My Condolences To The Bug Families Involved

before-and-after-auto

We learned something about bugs on this 2,862 mile cross country jaunt. There are lots of them. Their carcasses are often more than windshield wipers and windshield wiper fluid can handle.

If you look back at my driving videos you quickly notice the carnage. There are spots and streaks everywhere.

With every fill-up I went to the well available at every gas station to scrub and squeegeed the windshield. What a skill to have!

Most stations had liquid that seemed fresh and clean. Most, not all. It does make a difference.

From personal observations I’d say Ohio through Nebraska had the heaviest bug concentration with an Indiana/Illinois/Iowa peak.

By the time we’d run low on fuel, visibility had already been severely impaired. This is especially true when the Sun is low on the horizon and glare at its peak.

How do you folks in Florida deal with it?

Actually, I’d probably rather not know.

Past the Rockies the bug problem tapered quickly. Amazing. It had mostly disappeared when we filled up in St. George, Utah and again in Barstow, California.

I cleaned the windshield thoroughly every time we gassed up. The rest of the car was a different story.

This morning we hit the car wash near the hotel. It’s never been needed more.

10 thoughts on “My Condolences To The Bug Families Involved”

  1. it is horrible here in florida when the love bug’s are at their peak in june and dec . we do the same as you did . wash , wash and wash the windshield some more . save your money on the windshield washer fluid that says it dissolves bugs , doesn’t work any better , just costs more . glad to see you made it there safe and sound

  2. When I lived in western Illinois (in a tiny college town, surrounded by corn fields and pig farms) I was amazed by the size and intensity of the bugs. Worse than anyplace else I’ve ever been. Impossible to escape from.

  3. I traveled to Utica NY recently and was AMAZED how much wiper fluid we went through. My car had to be washed twice when we returned home!!!

  4. Check your radiator as well! It just might need a good hosing to remove bug litter which reduces air flow.

  5. Welcome to the land of clean cars…..I always notice how clean cars are when in CA or FL or other low rain warm sunny climates……wash it and it stays clean for weeks!

  6. The summertime bug carcass population in Florida, is admirably handled by the abundant number of car wash (car spa) facilities located in every town throughout the state…..take a number, there is usually a conga line of cars waiting to be “debugged”!

  7. Looks like the car wash didn’t get all the bugs off. Another trip through would be good. Nice camera the photographer is holding.

  8. I work in the car rental business and summer bugs are one of the banes of my existence (along with people who smoke in cars after being told not to and leave piles of pet hair all over everything.)Over the years I’ve developed a formula for removing dead bugs from cars. works really well and impresses the hell out of my coworkers and bosses. However it involves industrial strength chemicals which aren’t usually available to the public. You CAN get them if you know where to look. My other favorite bug removal tool is a plain ol nylon scrubbie. Like the kind you’d have in your kitchen for scrubbing pots. Gentle on the finish, works wonders on bugs.

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