Love bug complaints: 969 in 2024, 37 so far in 2026 — Jin vows residents will 'feel the change in their daily lives'
Gangseo-gu District Mayor Jin Kyo-hoon personally joined pest control operations Wednesday, visiting areas in the district where love bugs — the colloquial name for the red-backed velvet midge — have been swarming.
Love bugs are not classified as pests because they pose no direct harm and carry no toxins. Their mass appearance during summer months has caused growing inconvenience for residents, however, prompting the district mayor to inspect the situation firsthand.
Strapping on a backpack sprayer, Jin led control operations along an approximately 400-meter stretch between Balsan Station and Ujangsan Station on Seoul Metro Line 5, while also reviewing residents' complaints and the district's overall pest management measures.
About 10 people took part in Wednesday's operations, including Jin and members of the district's mobile pest control unit. Leaflets explaining how to deal with love bug swarms were also distributed on site.
The district has been pushing hard on preventive measures and control efforts to reduce the love bug population. Environmental cleanup work — removing fallen leaves and humus from mountains and parks, the insects' primary habitat — has been carried out alongside intensive spraying during designated "concentrated control periods."
The results are already showing up in the numbers. Love bug-related complaints surged to 969 in 2024, then fell by more than half to 430 the following year.
So far in 2026, only 37 complaints have been filed, and this week the count stands at zero.
"We will continue our intensive love bug control efforts, making residents' comfort our top priority," Jin said. "We will create changes that people can feel in their everyday lives."
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