Bug screens for central/eastern US July travel?

[tpi]

It's been a while but I can remember picking up lot of bugs on my car.

I'm driving from CA to southern US, and following Mississippi River north and then on to Ohio. Do you guys who travel in this area use bug screens? Or just clean it all up when you get home?

Do you make your own? Or buy something like this?
http://www.bugscreenwarehouse.com/products/bumper-bug-screens/

[tpi]

Thanks to all for the good info. It appears that people living in the area are not using bug screens extensively and I won't use one either. Maybe roll up some screen material and carry it for emergency if I get in buggy area.

[ron_dittmer]

I bought replacement patio door screens for our home. They are made of plastic-like material that might not be hard on painted surfaces. I always thought they would make good temporary bug screens for those crazy drives through miles of bugs. Just punch some holes in it and use bungee cords to jury-rig it over the front of the van.

We drove through South Dakota on I-90 many years ago in our old motor home. The road was darkened from all the grass hoppers sitting on it. Needless to say what our rig looked like afterward. It felt like we were in Egypt during the time of Moses and the plagues.

Our rig today has that clear film Diamond Shield on all leading surfaces which stains from certain bug juice. If we drive though another such plague again, I would stop at a DYI car wash place ASAP afterward.

[tatest]

I travel extensively in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan through Spring, Summer, Autumn. Agricultural areas are worst for bugs that won't make it over the vehicle in the slipstream; August is probably worse than July, morning and night is worse than mid-day (most bugs need calm air to usefully, daytime on the prairie tends to be windier). There have been times driving at night with locusts swarming that I've had to stop to scrub the windshield three times in two hours of driving through wheat or corn fields.

I run two different vehicles, a Honda Fit and E-350 van. The van smashes a lot more bugs on both grill and windshield, but not many get through to the radiator. 35 years of driving in the region, have never felt a need for a bug screen, don't see anyone else using one. It is easy enough to see if there is an accumulation on the radiator and wash it off, maybe a couple of times a year.

There is a lot more use of front end bras than bug screens, mostly on the nicer cars, because bug juice can eat into the paint pretty quickly. If you put a screen over the radiator opening, keep in mind that one fine enough to catch small bugs will cut airflow by more than half when clean, much worse when clogged with bugs, so you'll have to keep cleaning the screen.

[Halmfamily]

When I lived in Florida bad love bug season and they would coat the front of your car, so bad at times you would have to stop and clean the windshield and the smell, whoa. We used screen covers across the entire front of the cars, looked like a car bra. Worked great and cheap.

Living in Alabama no bug issues whatsoever.

[gbopp]

Consider it cheap insurance. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

[Old-Biscuit]

Spring of 2008 we were in southern Utah and the BEES were everywhere and flying in thick swarms.

Neighbor in CG had hood up and spent hours cleaning bee carcasses off of radiator and then using a fin comb to straighten all the bent/smashed fins.

Only place around was a feed store so I purchased a spool of 1/4" wire....measure what was needed then doubled it. Cut it out and then folded it in half overlapping the 1/4" squares so that opening was 1/8". Then installed it to the inside grill of my truck using tie-wraps.

Got loaded up with lots of bees and other large bugs...few 'parts' made it thru to cooler but easy clean off and no bent/smashed fins.

NOW IF I had access at the time to a 'real' bug-screen would have purchased one.

My crude one works and still on truck 8 yrs later.....new tie-wraps occasionally