With warmer weather, bugs across the country are on the rise.
From mayflies to mosquitoes, insects swarm the roadways.
Many will meet an untimely death on vehicle windshields this summer, leaving drivers with a mess that typical blue washer fluids can’t remove.
“Most bugs are small, but they can travel in swarms which can make a large impact on your windshield,” said splatologist Mark Hostetler, a recognized Bug Doctor and author of That Gunk on Your Car: A Unique Guide to Insects of North America.
“As the temperature rises, so does the number of insects near the roadways. They are so numerous that many are traversing roads and ending up on our windshields.”
According to Hostetler, carbohydrates found in insect parts and bird droppings cause biological deposits to stick to windshields on impact, creating large splats that can impair driver visibility.
In addition, if some splats are not removed relatively quickly, a vehicle’s paint can be “eaten” by the splat’s acidity.
Bugs are interesting creatures, and you can tell a lot about them from the splat they leave on your windshield.
For example, examine the colour of the splat. If it has a bit of red in it, then it’s from a female bug — they’re the only ones that bite and draw blood,” said Hostetler.
“For as interesting as they are, however, at some point we’ve still got to get them off the windshield.”
