KISSING BUGS

[Niki0815]

Hey yall,

I live in central Texas and have the strangest problem. My coop is infested with Kissing Bugs. They have worked their way up for Central America and Texas A&M has been researching the local population, but now I see 5+ every time I open my coop storage to feed my birds. Several days ago, one fell on my husbands head when he went in the actual coop to water the ladies. Needless to say he was freaked out and now I am on a fast track to completely clean out our coop (which is 15x20 or larger, I've never measured, but it is the size of a large room).
See, the problem with kissing bugs is that 50% are carriers of Chagas Disease, which can infect mammals who are unfortunate enough to get kissing bug fecal material into an open sore, bite, or ingest it. Kissing bugs themselves are blood sucking and bite, then poo near the area, and infect their victims that way.
We aren't around the coop in the evenings, and not for long enough to be bitten, but my concern is our eggs! Chickens, being birds, cannot host Chagas disease, but if kissing bugs crawl in our nests and deficate there, then can't the bacteria be present on the eggs? The infestation is recent, so in the past I have not "washed" our fresh eggs, just rinsed before eating. I think I need to do something more until the coop is rid of these critters. Any tips?

 

[townchicks]

Maybe contact your local vector control office. I would think they could advise you what to do. Good luck. Scary situation for you.

 

[llombardo]

Dangerous stuff. No dogs near coop?

 

[Lazy Farmer]

the problem with kissing bugs is that 50% are carriers of Chagas Disease

I can't find any report with the ratio of 50% stated. Only that there is a possibility of the disease, showing up years after the actual biting. It's a crazy world we live in.

They say most likely it was shipped over from the U.S. importing fresh produce. This is a clear case of our Country not being self sustainable and relying on other Countries to produce food for us--cheaper than we can.

 

[Clash]

"Kissing Bugs" are not new to the U.S. I live in Utah and I've recently read an article that said they've known we've had them here since the 1960's. The Chagas disease doesn't just infect mammals. It can affect your chickens too. I was reading an article from the National Institute of Health regarding the condition in Chickens and that though, Chagas cannot spread to the eggs, the antibodies can and chicks born from infected mothers can have an auto-immune disease that attacks their heart. I just had a 4 year old hen die on me. It could be she was egg bound, but it could also be "Sudden Chicken Death Syndrome" which I suspect might have something to do with these bugs. They are attracted to ammonia, lactic acids, and omega 3 fatty-acids. They drop on animals (and humans) from above quite commonly. I've set a trap near my chicken coop to see if I can catch any of these bugs since I'm suspicious, having lost a 4 year old hen that seemed quite healthy up until her death.

 

[cmom]

Permethrin is one of the common insecticides to kill kissing bugs.