Can kissing bugs infest your house?

Triatomine bugs (also called “kissing bugs”, cone-nosed bugs, and blood suckers) can live indoors, in cracks and holes of substandard housing, or in a variety of outdoor settings including the following: Beneath porches. Between rocky structures. Under cement.

What attracts the kissing bug?

Adults fly well and are attracted to lights after dark. In suburban and rural Arizona, kissing bugs are often attracted to porch lights. At dawn, they may seek a way to avoid sunlight and heat, and may enter a residence through a doorway gap, or cracks around window screens.

Should I be worried about kissing bugs?

The Bottom Line. Kissing bugs can transmit a parasite that leads to a potentially serious illness called Chagas disease. Most cases of Chagas disease occur in Latin America. Although infection directly from exposure to the kissing bug is rare in the US, it is still important to take steps to prevent kissing bug bites.

What happens if a kissing bug lands on you?

Because they tend to bite people's faces, triatomine bugs are also known as “kissing bugs”. After they bite and ingest blood, they defecate (poop) on the person. The person can become infected if T. cruzi parasites in the bug feces enter the body through mucous membranes or breaks in the skin.

Where do kissing bugs lay eggs?

Males have rounded bottoms, and females have pointed ovipositors (for egg laying) on their bottoms. Kissing bugs live throughout North America, Central America, and South America.

How to Survive a Kissing Bug Infestation

Do kissing bugs live in beds?

Kissing bugs can hide in cracks and holes in beds, floors, walls, and furniture. They are most likely to be found: Near places where a pet, such as a dog or cat, spends time. In areas where mice or other rodents live.

How do I get rid of kissing bugs in my house?

Sealing cracks and gaps around windows, walls, roofs, and doors. Removing wood, brush, and rock piles near your house. Using screens on doors and windows and repairing any holes or tears. If possible, making sure yard lights are not close to your house (lights can attract the bugs)

Where do kissing bugs hide during the day?

They are nocturnal, so they will hide in dark, dry crevices during the day. Any cracks in furniture, walls, or floors are a potential home for kissing bugs, as well as under beds or near pet beds.

Do kissing bugs bite at night?

They are hosts to the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which can cause Chagas disease in humans. Kissing bugs are bloodsuckers of warm-blooded creatures that feed at night. Klotz J.H.

What does kissing bug poop look like?

Feces may be spread on walls and can be both white and dark, and usually look like stripes. Eggs can be found in wall crevices and are mostly white or pinkish. Consider using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach including sealing cracks and gaps to prevent kissing bugs from entering your home.

Should I call an exterminator for kissing bugs?

Kissing bugs are a serious problem. If you see one, you need to call a professional pest control company immediately. These pests are often infected with a parasite that can cause humans or the animals they come in contact with to get sick.

What eats kissing bugs?

Kissing bugs are bloodsuckers and seek out mammals including dogs. Dogs eat bugs and will snatch up kissing bugs.

What happens if a kissing bug bites a dog?

Chagas Disease in dogs is a big problem caused by a little bug. The bite from the kissing bug may be painful, but in and of itself is no big deal. Infection happens when one of these little critters is itself infected with a tiny protozoan parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi.

Do kissing bugs survive winter?

Their northern limit of distribution is likely determined by their intolerance to survive prolonged cold temperatures but reports from Utah and Colorado have shown these insects can be hardy.

How long does a kissing bug live?

The life span of kissing bugs in North America is approximately a year, perhaps longer for the large southern species, Triatoma recurva. In the temperate zone, there is usually one generation per year, whereas in Mesoamerica and parts of tropical South America, several generations of bugs may occur within a year.

What states have kissing bugs?

Most of the world's kissing bugs are in Central and South America and Mexico. They've also been found in the United States in the lower 28 states, with higher concentrations in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Kissing bugs have been spotted a far north as Delaware, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

What time do kissing bugs come out?

Kissing bugs are nocturnal, meaning that they hide during the day and are most active at night. Kissing bugs will normally hide during the day and come out at night, biting and feeding on a person's blood while they sleep.

Can a kissing bug fly?

Kissing bugs go through five juvenile (nymph) stages before they become adults. Nymphs do not have wings. Only adult kissing bugs have wings and can fly. All kissing bugs feed on blood throughout their life.

Are kissing bugs attracted to light?

Adults fly well and are attracted to lights after dark. In suburban and rural Arizona, kissing bugs are often attracted to porch lights. At dawn, they may seek a way to avoid sunlight and heat, and may enter a residence through a doorway gap, or cracks around window screens.

What is a natural kissing bug repellent?

Citronella oil appears to be a promising potential repellent to prevent sleeping people from being bitten by kissing bugs.

How common are kissing bugs?

But the triatomine, or so-called "kissing bug," is all too real and found regularly in Latin America, but also has been found in several areas of the United States, as far north as Illinois and Delaware. And while it often targets faces, the insect will settle for any patch of exposed skin.

Do kissing bugs have nests?

While hidden, they can build nests and lay eggs in your home's cracks and crevices. But here are several ways to keep kissing bugs away.

Can Chagas disease be cured?

Treatment. To kill the parasite, Chagas disease can be treated with benznidazole or nifurtimox. Both medicines are nearly 100% effective in curing the disease if given soon after infection at the onset of the acute phase, including the cases of congenital transmission.

How do you test for Chagas disease in humans?

Commonly used techniques include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescent antibody test (IFA).