Their insect name is triatomines, but people call them “kissing bugs” for a rather unpleasant reason — they tend to bite people on the face. Kissing bugs carry a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi. They pick up this parasite by feeding on an infected person or animal. The parasite then lives in the kissing bug’s intestines and feces. If feces containing this parasite get inside your body, you become infected. The infection is called Chagas disease.
Kissing bugs are nocturnal. This means they come out at night to feed. Usually the person is sleeping, and the bite doesn’t hurt. You may not even know you’ve been bitten. Kissing bugs bite by injecting saliva that has an anesthetic property into the skin. It typically takes between 20 and 30 minutes for a bug to feed. The bug may bite anywhere from 2 to 15 times. Typically, the bug will bite a person on their face.
