Insect ? for newly returnees

[TinkKel]

Can anyone tell me what the insect situation is this time of year? Are the misqueitos out, and if so, are they only out in the early AM and in the evenings? Are there any no-see-ums I need to be concerned about? Just wondering if we need to bring the repellent. Thanks!

 

[phamton]

I haven't seen any mosquitoes. In fact the only insects I have seen out lately are a few lovebugs and Junebugs.

 

[Regenia]

I HATE those lovebugs they're everywhere. I live in NW Florida and have started to see a few. During the day it's probably too hot for mosquitos. Not sure about evening but I'm taking some repellent.

 

[JoniGirl]

What is a lovebug??

 

[mark1203]

No bugs yet. I know Universial and Disney both spray the area around the park for bugs.
Yes, the lovebug are out in force.
I wonder how much it would hurt if you got smacked int eh face by a lovebug while ridding on the Hulk?

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Just don't open your mouth while on the Hulk or you'll have a Fear Factor meal!

Any seasonal bugs that you have in Florida can't beat the wonderful cicadas that are emerging here in Maryland. I haven't seen any yet, but they should be fun. Crunch, crunch.

Hey, EVIL tag fairy, how about giving me a cicada tag???

T&B

 

[Selina]

I always spray myself all over - don't know why - but if there's a mozzy about - it will choose to have a suck on me!! You'll need it before riding the "mummy" too...........lots of insects ready to engulf you J/K p.s. hope they don't really throw in a few real ones for authenticity!!

 

[wendypooh]

Here in La. we have love bug fever............ those nasty things are everywhere!! They are horrible!

They are just little black flying bugs, the reason they are called love bugs is because two are usually stuck together...... here, they are in swarms...... I hate them!!!

 

[TinkKel]

Those Love Bugs sound like a pain. Are they like beetles, or are they small like May Flies/Knats?

 

[phamton]

Here is a picture: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MG068

Lovebugs are small black flies with red thoraxes. Males are 1/4 inch, and females are 1/3 inch in length. These flies are members of the family Bibionidae and are known as March flies

 

[GeminiMom]

I've never been in FL in the spring so I can't really give you an answer on this one TinkKel, but in Sept 2001 we found some during our WDW trip. They're really very harmless & I found them to be no problem at all. And that's saying alot coming from a woman who once (before kids) sat on the couch for an entire hour until hubby got home in case the huge hairy spider on my living room ceiling decided to move! I wasn't giving it an opportunity to disappear somewhere in my house, only to turn up at a later time closer to me.

Mark,
Your comment about bugs in the face on the Hulk reminds me of a story I'm sure Webmaster Barry would enjoy. We were in Cedar Point the year that Millenium Force opened (can't remember which year).....line was at least 1 1/2 hr wait so I sent DH, DS, & DD off to ride the train a couple times while Mom got her coaster fix on her own. I get to the front of the line & they drop the bar to the loading platform right in front of me.........woohooooo! that means my first ride on Millenium & I'm in the front seat! Load the car & by this time, its just getting to be about dusk.......The single rider gentleman I'm riding with is just as psyched as I am to get 1st seat on his 1st ride......so off we go..........up the first hill & starting down the HUGE drop (those who've ridden it know what I mean....feels like you're about to drop into the lake). Well of course I'm screaming the whole way down.......woohhhhhoooooo, I'm flying!!!! and that's when it hits me.....the ride starts through an area that has a few trees & WHAM! One of those knats (sp?) hits me square in the forehead.... Only it wasn't one....it was like 100! then another 100......there are swarms of them! The coaster is going like 80 some miles an hour & they are actually dying on my face, arms, t-shirt....you name it.....of course I had my mouth open.....yummy. We pull into the station & people are sorta staring at me (and my riding partner) & whispering amongst themselves......Oh lord.....I'm afraid to look.....look down & my white t-shirt is covered in black specks that used to be alive a few minutes ago! My riding partner turns to me & says....."Ahhh, I hate to tell you this but you have a few stuck between your teeth!" OMG....the humanity of it all! Didn't have a change of clothes so after cleaning up my t-shirt (and face) as best as I could, I still had to walk around with the little corpses on my shirt for the rest of the evening.....and I couldn't even enjoy the ride....Lesson #1 for riding the front seat.....be prepared, you never know when you'll be the human bug shield.

