Sage-Tips

Why are there so many kissing bugs in my house?

How did I get kissing bugs? Bright porch and doorway lighting often lures kissing bugs inside homes. These insects feed on pets, so outdoor cats or dogs can also bring bugs inside.

Why shouldn’t you kill a kissing bug?

Kissing Bugs are potentially dangerous because they sometimes transmit Chagas disease, a disease known to cause serious heart and digestive problems that can be fatal.

How do you prevent kissing bugs?

Prevention

1. Seal cracks and gaps in your home to keep bugs out.
2. Keep chicken coops and other animal cages away from your home.
3. Move piles of leaves, firewood, and rocks out of your yard.
4. Turn off outdoor lights near the house at night so they won’t attract bugs.
5. Clean your dog or cat indoor beds regularly.

Is the kissing bug really dangerous?

Kissing bugs can carry a parasite that causes Chagas disease, but this is not common in the United States. Itching from the bites can be so bad that some people will scratch enough to cause breaks in the skin that get infected easily. The bites can also cause a serious allergic reaction in some people.

What happens if you squish a kissing bug?

It’s best to NOT squish a bug, but sometimes it happens! After the bug is squished, do not touch the bug with your bare hands. The T. cruzi parasite may be in the feces of kissing bugs, and their bodies may have the parasite on them.

Are kissing bugs related to stink bugs?

Kissing bugs look similar to stink bugs, but stink bugs are typically smaller and lack the red, orange, or yellow stripes of color that you can see on kissing bugs.

What eats the kissing bug?

Kissing bugs are insects that may be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. People also call them cone-nose bugs or chinches. Kissing bugs feed on blood from people and other animals. Kissing bugs are mostly active during the night.

What US 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 states have the kissing bug?

Are stink bugs and kissing bugs the same?

Do all kissing bugs carry Chagas?

Kissing bugs can carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which can cause Chagas disease. It’s important to know that not all kissing bugs are infected with the parasite, and the likelihood of contracting Chagas disease is low.

Do kissing bugs carry diseases?

You may have heard about the kissing bug that is making its way across southern regions of the U.S. Major news outlets such as TIME, CNN, and Forbes recently featured stories about this trending topic. Kissing bugs can carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which can cause Chagas disease.

How many states have kissing bugs been found?

In the United States, kissing bugs have been found in 29 states. All shaded states in the map have at least one kissing bug found there. Striped states are those from which we have received submissions to our Community Science Program. In some states, kissing bugs have only been found a few times and are probably rare.

What do you do if you find a kissing bug?

When you find a kissing bug, write down the date, time of day you found it, where it was caught (indoors or outdoors), and any possible bites on people or animals. If you are in Texas, you can submit kissing bugs that bit a person to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Is the kissing bug based on a true story?

Daisy Hernandez is the author of the new book “The Kissing Bug: The True Story Of A Family, An Insect, And A Nation’s Neglect Of A Deadly Disease” (ph). Hernandez was raised in New Jersey by her mother, who’s from Colombia, and her father, who’s from Cuba.