Window Cleaning
How to Get Lovebugs Off Windows, Screens and Pool Cages
By Solpath Window Detailing · Published · Updated
Lovebugs come off windows and screens most easily in the first few days. Soak them with water to soften them, wash with a mild soap and a soft cloth or brush, and rinse. Do not scrape them dry off glass or scrub screens hard. In South Florida they swarm twice a year, in late spring and late summer, and are worst near open land and highways.
When they come
Lovebugs fly in two seasons, one in late spring and one in late summer, each lasting a few weeks. They gather near highways and open land, so homes on the western edge of Broward and Miami-Dade and along the expressways see the most of them.
Why speed matters
Fresh lovebugs rinse off. Left in the sun, they dry into a sticky residue that bonds to glass and screen and takes far more work to lift. Their remains are known to mark car paint if left, which is a good reason not to leave them on anything.
Getting them off
- Soak the area with plain water and give it a few minutes to soften
- Wash with mild soapy water and a soft cloth on glass or a soft brush on screen
- Rinse from the top down
- Squeegee and detail the glass as normal
- On pool cages, work at low pressure from the roof panels down
What not to do
- Scrape dried bugs off dry glass, which drags grit across it
- Scrub screens hard, which stretches the mesh
- Pressure wash a pool enclosure to shift them
Timing a cleaning around the season
If the windows are due anyway, booking just after a swarm ends gets both jobs done at once. Booking in the middle of one means the glass will be spotted again within days.
