"Bounce" those bugs away...

"A Lieberman" wrote:

We get a ton of "love bugs" down here in my part of the world. I
don't
know the scientific name for these things, but they sure do make a
mess of
anything in their flight path.

Plecia nearctica http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/mcinsec2.html

Sure seems like this has been the worst year ever for these things
around Mobile. I'm grounded, so my airplane hasn't suffered, but
everything else has been covered with them. I've vacuumed up hundreds
of them from *inside* the house.

Thanks for the tip.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Sure seems like this has been the worst year ever for these things
around Mobile. I'm grounded, so my airplane hasn't suffered, but
everything else has been covered with them. I've vacuumed up hundreds
of them from *inside* the house.

Here in Iowa, we've also had a bumper crop of bugs this fall. Just
last week we hit four of the biggest bugs we've ever seen. We were at
2000 feet, and they were about an inch in diameter. I don't know what
they were, but it was more like hitting a sparrow than a bug. What a
mess!

We're just now starting to see the asian beetles (those nasty little
lady-bug look-alikes, that congregate in the corners of your ceiling,
and stink like hell when you squish 'em) and box elder bugs. Our
house-keepers are just thrilled (not!) that the beetles are back, and
we naturally have to inspect the suites very carefully before each
guest -- those danged little things can get through ANY sized opening.

Box elder bugs, on the other hand, are slow, dumb, and harmless, but
the uninformed can mistake them for a roach, so we've got to be very
careful about shooing them out, too. What fun!

I don't know how you guys can stand it down south, where you must deal
with this year 'round. The first frost can't be too far off, can it?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

I don't know how you guys can stand it down south, where you must deal
with this year 'round. The first frost can't be too far off, can it?

In Mobile the first frost may not happen until December, but the bug
count goes way down in October.

The love bugs are gone now. They're a 3-week, spring and fall
phenomenon; worse in the fall.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Dan Luke wrote:

In Mobile the first frost may not happen until December, but the bug
count goes way down in October.

The love bugs are gone now. They're a 3-week, spring and fall
phenomenon; worse in the fall.

Dual hurricanes seem to have eliminated the "stinkbugs" for the most
part this year, they usually come out during the soybean harvest. Having
a military C130 spraying for mosquitos at treetop level was pretty k3wl
too. Still have the lovebugs around though...

Jay Honeck wrote:
: Box elder bugs, on the other hand, are slow, dumb, and harmless, but
: the uninformed can mistake them for a roach, so we've got to be very
: careful about shooing them out, too. What fun!

I remember those from when I used to live in Iowa. Harmless, slow, and
stupid, yes... but also stinky (alive or dead) and tend to congregate in astronomical
numbers.

Don't forget that the asian beetle ladybug look-alikes also bite. Little
*******s....

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

: Box elder bugs, on the other hand, are slow, dumb, and harmless, but
: the uninformed can mistake them for a roach, so we've got to be very
: careful about shooing them out, too. What fun!

I remember those from when I used to live in Iowa. Harmless, slow, and
stupid, yes... but also stinky (alive or dead) and tend to congregate in astronomical
numbers.

Hmm. I never noticed that before. In fact, I'm looking at one now,
sunning himself on my window blinds, just a few feet away. Incredibly,
they apparently manage to squeeze through the little opening where the
coax leading to our Jim Weir-donated aviation band radio antenna comes
through the wall...

They are the SLOWEST bugs I've ever seen -- you can literally grab them
between two fingers, without much effort. And you rarely see them
move.

But you're right -- they sure know how to reproduce!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I don't know how you guys can stand it down south, where you must deal
with this year 'round. The first frost can't be too far off, can it?

Don't know about the rest of the south, but I don't have 25% of the
bugs in Dallas we had in Ohio. The old saying is you need a hard
winter to get rid of the bugs. I'm not so sure.

e.g.

The north slope of Alaska - 2700 ft of permafrost. Temperatures for
most of the year that will freeze all exposed skin in less than 20
min. For a few weeks in the middle of the year it thaws out about the
top 6" of that. The "National Bird of Alaska" comes out. Mosquitoes
so bad they will kill an unprotected you in less than a day. BTW This
cold hell is what ANWR looks like, not Bambi in the forest.

I don't know how you guys can stand it down south, where you must deal
with this year 'round. The first frost can't be too far off, can it?

Don't know about the rest of the south, but I don't have 25% of the
bugs in Dallas we had in Ohio.

For some reason, I don't ever think of Dallas as "Down South"...

I was thinking Louisiana/Mississippi/Florida...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 16 Oct 2005 09:16:32 -0700, Jay Honeck wrote:

Don't know about the rest of the south, but I don't have 25% of the
bugs in Dallas we had in Ohio.

For some reason, I don't ever think of Dallas as "Down South"...

I was thinking Louisiana/Mississippi/Florida...

We'd be the deep south for MS, LA and FL.

I have lived in both Ohio and MS, been through Dallas.

More variety of seasonal bugs here in MS, May flies, June bugs, and love
bugs. In Ohio, all I remember were the lady type bugs that Jay is
encountering.

Dallas seems too dry for bugs to survive, just my impression anyway.

Hurricane Katrina seem to awaken the love out of the love bugs as this was
the worst year I have seen since being in MS.

Bug traffic is so thick, for May flies, that they look like a cloud when
swarming, there are that many. They only have a 1 to 2 week live span.
These guys are easy to get off of paint though, so I don't mind running
into them. It's those dang Love bugs that are a mess to clean off.

First frost here is usually December, but the cool weather does seem to
dampen the "deep south" bugs from flying. Maybe the density altitude is
too low *big smile* and they don't have the strength to fly in thicker air.

Allen

Don Hammer wrote:
: The north slope of Alaska - 2700 ft of permafrost. Temperatures for
: most of the year that will freeze all exposed skin in less than 20
: min. For a few weeks in the middle of the year it thaws out about the
: top 6" of that. The "National Bird of Alaska" comes out. Mosquitoes
: so bad they will kill an unprotected you in less than a day. BTW This
: cold hell is what ANWR looks like, not Bambi in the forest.

Lived in Alaska, too... yes the mosquitos are vicious and can kill you
if unprotected for long enough.

I don't know that I agree with the term "hell" though.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************