Signs of kissing bugs Kissing bugs can cause patches of bites, often around the mouth. The bites are usually painless, but they may swell and look like hives. Itching from the bites may last a week.
There are several insects that are commonly mistaken for “kissing bugs”that do occur in and around homes statewide, including western conifer-seed bug and masked hunter.
Step 2: Do Not Squish It
Chagas disease spreads through the kissing bug's feces, which may have contaminated its body. Handling the bug can potentially soil your hands, and if the bug is infected and you touch your mouth, eyes, or an open wound, you could contract the illness.
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.
They are found all over America, but species have also been found in Asia, Africa and Australia. Since kissing bugs feed off the blood of vertebrates, they are found living in close proximity to them.
Kissing bugs get their name because these insects often bite people while they are sleeping, and often bite around the mouth or on the face.
If found inside the home, kissing bugs are often in: Bedrooms; under or near mattresses or night stands. Near pet beds. Areas of rodent infestation.
Kissing bugs can cause patches of bites, often around the mouth. The bites are usually painless, but they may swell and look like hives. Itching from the bites may last a week.
Kissing bugs can be attracted by light. Consider turning off lights near homes and kennels at night. Kissing bugs may live with rodents. Discourage kissing bugs and rodents by removing yard debris and keeping vegetation low.
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.
All of the kinds of kissing bugs found in the United States are mainly black or very dark brown, with red, orange or yellow 'stripes' around the edge of their bodies. Since they try to bite and feed without being noticed, their bites are generally not painful. Kissing bugs are mostly active at dusk or night.
They are also known as conenose bugs, triatomine bugs, and Hualapai (or Wallapai) tigers. Although kissing bugs are in the same insect order as bed bugs and both feed on blood, they have different life histories.
Their bites are gentle and painless, and usually occur while the victim is asleep. They are generally unable to bite through clothing.
If untreated, infection is lifelong. Acute Chagas disease occurs immediately after infection, and can last up to a few weeks or months. During the acute phase, parasites may be found in the circulating blood. This phase of infection is usually mild or asymptomatic.
Key facts. About 6–7 million people worldwide, mostly in Latin America, are estimated to be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease.
The diagnosis of Chagas disease can be made by observation of the parasite in a blood smear by microscopic examination.
You can also distinguish a wheel bug from a kissing bug by its size and color. Wheel bugs are 1-1.25 inches long, and they are dull greyish-brown in color. Eastern conenose kissing bugs are 0.6-0.9 inches long, mostly black in color, with lateral orange-red stripes on their abdomen.
Kissing bugs carry the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi in their digestive tract. Infection with Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease in dogs and other mammals. Dogs can become infected either by ingesting the kissing bug or by being bitten by the kissing bug.
Symptoms of chagas
In the acute stage - the first few weeks after infection - only mild symptoms show which are common in many other diseases. These can range from body aches and fatigue to fever and vomiting. After the acute phase, chagas goes into remission and no other symptoms may appear for many years.
Assassin bugs, sometimes known as conenoses or “kissing bugs,” are occasionally found in the home (bathtubs, sinks, drains, etc.) and, if handled carelessly, can inflict a very painful bite, causing a severe reaction in some persons. Some are attracted to lights and require blood meals to complete their development.
Indeed, wheel bugs and a few other true bugs continue to be misidentified on social media as kissing bugs. Two of the most common faux-kissers appearing on social media are boxelder bugs (Boisea trivittata) and western conifer seed bugs (Leptoglossus occidentalis).
Researchers at London-based Kingston University found that the bugs thrive in warm, moist environments but die in dry surroundings. They stated that by making your bed every morning, you could be cultivating a humid habitat for the bugs.