 

[Regenia]

:thewave: I LOVE Cedarpoint GeminiMom. Must say I never had that experience Well, I'm not brave enough to ride in the front seat either!

Lovebugs are annoying that's all.

 

[robvia]

Bugs are not a problem at the Florida parks. I've never thought about bug spray. Sun tan lotion, yes, lots of it, and I usually bring a face stick with me to apply more once inside the park. A lip stick is also a good idea.

Yes, bugs are a problem at Cedar Point. Usually happens in the morning. Ride MF in the front, and you can get plastered. I rode in the front one time, and was ok, but kept my eyes squinted. Then I was in the back of the park near Mean Streak, and people we're getting off the train in the trees where the station is, and they we're covered in the bugs. They we're running to get away from the train. Going up to CP at the end of this month.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by robvia
A lip stick is also a good idea.

When the Evil Tag Fairy finds that you wear lipstick (even if it is just lip stick sunscreen), I'm sure you'll have a wonderful tag to show for it...

T&B

 

[Selina]

GeminiMom...hi.....I read and re-read what happened to you. It sounds so awful....you tell it humerously.....but I would have been absolutely freaking out!!! I never thought about being in a situation like that....trapped on a ride, strapped in, and all these insects splattering you...... How long do these flying insects last in Florida? Which is the worst month for them?

 

[RescueRanger]

Originally posted by GeminiMom
.........woohooooo! that means my first ride on Millenium & I'm in the front seat! Load the car & by this time, its just getting to be about dusk.......The single rider gentleman I'm riding with is just as psyched as I am to get 1st seat on his 1st ride......so off we go..........up the first hill & starting down the HUGE drop (those who've ridden it know what I mean....feels like you're about to drop into the lake). Well of course I'm screaming the whole way down.......woohhhhhoooooo, I'm flying!!!! and that's when it hits me.....the ride starts through an area that has a few trees & WHAM! One of those knats (sp?) hits me square in the forehead.... Only it wasn't one....it was like 100! then another 100......there are swarms of them! The coaster is going like 80 some miles an hour & they are actually dying on my face, arms, t-shirt....you name it.....of course I had my mouth open.....yummy. We pull into the station & people are sorta staring at me (and my riding partner) & whispering amongst themselves......Oh lord.....I'm afraid to look.....look down & my white t-shirt is covered in black specks that used to be alive a few minutes ago! My riding partner turns to me & says....."Ahhh, I hate to tell you this but you have a few stuck between your teeth!" OMG....the humanity of it all! Didn't have a change of clothes so after cleaning up my t-shirt (and face) as best as I could, I still had to walk around with the little corpses on my shirt for the rest of the evening.....and I couldn't even enjoy the ride....Lesson #1 for riding the front seat.....be prepared, you never know when you'll be the human bug shield.

LOL ... I could not stop laughing when I read this. The first time my wife and I rode Millenium Force, there was a young boy and his father in front of us. They were going to be in the very front; however, the young boy told the attendant that he did not want to ride in the front so we got the front seats. Coming down that first hill I got a mouthful of bugs. It is so hard to ride without yelling and those of you that have ridden know what I mean. My sweater looked like my windshield after a long drive. There were dead bugs all over it. I would ride in the front again in a heartbeat though. You just have to learn to swallow them whole and not try and chew .

 

[JoniGirl]

Originally posted by phamton
Here is a picture: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MG068

Lovebugs are small black flies with red thoraxes. Males are 1/4 inch, and females are 1/3 inch in length. These flies are members of the family Bibionidae and are known as March flies

Thanks for the info!!