Don’t Bug Me

Cleaning insect splatter from the front of a motorhome, trailer and/or tow vehicle seems like a never-ending battle when traveling in buggy areas. Having the right products to remove these eyesores — and the potential for paint damage — tempers the grunt factor.

Now that winter is settling in, I don’t spend too much time stressing over squashed bugs that find their final resting place on the front of my fifth wheel and truck. It does, however, give me time to find alternative methods for removing these eyesores when the weather warms up and the hatches start popping.

Over the years, products designed to remove bugs have come and gone; some worked and some were snake oil. My go-to product for cleaning the mess has long been a Bugs Off Pad (formerly called “The Love Bug Eraser”), which works great with just plain water and a little elbow grease. Last summer, though, I added another “weapon” for removing squashed bugs to my arsenal of cleaning products: ProSol Works Bugs N All Multi-Use Vehicle Cleaner.

A big splattering of bugs made a mess of this front bumper and was left to bake in the sun for three months. Once the bugs are allowed to get hard and crusty, they are usually much harder to remove. Obviously, it’s best to remove bugs as soon as possible.

The combination of the Bugs Off Pad and Bugs N All cleaner makes the job even easier — especially if the bug splatter is allowed to bake on the surface for a while. Now, I don’t get stressed out over planning my journeys through farm country or any other buggy region. Did I mention that I hate bugs?

(I’d be remiss not to mention that the company also markets home care-cleaning products under the ProSol Works Ever Clean label — it even makes patio furniture and wellness products. A little extra credibility never hurts. But, for now, I’ll sideline those products.)

The nice thing about Bugs N All is that the spray-on formula does most of the work for you. You just spray it on and hang around for 30 to 120 seconds while the liquid neutralizes the acid and turns the bugs into mush. Then, it’s just a matter of wiping the surface with a wet towel; you can also hose off the area after wiping.

The bumper was first cleaned with Bugs N All after allowing the solution to sit on the surface for two minutes. The surface must be kept wet, but gravity takes its toll and some of the solution drips to the ground. Additional cleaner was sprayed during the waiting period. As per the instructions, the Bugs N All was wiped off the bumper with a wet microfiber towel. Most of the bugs came off with the first pass.

Removing the cleaner and splatter with the Bugs Off Pad upped the ante quite a bit. The combination of the Bugs Off Pad and Bugs N All made short work of the dried-on bugs. It proved to be a winning combination.

Bugs N All is touted as a general cleaner that can even be used to remove road tar and grease. Some of the tar came off with multiple doses of the solution, but the stubborn spots required the use of the Bugs Off Pad and in some areas could not be removed. Bugs N All has no petroleum distillates, is non-toxic and has no abrasives.

While Bugs N All proved to be highly effective, I found that using the Bugs Off Pad to break up the stuck-on splatter allowed the contents to be whisked away more quickly. Although tempting, it’s important to refrain from wiping the solution off with a dry towel — you might scratch a painted surface. If the directions are followed, there’s no risk of damaging paint or decals; nor will it remove wax.

You do have to make sure the surface is always wet, which means reapplications of the Bugs N All solution because gravity sends much of the liquid to the lower regions of the vehicle and to the ground. It’s best to clean the bugs off in the shade to prevent premature drying. The formula is non-abrasive, non-toxic, biodegradable and has no petroleum distillates — and, as such, is also touted for cleaning rubber roofs (which I did not verify). But the solution did clean dirt as advertised.

To test the effectiveness of the Bugs N All, l allowed the bugs on a section of the truck’s front bumper and one headlight lens to bake in the sun for three months — a timeline that included at least two weeks of 100-degree-plus F temperatures. As a clean freak when it comes to my truck and fifth wheel, that really hurt! Fortunately, most of the splatter came off with one application of the solution, but two doses to clean the baked-on residue were better. With the Bugs Off Pad, it only took one shot to clean off the contents. Cleaning the bugs off before they become petrified is optimum and super easy.

The list of uses for Bugs N All printed on the container is impressively long, including its ability to remove grease and tar. So, I tested its effectiveness on the side of the truck bed. Most of the dirt came off easily, but the splats of dried tar were more stubborn, even with help from the Bugs Off Pad. Not a deal breaker for me; my focus was on removing bugs.

Bugs N All solution is not cheap, but it’s concentrated so the overall cost can be amortized — especially when putting value on your time and the drudgery of cleaning off squashed bugs. It takes 2 ounces mixed in 30 ounces of water to make an effective bug-removal solution. The basic kit sells for $18.99 and includes 4 ounces of concentrate and an empty spray bottle that’s clearly marked. For $36.59, you get the same empty bottle and a quart of the concentrate, which is much cheaper in the long run; a gallon of concentrate is priced at $71.59. Bugs N All is sold on the company’s website and Amazon.

Now I have a new summer travel mantra: Bring em’ on!