Last Updated on August 9, 2019 by Gardens Home Management Services
A recent report identifies that bed bugs are capable of transmitting the parasite that causes Chagas disease, which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lists as an emerging infectious disease. Bed bugs have been found to carry Trypanosoma cruzi, or T. cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. While these are no typical household names, they are terms to be reckoned with.
Protecting against bed bugs is a little different than warding off kissing bugs, which typically enter a dwelling from the outside like many other property pests. Sealing cracks, replacing weather-stripping, fixing loose mortar around basements and windows and generally closing up gaps are ways to control kissing bugs.
Bed bugs, on the other hand, rely on help from humans who move from one locale to the next. Despite bed bug myths, they can often hitch a ride via clothing, luggage and other transported items.