, but I would gladly genocide lovebugs, if only because of the nasty mess they make of my vehicles.

Hell, the lovebug problem is why the Porsche is getting parked for the foreseeable future and I'm riding the bike.  The bike is easier to clean!