Lovebug swarms are intense. It might feel like you have no other option but to let these bugs fly all-over your home and belongings.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to roll-over and give up your home.
In this post, I’m going to go over the best ways to get rid of Lovebugs.
Let’s get started.
What Are Lovebugs?
Lovebugs are a type of fly. They belong to the family of march flies. These flies are generally larger and feed on flowers and nectar compared to other flies.
Lovebugs get their name because they remain connected at their abdomens for several days after they mate.
What Do Lovebugs Look Like?
Lovebugs are larger than most of the flies in the march family. They measure around ¼ inch to ⅓ inch long. They are known for having jet black bodies, red thorax, and thin-black head.
They have veiny wings that are longer than their abdomen. They are excellent flyers, and when their wings are spread out, they make them about twice their size.
Lovebugs have six legs with two long front legs and two long back legs. Their middle legs are shorter and straight compared to the bent shape of their front and back pairs of legs.
Are Lovebugs Dangerous?
Lovebugs are nuisance pests. They don’t bite or sting, so they don’t cause immediate harm to humans.
They can inadvertently be dangerous to humans in other ways. There tend to travel in swarms, which means they can make driving difficult and dangerous. Likewise, they can damage your car paint or paint around your home.
If they are invading outside your home, they can damage your garden and make going outdoors uncomfortable and challenging due to the massive infestations.
How To Get Rid Of Lovebugs?
1. Bug Zapper
Similar to mosquitoes, love bugs are attracted to heat, CO2, and vibrations. An easy way to get rid of the love bugs around your home is using a bug zapper. These are electronic zappers that will electrocute any that enter the trap.
These traps emit both heat and vibrations that will attract love bugs toward your home. You can also attract love bugs toward the zapper using dry ice near or just behind the trap.
Dry ice emits CO2 that will attract love bugs toward the zapper.
Pro Tip:
Place your bug zapper away from the main entry points of your home. Bug zappers disperse dead insect particles into the air.
Inhaling or staying in areas where these particles are present is not safe. These particles are unsanitary and dangerous to those with asthma.
Be sure to clean up any areas near your bug zapper before you revisit them. This is especially important if your bug zapper is on your porch or other places your family frequents.
It’s also vital that when you do clean, you turn off your zapper to avoid more bugs from approaching during your cleaning.
2. Chemical Insecticide
Using chemical insecticides is not always necessary, but they are highly effective when dealing with large infestations around your home.
Chemical insecticides are only effective if the infestation is around your home. If infestations are attacking your car as you drive or visiting local stores, chemical insecticides are not effective.
To avoid large infestations, you will need to apply insecticide to your yard and the surface of your house.
Your choice of insecticide must have a residual effect. This will ensure that if lovebugs land on your property, they will die.
One of the best options is to use Talstar P. It’s safe for application on plants and grass and surfaces of homes. Unfortunately, it can’t be applied to edible plants.
As an alternative, you can use natural repellents on your gardens while using a stronger insecticide on other surfaces.
To ensure safe application, follow the label instructions and ensure that it dries before any family members or pets come in contact with any surfaces.
Talstar P typically takes a maximum of 2 days to take effect but can take effect as soon as 30 minutes.
Pro Tip:
Chemical insecticides are highly effective for eliminating future infestations from occurring.
Lovebugs only live for three to four days, but during their short-lived lives, they can lay up to 350 eggs during their life.
Chemical insecticides such as Talstar P will help eliminate the chances of those eggs hatching and growing into adults. While it won’t destroy the eggs, they will die as soon as they hatch and come into contact with the Talstar P.
3. Seal Cracks and Crevices
One of the best ways to get Love bugs out of your home is to seal and cracks and crevices. Since love bugs swarm, they tend to find and enter cracks and crevices that other insects would not find.
You must inspect the exterior of your home for any cracks and crevices. Use caulk to seal any cracks or holes around your home.
Caulk is easy to use and quick-drying, which means you can use it even if there is a swarm outside.
Love Bugs are small and thing. This means that they can fit through cracks and crevices as small as ⅕ inch.
If cracks or crevices are near water sources such as pipes or likes, this will attract love bugs more than other cracks and crevices.
4. Eliminate Items Attracting Lovebugs
One way you can get rid of love bugs is to make your home as appealing as possible.
Lovebugs are attracted to several things around your home:
- Moisture
- Flowers
- Heat
- CO2
- Light-Colored Surfaces
- Dead-Vegetation
It’s best to eliminate any of these items around your home.
