PREVENTION

The goal of any prevention or control program regarding kissing bugs is to reduce contact especially between humans and the bugs in order to prevent discomfort from bites and the more serious problem of Chagas disease. This involves using insecticides, improving housing conditions, and with respect to Chagas, screening blood used for transfusions (Krinsky, 2019). By controlling this interference between humans and triatomines, the contact between kissing bugs and dogs is also influenced.

Residual insecticides sprayed onto houses or applied to walls in paints are effective in controlling triatomines for a few months after application, but control of populations of insecticide-resistant bugs requires selective use of different pesticides. Long-term control requires careful surveillance and changes in and around traditional homes. Here the use of sensor boxes for passive collecting, the reduction of hiding places by covering rough walls and floors with plaster and replacing thatched roofs with tin or tile have been performed. The removal of wall hangings, firewood, accumulated debris or vegetation, and animal (chicken, guinea pig) enclosures also excludes triatomines and additionally prevents houses treated with insecticides from subsequently being colonized by peridomestic or sylvatic species. For more detailed information on control see Krinsky (2019). No biological control method has been found for effective, widespread use in Central and South America against triatomines so far (Krinsky, 2019).

References

Krinsky WL: Chapter 8: True Bugs (Hemiptera). In: Mullen GR, Durden LA (eds.): Medical and Veterinary Entomology. 3rd edn., 2019, Academic Press, Elsevier Inc., London, pp. 107-27