The 17 year cicadas are coming!

J

JETTSX

New member
cicada.jpg




There is going to be a swarm of these buggers coming in the next few months. I am wondering what is the best way to protect the cars from the humongous bug splats. I have a few ideas:



1. Car bra (black vinyl type)-The problem with this is the potential for paint damage from the bra itself. The benefit is the mesh covers for the grilles to keep the cicadas out of the radiators/intercoolers. I was wondering about the wisdom of placing a barrier of blue painters tape underneath the bra. How long can that tape stay there? I don't mind changing it weekly, but daily is likely too often.



2. Clear bra- Good to the paint but no protection for the radiators/intercoolers.



3. Good, old-fashioned diligence. I'll just keep QD, insect remover, and MF with me at all times and remove debris after every trip. I will need to do this for the windsheild anyway, but harsher chemicals can be used on the glass.



I know this sounds nuts, but I remember the last emergence as a child and they were everywhere. On the news, an entomologist from the U of MD says there will be billions of them and MD is about the center of where they will come out of the ground. I was just wondering what the resident experts have to say about this.



Thanks,



Eric
 
I remember in Nashville they come out every 7 years.....i only went through it once tho...hopefully it's not as bad here in Chattanooga
 
I grew up right outside of Baltimore and I remember when we were kids...we would crunch them up by putting them in between the chainring and chain on our bikes....damn we were messed up!



Yeah those things are EVERYWHERE. I remember looking out of our window and seeing our lawn littered with them to the point of it looking brown.
 
well i'm as always sporting my beater bumper....so i don't really have to worry about them except on the hood and other panels......
 
I remember that too as a child when I lived in Columbia, MD.



Damn that was nasty, all over the sidewalks and everything...have fun ;)
 
Hope they steer clear of Michigan!

"The bugs belong to the largest group, or brood, of periodical cicadas—insects that spend most of their lives as nymphos, ...."



Horny little devils!
 
YIKES! Gotta get the heck outta dodge--I'd be one of those "disgusted" persons in the article, awe and wonder, not here. Just keep away from my car thank you very much.
 
Jettsx .. I have a black car and run a bra on road trips and sometimes during the winter its on for a couple weeks at a time .. Summer road trips get the bra too and it might be left on for a few days.



What I do is I have identified the rub areas of my particular car/ bra combo and I apply a strip or 2 of black vinyl electricians tape to those areas to prevent chaffing ( I hate it when my bra chaffes). I have applied this tape to the leading edges of my rear fenders and left it all winter and not a problem or a tape mark.



In the season for the cicadas just pull the bra weekly and change the tape. Your prolly only looking at a 3 week span. If any residue is left .. QD will lift it after the car wash.



Rub spots on mine
 
I was just going to start a thread on this, how to protect the cars.



I think I'm going to order a bra, any minimal chaffing will probably not be as bad as the damage these things can do when they're hurled into the car at 70MPH.



Remember to order mirror bras too.
 
reevis said:
I grew up right outside of Baltimore and I remember when we were kids...we would crunch them up by putting them in between the chainring and chain on our bikes....damn we were messed up!
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We use to whack em' as hard as we could with tennis rackets.



We also used to whack lightining bugs with wiffleball bats when they flew around. If you hit one they go flying like shooting stars!



You ever put salt on slugs? Burn earthworms with a magnifying glass?



How about taking frogs and tying their legs with fishing line and swinging them around and around above your head and then letting it wrap around a tree trunk until it whipped them against it splattering everywhere.



Or, tie up the frogs the same way and pull the propellar of an outboard motor out of the water and drop them on it.



Jeez, childhood memories. I can go on and on. :D
 
I did not mean to start a childhood memories thread :p Well, I used to burn them with matches-the pitch of their sound would go up. Bad child I was. I am just wondering what todays children will think of-we will probably be impressed.



Jesstzn: Thanks for the tip on the electrical tape!! That is perfect. Very nice black dub BTW! Also, the Acura has the clear bra, so I will see how each method does.
 
I did not mean to start a childhood memories thread :p Well, I used to burn them with matches-the pitch of their sound would go up. Bad child I was. I am just wondering what todays children will think of-we will probably be impressed.



Jesstzn: Thanks for the tip on the electrical tape!! That is perfect. Very nice black dub BTW! Also, the Acura has the clear bra, so I will see how each method does.
 
Vaseline applied to the front of the car works to "soften" the impact. Helped greatly with love bugs when we lived in Florida.
 
HRP said:
Vaseline applied to the front of the car works to "soften" the impact. Helped greatly with love bugs when we lived in Florida.
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What would be harder to get off .. the bugs ir the vaseline?
 
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