Eliminate Moisture
Lovebugs, like most other insects, require moisture to survive. The best way to keep lovebugs away is to eliminate moisture around your home.
Eliminate sources of stagnant water or cover them to prevent them from accessing them.
- Ponds
- AC Drip Lines
- Drainage ditches
- Plants
- Tree holes
- Rain and floodwater pools
- Containers such as tires, tarps, pots, and buckets.
- Neglected hot tub and pool
- Water bottles and lids
- Birdbaths
It’s also important to address any drainage issues. Improper drainage can leave excess water that attracts lovebugs.
Below are some common areas for drainage issues:
- Missing or broken downpipes.
- Missing drainage on downpipes.
- Flower beds near the foundation
- Leaky pipes or water hose.
Eliminate Vegitation
Dead leaves and rotting branches give lovebugs a perfect place to lay their eggs.
Eliminate any dead or rotting vegetation around your home.
The fewer places there are to hide, and the easier it will be to kill their eggs.
Be sure your home doesn’t have:
- exposed compost piles
- rotting wood
- piles of leaves
- dead plants or flowers
- fallen branches
Always keep lawn and hedges well maintained to limit potential hiding spots.
Natural Ways To Get Rid of Lovebugs
If you are looking for natural ways to get rid of lovebugs, you can do a few things, but they aren’t effective.
A natural alternative will help you eliminate them but will not always help you get rid of them forever.
1. Essential Oils
Essentials are a great way to get rid of lovebugs. You can spray essential oils around your home.
Essential oils will kill your plants or grass, so avoid use in your yard. You can use an essential oil combination and spray it on the surface of your home. This will prevent love bugs from approaching your home.
You must dilute in water, or it can stain the outside of your home, in particular unfinished wood.
2. Vacuum
Vacuuming is another effective way you can get rid of lovebugs quickly without using any chemicals.
I recommend using a wet-dry vacuum. This will allow you to use a liquid inside to kill love bugs once they enter. I recommend a simple water and soap mixture.
You can even consider leaving your vacuum on in the areas where they fly and letting the vacuum work its magic.
Consider using a lure towards the vacuum to make it easier. You can use a heater or dry ice to draw them near.
3. Use Fans
If you have issues with lovebugs around your home’s entry points, you can use fans to keep them away.
Lovebugs are not strong flyers. Using wind or strong currents will blow them away.
Fans will help keep your doorway clear and help them keep them outside of your home.
This is not a strategy that will work as a global solution but will keep them away from you.
4. Wear Repellents
Another way to keep lovebugs away is to wear repellents. Using mosquito repellents such as DEET, Picardin, and PMD will keep lovebugs away from you.
Swarms of lovebugs fly everywhere. Lovebugs will even fly into you and try to land on you.
These repellents are proven effective against most flying insects.
Wear repellents to drive lovebugs away from you.
Why Are Love Bugs Attracted To Cars?
If you’ve experienced a lovebug infestation, you might notice that they tend to swarm around highways or busy streets.
Lovebugs are attracted to the heat and carbon dioxide emitted from cars.
This is one of the reasons they swarm around highways. The CO2 and heat in the air drive them toward these areas.
Lovebugs are not attracted to cars that are turned off. Parked cars will not attract lovebugs unless they just turned off and they are still hot.
Can lovebugs Damage Your Car?
Yes, lovebugs can damage your car.
They won’t scratch or dent your car when your drive through a swarm.
The damage comes from their remains. When you drive through a swarm it’s inevitable to avoid getting bug guts all over your windshield and front bumper.
The acidic nature of lovebug remains can damage your car’s clear coat.
If not removed for extended periods it can damage your paint job as well.
How To protect Your Car From Lovebugs?
It’s almost impossible to prevent lovebugs from getting on your car when your driving.
You might unexpectedly drive through a swarm.
There not much you can do other than clean. But you can take steps to limit the damage and make cleaning faster.
Use Wax
The best way to protect your car is to apply a fresh layer of wax during lovebug season.
This will do two things:
- Protect your paint from the acidic remains of lovebugs.
- Make it easier to clean off bed bug remains.
Use Bug Deflectors
Another great way to protect your car is to use bug deflectors. Bug deflectors will redirect the airflow around your car.
This will cause fewer bugs to crash into your windshield and hood.
While it won’t eliminate the issue, it will reduce it significantly.
Clean Immediately After Driving
The next best thing you can do is clean your car immediately after your done driving. This is the easiest way to remove the remains.
Use a microfiber cloth along with an insect cleaner to remove any remains.