(WBBH) It's that time of the year when love is in the air, and in some cases on your car. Lovebugs are back in southwest Florida, and for some, with them comes a pain in the neck.
"They all get stuck, some cars look like they have a beard growing on them," said George Sisti, operations manager for Sponge Spa in Fort Myers.
The bug got its name because during the mating season, the male will attach on to the female for hours at a time.
"It's definitely easier to clean them sooner than later," Sisti said. "It's also better to have some kind of protectant on your car before they hit you."
In certain areas, it's very hard to avoid getting your car coated with the pest.
Donald Bollen of Fort Myers gets his car washed at the Sponge Spa and has been dealing with the bug for decades. He'll never forget the first time he encountered them.
"I was in college and had a convertible," Bollen said. "Driving down the road and just came to Florida from up north. They were swarming so bad all over my face; I had to pull the car over, pull the hood up, it was like a nightmare of love bugs."
These bugs are more than just a nuisance. If not taken care of soon enough, they can latch on to the car and be hard to remove, resulting in damage to the paint and possibly the engine.
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