When it comes to determining whether your home or business has a bed bug infestation, the only way to guarantee the most accurate reading is to employ one of the few highly specialised K9 bed bug detection services firms operating in Vancouver.
Rio hard at work searching for bed bugs
Off the shelf products such as traps or monitors are high unreliable as bed bugs won’t necessarily take the route towards them to leave any evidence. All pest controllers, be they local independents or multi-national use these very same methods to determine the presence of bed bugs.
Can dogs really sniff out bed bugs?
You may be forgiven for questioning how dogs can detect bed bugs, as on the face of it, it does seem a quite unbelievable feat of detective work. However, due to their highly sensitive noses; 50 times more smell receptors in their noses and the part of their brain devoted to process smell is up to 40 times greater than human, dogs are employed to carry out numerous highly important tasks with human handlers.
We now take it for granted when we see a sniffer dog mingling amongst travellers and their luggage at airports and border crossings, seeking out explosives and illicit narcotics. Police forces use dogs to seek out many things including drugs and cadavers. Increasingly, dogs are being used to detect assorted illness and diseases, such as cancer. So, really, it is not at all surprising that a dog can be trained to recognise and respond to the scent of a single bed bug or a batch of eggs.
How can they detect bed bugs?
Regardless of what you want a dog to detect, the process is very much the same – scent familiarization, followed by a robust, consistent detection and reward system. The reward system can be a small, tasty treat or a barrage of praise. Rio for instance is very happy with a ‘good girl’, a tummy rub and playing with her toy reward.
It is also vitally important to conduct continuous practice with any bed bug sniffing dog as this provides reinforcement and accuracy via task familiarity. Like any new skill we humans learn, it will become rusty or soon forgotten if not practiced.
The most accurate bed bug reading
Canine bed bug inspection is still a relatively recent innovation, but over the past 20 years, those who have employed the likes of Rio to conduct an inspection, have been delighted with the definitive diagnosis that no other bed bug detection method can provide.
To book Rio and her extremely sensitive nose or to just find out more about our professional K9 bed bug detection service, either call 778-855-6768 or email us. We look forward to hearing from you.
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