Where Do Kissing Bugs Actually Live in the US?
Kissing Bugs live in 28 US states and are confirmed absent from 16 more, based on 11,241 verified iNaturalist and GBIF records. This page covers every state at once instead of one near-identical page per state.
By Tim, founder of Easy Street Markets. I maintain the wildlife database and verify every animal and source myself.
The states with the strongest confirmed populations are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware and Florida, and 22 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Kissing Bugs have zero confirmed wild sightings in Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana and New Hampshire, or 6 other states, despite tens of thousands of nationwide observation records for the species. That is a real, checked absence, not a missing page.
A small number of states (6) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm kissing bugs as an established population there.
Confirmed states (28)
- kissing bugs in Alabama
- kissing bugs in Arizona
- kissing bugs in Arkansas
- kissing bugs in California
- kissing bugs in Delaware
- kissing bugs in Florida
- kissing bugs in Georgia
- kissing bugs in Illinois
- kissing bugs in Indiana
- kissing bugs in Kansas
- kissing bugs in Kentucky
- kissing bugs in Louisiana
- kissing bugs in Maryland
- kissing bugs in Mississippi
- kissing bugs in Missouri
- kissing bugs in Nebraska
- kissing bugs in Nevada
- kissing bugs in New Jersey
- kissing bugs in New Mexico
- kissing bugs in North Carolina
- kissing bugs in Ohio
- kissing bugs in Oklahoma
- kissing bugs in South Carolina
- kissing bugs in Tennessee
- kissing bugs in Texas
- kissing bugs in Utah
- kissing bugs in Virginia
- kissing bugs in West Virginia
Not found (16)
- Alaska
- Connecticut
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Vermont
Unconfirmed (6)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for kissing bugs in Colorado, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do kissing bugs live in?+
Kissing Bugs have confirmed wild populations in 28 US states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
Where are kissing bugs not found in the US?+
Kissing Bugs have no confirmed wild sightings in Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Vermont.