Bed Bug Detection – Bed Bug Dogs

Bed Bug Sniffing Dogs

Have you heard about Certified K9 bed bug detection dogs? How is it possible that a dog is able to smell one or two bed bugs that may be hidden within a bed frame, box spring, mattress or other furniture? Well the answer can be found by understanding the facts. Dogs have a highly refined sense of smell. They are able to smell 500 times that of the human nose. Certain breeds of dogs are born to sniff and search more than others. Whenever you hear the word Bloodhound you instantly in vision a dog with its nose to the ground in search of a certain smell or prey.

K9 Bed Bug Detection

There are several companies in the United States that specialize in finding the right type of bed bug sniffing dog and then working intensively with the dog to train it for the job of bed bug detection k9.

Bed Bug Detection Dog

The most established companies will often train dogs for different areas of work. Some examples are bomb detection, drug detection, missing person or cadaver detection, mold detection, bed bug detection, detecting low blood sugar in diabetics, and even cancer and seizure detecting dogs. Once these companies have established the dog’s ability to perform well - they will often sell the dog(s) to a secondary company which may primarily deal with one type of detection; say a Police training K9 academy or a Bed Bug K9 training facility. Once the dog has been refined at this facility they are then sold to individuals. These individuals must then attend training in order to properly handle the dog and to continue training within their organization. These handlers must work the bed bug detection dogs each and every day to keep the dog at the top of his or her game. They must be able to read their dog’s body language and to recognize false alerts as these can occur at times. Certified bed bug detection dogs are not 100%, but they can be highly effective and around 93-98 % accurate when trained properly.

Pictures of Bed Bugs

Bed Bug Dogs

You will not need a certified K9 if you have found the bugs yourself. Bed bug dogs are primarily used when you suspect bedbugs, but can find no evidence. You can Google bed bug pictures and see if what you have found looks the same or you call a local pesticide company to identify the bug for you.

Bed Bug Dog Detection — Explained

Bed bug detection dogs are wonderful tools in early detection of bed bug infestations and can be used as a first line of defense when directed by a certified trainer. Remember, they are only a tool, and should not be the only source of detection. What does that mean? Simply that it requires both a well trained dog and a professional dog handler who will also search for signs of bedbugs by inspection and asking questions.

They work as a team effort and the handler may also seek information from the tenants. The handler will ask questions as well as look for evidence. If a dog alerts and a handler does not bother to inspect the item he or she is not doing their job. Inspections and questions should always be included in a search. Is anyone complaining of being bitten? Have you taken a look at the bedding and mattress? If so, were there any blood spots or black dots (feces)? Were there any small bug castings (outer shell) found behind the headboard, on the mattress or floor? During inspection did anything run crawl or move?

If after inspecting you do not see any evidence you may not have bed bugs, but then again, if the last guest just infected the place with one or two pregnant female bed bugs you really wouldn’t see any evidence the first day. In optimal conditions bedbugs prefer to eat once a week so it may be a few days before they need a blood meal. This is where bed bug detection dogs are the most effective.

The dogs are trained to pick up the scent of low numbers of bed bugs, even detecting the pheromones from one bedbug. There are some drawbacks that can cause a bed bug detection dog to either false alert or miss a bedbug. Examples include: bugs hiding in wall picture above bed headboard which is too far up the wall for the dog to detect the smell, a residual smell (bedbug was there that morning, but has hitched a ride and left the area), being mishandled by the handler or being misread by the handler, a dog that is getting sick or just having an off day. Most good handlers recognize when they need to move pictures to the floor to be searched or when their dog is not acting normal. Certified detection dogs should not alert to the smell of dead bedbugs as the dead bugs are no longer emitting the pheromones which the dog has been trained to find.

View: Bed Bug Detection – Lexington, SC - Interesting Story

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