Gwanak-gu deploys water trucks to combat love bug outbreak
Insect complaints exceed 100 during peak periods
Seoul Metropolitan Government supplies eco-friendly traps to all 25 districts
City vows to reduce public inconvenience through green pest-control technology
At 1 p.m. Tuesday, with temperatures topping 30 degrees Celsius, a 7-ton water truck rolled into an alley in Haengwun-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. A worker stepped down, grabbed a hose connected to the tank and opened the valve. A powerful jet of water burst out, trained squarely on the walls of a five-story multi-unit residential building and the surrounding road.
The scene was part of Gwanak-gu's water-spraying pest-control campaign against love bugs. The district launched the effort Monday, mobilizing water trucks to douse buildings and streets. As the water hit the walls, several love bugs clinging to the surface dropped to the ground.
"Love bugs are weak against water — once they're knocked off, they die on the spot," a Gwanak-gu official said. "They're not harmful to people, but we're carrying out the water-spraying operation in response to resident complaints."
The owner of a snack shop directly across from one of the targeted buildings said the bugs have upended her evening business. "I've been running this place for 15 years, and for the past four or five years, as soon as evening comes, bugs cover the walls so thickly it looks pitch black — I can't put food outside," she said. "I've tried cleaning the nearby drains, but nothing worked. The bugs have basically shut down my evening trade."
The district is conducting water-spraying operations across 21 neighborhoods through mid-July, focusing on areas where bug sightings have been reported. In narrow alleys where water trucks cannot enter, a dedicated pest-control mobile unit goes in on foot with insecticide.
"The district carries out regular pest control once a week, but love bug complaints spike sharply from mid-June as the weather heats up," the Gwanak-gu official said. "Complaints about insects normally run between 10 and 30 a week, but during this period they can exceed 100."
Love bugs — formally known as red-backed velvet flies — have been swarming in such numbers in recent summers that they blacken the sky. According to the National Institute of Forest Science, this year's main love bug season runs from June 15 to June 29, with peak activity forecast for Wednesday. Even on Tuesday, while large swarms were not visible, individual bugs could be spotted flying through alleys or clinging to walls throughout the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is this year applying an eco-friendly pest-management system to reduce outbreaks of love bugs and other mass-swarming insects. In April and May, the city cleared fallen-leaf layers and decomposed soil where love bug larvae breed. Starting in June, when adults emerge en masse, it supplied and installed eco-friendly attractant traps across all 25 districts. The traps use natural lures to attract and capture adult love bugs. The city distributed a total of 4,895 traps, allocating between 150 and 250 to each district.
Love bug complaints filed with the Seoul Metropolitan Government climbed from 4,418 in 2022 to 5,600 in 2023, then surged to 9,296 in 2024. After the city stepped up its pest-control efforts, complaints fell to 5,282 in 2025.
"We have been running daily monitoring and a complaint-response system with all 25 districts since before love bugs, Asian mayflies and other nuisance insects begin appearing in large numbers," a Seoul Metropolitan Government official said. "We will continue to reduce public inconvenience by pursuing a proactive response framework using a range of eco-friendly pest-control technologies."
ikson@heraldcorp.com
