Bed Bug Sniffing Dogs
Bed Bug Sniffing Dogs
Worldwide, bed bugs are causing infestations in our homes, hotels, high rises,
and virtually anywhere they can. The reason for this rapid rise in bed bug
problems is thought to partly be the ease of travel all over the world and the
mobility and resiliency of bed bugs. These bugs will snag a ride on the clothes
of a traveler in England and may end up hours later in California. Just one
adult female bed bug can lay five eggs a day. That is just one bed bug, so
imagine just how many eggs can be produced in one day by hundreds of bugs.
Pest control businesses are trying to come up with new and better ways to get
rid of bed bugs. There are several new things appearing on the market to help
combat bed bug battalions. One is a system that uses cryonite in the form of
frozen vapor to spray on and literally freeze the bed bugs. Another is the use
of infrared heaters. They can be placed in a room and turned up high to fry the
bugs. The most bizarre new method being worked on is a human-like form of a
person asleep. Since a bed bug’s main food source is people, I guess someone
decided to design a trap in that form. It would be interesting to see the
science behind this design.
Probably the most promising way to detect and control bed bugs is the ever more
popular use of dogs trained for this purpose. Dogs have been and continue to be
a very important helper in many situations. They are trained to sniff out guns,
cancer, drugs, and much more. It isn’t surprising when you think that dogs have
over 200 billion odor cells which receive stimuli while people have only about
five million. A dog has such a potent sense of smell even equipment to measure
smell can’t discover the existence of odors like a dog can. A dog trained to
uncover bed bugs can do so in about two to three minutes and point to the spot
within three feet; this if phenomenal.
Once bed bugs have been discovered, eradication of the infestation should be
done immediately. If you do not want to use toxic chemicals in the bed bug
elimination treatment process, there are natural alternatives. Diatomaceous
earth is becoming more and more popular for use in getting rid of bed bugs. DE
also provides a protective barrier inside and around your home to prevent future
infestations of bed bugs and other bothersome insects. So, if you spent some
money on a dog detective, keep costs down by purchasing diatomaceous earth
instead of utilizing the help of an exterminator.
By: Bradley Skierkowski