University of Florida researchers are warning residents to watch for "kissing bugs," blood-feeding insects that can carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease — an illness that may not show symptoms until serious heart damage or organ damage has already begun.
According to the Palm Beach Post, researchers said in Sept. 2025 that Chagas disease is now considered regularly present in the United States. Florida has the third-most cases in the country.
In response, UF scientists are urging residents to report sightings as adult kissing bugs begin moving into homes to feed and reproduce.
The insects are about 16 to 22 millimeters long, with pointed heads, wings, and red or orange markings around the abdomen, according to Florida Today.
One Florida species, Triatoma sanguisuga, is now at the stage of its life cycle when adults move indoors to lay eggs and look for blood meals, Dr. Norman Beatty, a professor of medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine, told the Palm Beach Post.
"This is when the adult kissing bugs are dispersing," Beatty said. "They're going to find a blood meal and find a mate."
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The danger is not just the bite. The parasite that causes Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, can enter the body when infected bug feces are rubbed into the bite site, eye, or mouth.
The public health concern may be much larger than official numbers suggest.
An estimated 300,000 people in the U.S. have Chagas disease, though the true total is likely higher because many infections go undetected and the disease is not reportable at the federal level.
Beatty told the Palm Beach Post that roughly 30% of kissing bug samples his team studied in Florida carried Trypanosoma cruzi, and one investigation found that nearly a quarter of the bugs' blood meals included human blood.
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While many U.S. diagnoses are linked to travel abroad, locally acquired Chagas has been documented in eight states.
For families and pet owners, that means a bug hiding near the home could become a long-term health threat.
When someone contracts Chagas, they can initially experience fever, fatigue, body aches, rashes, and swelling near the bite site. However, the symptoms can then subside and remain dormant before damaging vital organs.
The Palm Beach Post highlighted the case of Janeice Smith, who likely contracted the disease as a child and only learned about it decades later after getting her blood tested at a blood donor center. By then, she said, the infection had already damaged her esophagus.
UF researchers also said human-driven environmental change is helping create conditions for more frequent exposure to Chagas disease.
As development pushes deeper into rural areas, exposure risk may increase.
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