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If you’re worried that you have bed bugs in your home, you can look for them yourself. But this method is unsuccessful more often than not. Even pest-control professionals have trouble spotting bed bugs, which instinctively hide in places where human eyes can’t pry. Bed Bug Dog Inspections
Dogs don’t need to see bed bugs. With their sensitive canine noses—which detect odors in parts per trillion—they quickly smell the nasty critters. That’s why pest-control experts in bed bug removal use dogs specially trained to show them where the bed bugs are hiding. According to research by the University of Florida, bed bug dog inspections find infestations almost 100 percent of the time.
Reducing Pesticide Use
It’s not just that dogs can confirm an infestation; it’s that they can pinpoint it. This allows bed bug removal specialists to target their treatment, minimizing the area that needs to be sprayed. With a bed bug dog, you don’t have to blast your entire residence with pesticide.
Getting the Eggs Too
Dogs can smell bed bugs of all life stages. This is important because different treatments are used for eggs than for already-hatched bed bugs. Without a bed bug dog inspection, there’s a risk that undiscovered eggs will hatch after the treatment.
Doing What Comes Naturally
If you’ve ever seen a dog following a smell (e.g., food), you know they aren’t easily deterred by obstacles and are intently focused on their goal. And their relatively small size allows them to follow the scent into places humans couldn’t even go, such as wall gaps or small spaces between furniture. This agility is particularly important in detecting the notoriously elusive bed bug.
Getting the Best Bed Bug Dog Inspections
If you need a professional check for bed bugs in your residence, insist on a company with experience using bed bug-sniffing dogs. To recap, the benefits of bed bug dog inspections include:
- Increased accuracy
- Quicker detection (dogs are right on it!)
- Minimization of pesticide use due to identification of exact infected areas
- Detection of all life stages
- Inspection in areas difficult or impossible for humans to go.
When it comes to finding bed bugs, dogs are once again man’s best friend.
Photo Credit: Want2Know via Flickr
