![\"Gulf](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gcnn.png\")
<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>> THEY’RE SMALL. THEY FLY AND THEY COULD DAMAGE THE PAINT ON YOUR CAR. LOVEBUGS RETURN TO THE GULF COAST. REPORTER AS SOTO’S IN CAPE CORAL WITH HOW TO KEEP THEM FROM COSTING YOU MONEY. >> THESE LOVEBUGS ARE SPOTTER ALL OVER VEHICLE. LOOK UP HERE. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU GUYS CAN FEED THAT, BUT I LOVE BUG SEASON IS UPON US. AND THESE PAST MY NOT BITE, BUT THEY CAN RUIN YOUR CAR’S PAINT. >> JIM, IT IS USED TO THE SPLATTER LOVEBUGS LEAVE ON CARS. WE ALWAYS TELL OUR OF A KITE. YOU KNOW, IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO STAY ON TOP OF IT BECAUSE IT CAN CAUSE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. HE’S BEEN DETAIL MAY BE A CAUSE FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS AND HE’S SEEN THE DAMAGE. THE MEETING AND CAN CAUSE THE WHOLE FRONT AND JUST IT WAS BEYOND BYPASS. THE CLINICAL WE COULD ACTUALLY SEE LIKE THE PAINT WAS ACTUALLY GONE OFF THE BUGS. TYPICALLY RETURN TO THE GULF COAST FROM THE END OF APRIL TO EARLY MAY BE MADE FOR ABOUT 4 WEEKS. AND THEN WE DON’T SEE THEM AGAIN UNTIL SEPTEMBER. THEIR NEW SONS ON MY CAR. AND THEN. >> MOST OF TIME YOU SEE HIM IN YOUR WINDOW, SALES ARE ATTACHED TO YOUR WINDOW. I TALKED WITH PEOPLE IN CAPE CORAL WHO HAVE THEIR OWN METHODS FOR GETTING RID OF THE BUGS. GOOD OBAMA. ONE VAXXED CLEANED IT ALL OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR SO. >> COVER IT WITH A LITTLE BIT OF WD 40 SO THEY WIPED OFF EASIER. MANY TELLS US HOW TO AVOID DAMAGE. IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE CAR WASH, GO HOME, RACE IT OFF. YOU CAN USE A LITTLE BIT OF >> YOU KNOW, AND USE A MICROPHONE. BUT HOW LIE, YOU KNOW, GENTLY SCRUB IT OFF AND WITH SOME WATERS. >> LOOKS LIKE I’M NEXT IN GETTING THESE BUGS WASHTOC\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Love bugs return to Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast, causing car paint damage<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tUpdated: 8:51 PM EDT Apr 24, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tEditorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tLove bugs have returned to Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast, creating challenges for car owners as their splatter can damage vehicle paint if not cleaned promptly. Jim Midy, who has been detailing vehicles for six years, emphasized the importance of cleaning off love bug residue to avoid costly repairs. “We always tell all of our clients, you know, it’s very important to stay on top of it because it can cause you thousands of dollars,” Midy said. He described the extent of damage he has seen, saying, “The whole front end was just, it was beyond, like, past the clear coat. You could actually see, like, the paint was actually gone off of it.” Love bugs typically appear on the Gulf Coast from late April to early May when the weather warms. They mate for about four weeks before disappearing until September. Cape Coral residents shared their experiences with the bugs and their methods for dealing with them. “The love bugs are, I mean, they’re part of, you know, Florida,” said Steve Kohlmier. Angela Fraley added, “Yeah, they are a nuisance on my car. And then most of the time, you see them in your windowsills or attached to your window in you and or windows.” Fraley said she uses Windex to clean them off her car, while Kohlmier shared his approach for road trips during peak love bug season. “If I have to take a trip when they’re thicker, like, right now, over the next month or so, I’ll cover it with a little bit of WD-40 so they wipe off easier. Other than that, there’s not much you ,” Kohlmier said. Midy offered advice for those unable to visit a car wash immediately. “Go home, rinse it off. You can use a little bit of dish soap, you know, and use some microfiber towel and lightly, you know, gently scrub it off and with some water and stuff,” he said. Love bugs may be a seasonal nuisance, but car owners have options to minimize the damage they cause.DOWNLOAD\u202fthe free\u202fGulf Coast News app\u202ffor your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tFORT MYERS, Fla. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Love bugs have returned to Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast, creating challenges for car owners as their splatter can damage vehicle paint if not cleaned promptly. <\/p>\n Jim Midy, who has been detailing vehicles for six years, emphasized the importance of cleaning off love bug residue to avoid costly repairs. <\/p>\n “We always tell all of our clients, you know, it’s very important to stay on top of it because it can cause you thousands of dollars,” Midy said. <\/p>\n He described the extent of damage he has seen, saying, “The whole front end was just, it was beyond, like, past the clear coat. You could actually see, like, the paint was actually gone off of it.” <\/p>\n Love bugs typically appear on the Gulf Coast from late April to early May when the weather warms. They mate for about four weeks before disappearing until September. <\/p>\n Cape Coral residents shared their experiences with the bugs and their methods for dealing with them. <\/p>\n “The love bugs are, I mean, they’re part of, you know, Florida,” said Steve Kohlmier. <\/p>\n Angela Fraley added, “Yeah, they are a nuisance on my car. And then most of the time, you see them in your windowsills or attached to your window in you and or windows.” <\/p>\n Fraley said she uses Windex to clean them off her car, while Kohlmier shared his approach for road trips during peak love bug season. <\/p>\n “If I have to take a trip when they’re thicker, like, right now, over the next month or so, I’ll cover it with a little bit of WD-40 so they wipe off easier. Other than that, there’s not much you [can do],” Kohlmier said. <\/p>\n Midy offered advice for those unable to visit a car wash immediately. <\/p>\n “Go home, rinse it off. You can use a little bit of dish soap, you know, and use some microfiber towel and lightly, you know, gently scrub it off and with some water and stuff,” he said. <\/p>\n Love bugs may be a seasonal nuisance, but car owners have options to minimize the damage they cause.<\/p>\n DOWNLOAD\u202fthe free\u202fGulf Coast News app<\/a>\u202ffor your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app<\/a> to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":">> THEY’RE SMALL. THEY FLY AND THEY COULD DAMAGE THE PAINT ON YOUR CAR. LOVEBUGS RETURN TO THE…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[108500,209,211,210,108497,1178,104,28,536,108499,56178,213,108496,46971,6144,108498,108501,221],"class_list":["post-246814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-angela-fraley","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-car-owner","tag-damage","tag-entertainment","tag-florida","tag-gulf-coast","tag-jim-midy","tag-late-april","tag-late-news","tag-love-bug","tag-nuisance","tag-road-trip","tag-steve-kohlmier","tag-vehicle-paint","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}