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.
It wasn't gnat-sized either!
Horrible, horrible, horrible!