© DenLorsTools.com Summary: Anyone who has been in Florida (or many other Gulf states) during May or September may already know that love bugs can damage a vehicle’s paint. What’s been tried and what works best to keep your car’s paint from being damaged?

First a little information on this well hated bug. The Love Bug looks like a lightning bug or fire fly. They are seen in May and September in the Gulf states. They reached Florida last because they migrated from South America taking years to work their way up from Mexico and through the states which surround the Gulf of Mexico. Love bugs are almost always seen “two attached” hence, their name. Luckily, they don’t bite or sting but that doesn’t prevent us from having a little fun with our relatives that are visiting from the North. If someone has never encountered them before, it’s just too easy to say something like ” they are pretty harmless… they a have a very mild sting”.

Acidic Body Chemistry

Love bug’s acidic make-up makes them undesirable to predators like birds and lizards. The acid also makes them very harmful when splattered onto the painted surfaces of our vehicles.

Bug Screens and Deflector Shields

I remember years ago when I worked at Western Auto back in the early 80’s selling bug screens to help protect the front of vehicles. We sold two sizes, medium and large. Customer’s would buy them out quickly (twice a year) when the bugs were swarming over the highways. We installed them for free. They were simply pieces of screen, the same material as a screened porch would have. They were attached with small elastic bungees and “S” hooks. The fancy ones had snap buttons that fastened the top of the screen to a bug deflector shield that mounted on the hood of the car or truck.

You have to be careful using these screens because if they flap in the wind too much they can damage the paint that you are trying to protect! The deflector shields are good for directing airflow and a majority of the bugs upward, over the hood and windshield but are not much help for the rest of the front of the vehicle.

(Auto Shield, not to confused with a car warranty company or a bug deflector shield company that is in business today; was a unique clear shield that covered most of the nose of the car.  The auto shield back in the late eighties was a Lexan shield that was molded to custom fit the front of the car. The shield was held off of the paint with clear rubber bumpers at various points. Since it was clear, it was barely noticeable when driving down the road. It protected the front of the car not only from bugs but also from sand, rocks and other road debris. Of course there were some openings for airflow to allow the vehicle’s cooling system to operate normally. The company headquarters was located in Orlando Florida. After seeing the product being displayed on a car at the mall and visiting their manufacturing plant, I actually purchased a distributorship for Pasco county Florida. Unfortunately, the product never caught on and was out of business shortly after I made my first $5,000 stock purchase!

Experts Agree

Experts agree upon a couple things to do and NOT to do. First let’s start with something to never to do. DO NOT use Pam cooking spray (or any other brand cooking oil). I tried this myself long ago. The idea is that the cooking oil should prevent the bugs from sticking to the hood and front of the vehicle – much like it would prevent food from sticking to a frying pan. NOT the same, it doesn’t work. In fact after the cooking spray dries and dirt sticks to it, the car it is much harder to clean than if it just had Love bugs on it.

Do not allow the Love bugs to stay on the car more than 24 hours. Remove ASAP. After they have drying time they are much harder to remove. Also time allows the acid from their bodies to start etching the paint. At that point the damage is done.

Do not use abrasives like steel wool or Comet. The result will be a clean hood with badly scratched and damaged paint.

DO spray water on the buggy surface and allow to sit a few minutes prior to washing with a soft sponge or car wash brush. This soak time will soften them allowing for much easier removal.

DO use wax or polish on the car. This does help in preventing the acid from making direct contact with the car’s clear coat or paint. It’s important to know that using excess car wash can remove the car wax, so re-apply often. Look for the water to “bead”. If it doesn’t, there is not a sufficient amount of wax remaining to protect the paint.

What if the damage is already done?

If the paint is already etched, the car will need paint to remedy the problem. If the paint on the rest of the car is good, consider painting just the front of the vehicle. A good body shop can match the paint quite well. In fact used car dealers commonly paint just the front bumper covers on cars prior to selling them on their front lot.

To quote an old cliché “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.