Stupid Guest Tricks

GaTechGal wrote:They'll definitely be there the end of May. They are just these annoying flying bugs. Don't bite or sting or anything - kind of like house flies. But there are SO MANY of them and they tend to congregate in large groups (bug orgies?) so it makes them even creepier. Just ignore them. Don't try and kill them as they give off a nasty oder.

When walking they are not generally a problem. But their biggest impact (inadvertant pun) is while driving. They tend to swarm in a thick cloud over sun warmed pavement. Right about grill to windshield height. Their bodies include a rather caustic substance that is also sticky. So on the windshield the splat and smear and normal washer fluid takes forever to cut through the blur. Thus the suggestion to use rain-X. It puts a silicone layer on the window making the goo not stick quite as fast, but you may have to reapply a bit more frequent. You might try the rain-x that is made to be mixed into the wiper fluid.

The other auto related problem is that the substance is also caustic. It will eat through car wax in short order and can damage a paint job. And since it is still sticky it is hard to get off the car. So many Fla locals I have talked to like to spray the front, sides and top of the car with Pam (cooking antistick spray). Don't get it on the windshield as it blurs like grease. And you have to reapply after each rain. But it does stop them from sticking and the ex-bugs can be washed off easier.

I understand that they tend to only be a problem for a very few weeks at a time, but the problem spot slowly shifts south and so a long north south drive may be affected for more than a month, while if you are staying in one place (like WDW) they may only be a problem for 2 weeks at most.

Any locals have other info, plus or minus. I don't experince these buggers up here in the north but have seen them at WDW once, and heard from locals for years. So I may not be the most up to date on the problems and solutions. ;)

Randy

Thanks everyone! Something new to look forward to.

Randy B wrote:And it was practicing "you ruined my vacation...".

Randy

Yeah, but we comped its stay, gave it a fastpass and sent it on its way. Actually, we gave it a new home - we took it over to Fear Factor Live. Now it's either happily torturing SGs or it's on the menu. Not sure which.

Randy B wrote:And it was practicing "you ruined my vacation...".

Randy

HA!! I didn't know you speek scorpion! (but it IS the MAGIC kingdom!!)

GRUMPY PIRATE wrote:HA!! I didn't know you speek scorpion! (but it IS the MAGIC kingdom!!)

It is easy. Scorpion is very similar to american sign language. In fact the original meaning of Amslan (which is now translated American Sign Language) was American Scorpion Language. Most of it is a combination of claw motions, clacks and various tail thrusts.

Randy (aka left clack, right clack left claw raise and fall, two tail trusts to the left front)

Randy B wrote:So many Fla locals I have talked to like to spray the front, sides and top of the car with Pam (cooking antistick spray). Don't get it on the windshield as it blurs like grease. And you have to reapply after each rain. But it does stop them from sticking and the ex-bugs can be washed off easier.

Yeah, I'd been in my present home about a month when I went out to get the mail and saw my neighbor spraying Pam all over the front of his car.

"Um, Bob? I don't think that's what your wife meant when she asked you to 'grill' a steak...."

Zazu wrote:Yeah, I'd been in my present home about a month when I went out to get the mail and saw my neighbor spraying Pam all over the front of his car.

"Um, Bob? I don't think that's what your wife meant when she asked you to 'grill' a steak...."

Mmmmm steak!!!

The PAM trick sounds like a good thing to know, especially if you do a "cross country" trip. I remember driving through Arizona and New Mexico, and getting a lot of BUG stuff embedded in my explorer.

Every summer when I was a kid, we'd go somewhere, and half the time it was through the Midwest and Southwest. I remember seeing on our car and others the assortment of moths, fireflies, and the occaisonal bird stuck in the front grills of various cars and trucks. And we'd get an occaisonal bug hit on the windshield. We never went further south than Oklahoma, so we never encountered the love bugs.

I never worried too much about bugs on my car (the next rain would wash them off), but driving my motorcycle on country roads at various times could be painfully hazardous. Even with proper shielding equipment didn't totally save me. I remember one dusk when I was driving along and saw a black speck ahead of me. As I continued it kept getting larger. Suddenly it got big FAST, and suddenly I could no no longer see through my helmet windshield. That was one HUGE, Juicy june bug. It hit hard enough that it actually rocked my head back. It completely covered the helmet screen. No view of the road at all. :mad:

Another time I found how indestructable those june bugs can be. I had one hit me in the middle of my chest at in-town speeds to raise a big welt under my shirt and jacket. But when I stopped I felt movement and looked down to find it crawling across the front of my shirt. It not only hit but hung on for the last mile and a half. It was slightly larger than a quarter (giant for a june bug).

I'm just glad that I never drove my cycle in FL or durring love bug season.

Randy

During my misspent youth I did a lot of cafe racing on cycles. Another guy and I were cruising along at about 80 MPH on a mountain road. I was about 20 feet behind him when I see something streak across the road. He catches a bird in the chest causing an explosion of feathers. He comes to a quick stop and while gasping for breath, and asks what happened. I told him it must have been a Kamikaze bird.