Love Bugs Suck

[Nanci]

http://www.snopes.com/critters/lurkers/lovebugs.htm

Apparently I've never ridden a road bike in Love Bug season before. I HATE Love Bugs!!! They are everywhere, floating through the air, getting stuck in my hair, helmet, under my gloves, in my sandals, sticking to my legs...

The best was the one I inhaled. First, it went down my trachea, and I coughed it up part way, then it squirmed around in my esophagus while I coughed frantically till I actually vomitted and got it out...All this while riding!

At home, when I take the tortoise babies out to graze, Love Bugs are everywhere. I can't leave the door open for a second, or they swarm into the house. My truck is covered with them.

Nanci

[alpinerabbit]

As I keep saying - high value added protein for the athlete.

[Nanci]

I was so afraid my whole lunch that I had just forced down was going to come back up...

[Lise]

That.

Is.

Gross.

I don't care how much protein you get. Last summer there was one weekend when tiny little gnats were everywhere. But I think they were small enough to swallow without having to puke. Ugh.

[Aggie_Ama]

UGH! Where I lived until last May had love bugs so bad. Two years ago it was so bad I had to invest in a squeegee and bucket just so I could see daily. I HATE LOVE BUGS!! The bad news is I am doing a ride in Love Bug country next weekend, I forgot about those punks!

[RoadRaven]

Ah...
So love bugs are real???

I thought they were a Mini (car) or the thing that gets you like Cupid does when you fall for someone!

Thanks for the link - I had no idea - learned my new thing for the day, I guess:p

[Selkie]

It's gnat season here. I hate riding through swams of them. This morning, I could hear them plinging against my jacket! The worst of all is when one gets in your eye--hurts like you-know-what. I wear glasses, too, but they still manage to make it past my lenses.
Then there are the black fleas who drown in the sweat/sunscreen mixture on your face when it's hot/humid weather. You come home to find all these dead black bugs stuck on your face.

[SnappyPix]

Never had an encounter with a love bug (of the insect variety), but the gross-est encounter I ever had was whilst taking part in a race.
I managed to inhale a fly through my nose! I like to think I have normal sized nostrils, but the canny little bugger managed to fly up my nose at the same time as I was snorting air in through it.
Not only did it catapult up my nose, but it reappeared at the back of my throat, whereupon I promptly hoiked it up and spat it out. :eek:
It wasn't gnat-sized either!
Horrible, horrible, horrible!

[withm]

LOL - I totally forgot about love bugs! They were a pain when I was in college in central Fla 30 years ago. Funny I did ride an old 3-speed bike back then, but not nearly the mileage I do now. Love bugs on a bike would be downright awful, not to mention dangerous!

[Melody]

Ah...
So love bugs are real???

Yup, they're real:

http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/uc/uc-009.html

Mel

[Aggie_Ama]

An article with photographs: http://www.theeagle.com/region/localregional/090204lovebugs.php

[Nanci]

Oh, and here's the really cool thing about them- they come out twice a year!!

Nanci

[Lise]

Oh, and here's the really cool thing about them- they come out twice a year!!

Nanci
Do the hurricanes or state-wide brush fires get rid of them? Or do they just clear the breeding gounds for the next crop?

(ps, I think I finally spelled "hurricane" correctly. Do you know how hard it is not to spell it like "lidocaine"?!?)

[Nanci]

http://tinyurl.com/r8vr9

If you want to avoid them, all you have to do is go swimming!!

[bentforlife]

can literally eat the paint off your car. When you drive through those huge clouds of them, their little smashed up bodies are so acidic they will eat the paint off the car.:eek:

I hated thosse nasty bugs. And I think it could be dangerous biking through a cloud of them.

Glad we don't have them in N. TX.

Donna :cool:

[maillotpois]

YUK!!! That is so gross!!

I had a bee or large fly hit me in the teeth - while I was climbing yesterday. I have to constantly remind myself to close my mouth when descending, but while going up (slowly)? Crazy!

[DrBee]

I remember lovebugs from south Louisiana. The coated the car and stuck to everything. It was so nasty!

I kept getting thwacked with cicadas last summer when I did morning rides. I've breathed in more than a few ginormous mosquitos here in MS. I have a tendency to ride with my mouth open - I'm always congested. I have to make sure I close my mouth when I come up on trees. Ewwww

[Aint Doody]

I remember them all too well myself--I've been out of Mississippi for 14 years. There's a lot I miss about the Deep South, but those nasty bugs aren't one of those things. You would be on a trip of maybe 100 miles and would have to stop every few towns to clean your windshield. They are disgusting. I do kinda miss armadillos though. And I definitely miss mockingbirds.

[annie]

No asthma or allergies, but I still predominantly mouth-breathe when I bike. I don't think I could ever get in enough air otherwise! Are some of you actually able to mainly breathe through your nose while riding? You must have better breathing patterns/habits than I do!

annie

oh - the bugs- I have no idea how many I've swallowed or choked on over the years. Very gross, but I just try and not think about it where that bug might have been and hope my stomach acid is enough to kill any contamination.

[Lise]

I just think of germs as free vaccines. We must all have great antibodies to bug germs by now! :rolleyes:

[DirtDiva]

My worst one was the time I swallowed a moth in the beer garden. Better than tring to cough it out and ending up spilling the beverages though... ;)

[Nanci]

Moths don't gross me out for somereason. I would just feel bad for the moth. My turtle likes to eat them, though! But he likes to eat giant roaches and slugs, too, so what does he know...

Nanci

[Selkie]

YUK!!! That is so gross!!

I had a bee or large fly hit me in the teeth - while I was climbing yesterday. I have to constantly remind myself to close my mouth when descending, but while going up (slowly)? Crazy!

Haha, that happened to me last summer. A big yellow/black fuzzy bee flew into my front tooth and bounced off, presumably to his death. It hurt like heck but I was glad he didn't get inside my mouth. It was a good reminder to keep my mouth shut.

[pegandthepups]

Haha, that happened to me last summer. A big yellow/black fuzzy bee flew into my front tooth and bounced off, presumably to his death. It hurt like heck but I was glad he didn't get inside my mouth. It was a good reminder to keep my mouth shut.
You are so lucky that you did not get stung. Last summer my BF was on a long ride and a bee flew in his mouth and stung his lower lip...which proceeded to get HUGE, it looked like he had been punched in the mouth....he had to stop by a friend's house a few towns over and borrow some ice!! I got home from work and wow.....poor guy!

[Lise]

OT--awwwww, what a sweet greyhound! :)

[crazybikinchic]

i've never swallowed a bug, but we have swarms of little bugs all over the place. I just can't stand having the things all over my face when I ride through them. Drives me insane.

[fatbottomedgurl]

I rode through a swarm of bees yesterday on a fast downhill. I felt them bounce off my chest. But no stings! And none in my mouth:eek: