Kissing bugs are most commonly encountered during their dispersal season, May through July, as adult kissing bugs fly towards homes attracted by lighting (Wood 1950, Ekkens 1981). Some species actively seek out humans and domestic animals to feed on.
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 are bloodsucking insects that can transmit the dangerous and potentially lethal Chagas disease and also cause allergic reactions. They are most commonly encountered in the southwest desert (Tucson, AZ area) during the months of May through July.
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.
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.
Bite Marks
Kissing bugs are so named because they like to bite around the mouth or eyes. You'll often see 2-15 bite marks in one area and maybe redness and swelling. It might be hard to tell them apart from other bug bites, minor skin irritations, or infections.
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.
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.
If you find a bug you suspect is a triatomine, do not touch or squash it. Place a container on top of the bug, slide the bug inside, and fill it with rubbing alcohol or, if not available, freeze the bug in the container.
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. Use an item like a small plastic bag to pick up the bug and throw it away where other people and animals cannot get it.
Our kissing bug community science program started in 2012. Since then, almost 1,500 people have sent us over 7,000 kissing bugs for scientific research. About 55% of the kissing bugs are infected with the parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, that causes Chagas disease.
Kissing bugs feed on humans as well as wild and domestic animals and pets. They can live between one to two years from when they hatch out of the egg, through all five of the immature nymph stages, until they become adults and eventually die. Kissing bugs take many blood meals from various hosts throughout their lives.
Chagas disease is an emerging disease in Australia. GPs are best placed to offer opportunistic Chagas disease screening to those at risk from endemic regions as they are likely to be the first point of contact.
They're found in Central and South America and Mexico, but they're heading north. 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 can pass the parasite to hosts by biting and then pooping near the site of the bite. The parasite then can move from the kissing bug feces into the bite wound. Kissing bugs can enter houses, hunting cabins, dog kennels, or other areas where they look for people and animals to bite and feed on blood.
This is a great kissing bug control remedy that you can use in problem areas, as there are some smells that they do hate. Mix a couple of drops of a strong essential oil like citronella, mint, or tea tree with water. Apply it liberally everywhere you see the bugs congregating to keep them away.
Their bites are gentle and painless, and usually occur while the victim is asleep. They are generally unable to bite through clothing.
Kissing bugs are also able to sing, although the purpose of stridulating or sound production is unknown.
The truth is that assassin/kissing bugs have been in the U.S. for a long time and Chagas Disease is nothing new – but it is rare. Although it is rare to find kissing bugs in the U.S., they are not impossible to see around homes and businesses.
To kill the parasite, Chagas disease can be treated with benznidazole or nifurtimox. Both medicines are fully effective in curing the disease if given soon after infection at the onset of the acute phase, including the cases of congenital transmission.
The common hosts of kissing bugs include wild rodents, other wild mammals, domestic dogs, and of course people. Both male and female kissing bugs bite.
Besides bedbugs, numerous insects bite at night. These night biters can be mites, fleas, mosquitoes, lice, spiders, and ticks. Most of these insect bite marks look alike; hence, you should first look for bedbugs and investigate further.
The diagnosis of Chagas disease can be made by observation of the parasite in a blood smear by microscopic examination. A thick and thin blood smear are made and stained for visualization of parasites.
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.