For many, bed bugs are a nightmare! They are invisible to the naked eye yet they like to crawl into cracks and crevices, often making their way into beds or couches. These creatures can cause infection and severe itching, which makes them difficult to find.
Fortunately, trained canines have an incredibly strong sense of smell! They can pick up on these pests from miles away. A trained bed bug detection dog knows how to sniff out these microscopic creatures. Even when you think your house is entirely clean, just one female bed bug will release pheromones. She does her dirty work of laying eggs that can spread around your entire home undetected.
How Does a Dog Find Bed Bugs?
There are many ways in how dogs can detect bed bugs. Some will allow the dog to do his or her inspection by doing a full search of your home. Others, or a combination thereof, will have handlers using monitors and thermal imaging cameras. These pinpoint specific areas where the dog is picking up on an infestation.
When you think there are bed bugs in your home, it is best to contact a canine detection service right away! While they are free, investing in their services will help protect both you and your family from these pesky creatures.
Do Dogs Need Training?
As with any other kind of training, there are always expensive start-up costs. These depend on how long it takes to find just the right animal for this line of work. Once you find a suitable one with the right temperament and drive to hunt down these pests, training is a breeze! Any breed of dog can become a trained canine for bed bugs. It just takes time and patience for their handlers and trainers, who will need to know how dogs can detect bed bugs.
Dogs learn how to detect bed bugs by using their scenting abilities. Scenting is how they explore smells in the air. A pheromone is an excretion from many animals that creates a social responsibility among them. Not only do pheromones affect how animals act, but also how they communicate with each other. When it comes to bed bugs, these give off an odor that attracts their male counterparts to them!
Since dogs are naturally drawn to the scent of urine, this is how it begins for training how dogs can detect bed bugs. It takes about six weeks of extensive training before a dog is ready for inspection work.
What Breeds of Dogs Sniff Out Bed Bugs?
While any breed of dog can learn how to detect bed bugs, the ones with the best sense of smell are typically the most useful. These include Bloodhounds, Labrador Retrievers, and German Shepherds. As long as their handler can train them on how to sniff out these elusive creatures, any dog has a shot for this task.
The most common breed of canine is the Labrador Retriever. This is how they become dogs that can detect bed bugs. They love to play and are eager to please their owners, which is how they make good service animals. A well-trained Lab can learn how to sniff out bed bugs in no time!
Can Pets Carry Bed Bugs?
Pets can carry bed bugs, although this is very rare. These bloodsuckers can also bite animals. In return, it will cause a reaction to how dogs detect bed bugs. Some breeds of dogs that sleep with their owners or in the same room as them may develop a rash. This is from the manner in how dogs can track down these pests get affected.
When you suspect your infestation has spread to your pets, it is best to speak with an exterminator right away! This way, they can inspect how your pet is feeling and determine the presence of these bugs or not. They will know how to get rid of all signs of them for good!
Are Bed Bugs Easy to Transmit?
Bed bugs are small, reproduce quickly, and their eggs can travel undetected easily. It is easy for them to transmit. Not only do they travel on your clothes throughout the daily activities you may do with them but even via public transportation like buses and planes.
The best way to keep your home safe is by calling an inspection service as soon as possible. They will know how to inspect where these pests are hiding in your home or any other places that can harbor infestation signs. Once detected, you can begin treatment right away!
Since bed bugs can turn into such a big problem, dealing with how dogs detect bed bugs is the best option. Save yourself and your family from these pesky creatures and contact an inspection service today!
Ask The Pest Control Professional to Do Their Inspection and Show You a Bed Bug
For how dogs can detect bed bugs, you must first know how to do a thorough inspection yourself. When you suspect that these pests infested your home, start looking for any signs.
Keep in mind that the adults are about 3/16 inches long and oval-shaped. They have six legs and each one is red after a meal, although they turn brown just before laying eggs. These eggs are extremely small but visible when you know how to look for them. Make sure not to mistake them for dandruff or lint.
When you are inspecting how dogs can detect bed bugs, it is important to pay close attention to the crevices of your mattress. Use a flashlight and move your bed away from the wall. They can hide in between sheets, box springs, and even under the brim of a pillowcase. Check behind headboards when you have them as well.
After inspecting how dogs can detect bed bugs on your own, it is time to contact a bed bug inspection service in NYC, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island for how they do it. These professionals can tell you whether the infestation is beyond your control or not. Not only does this save money but also time for how they communicate with each other. When it comes to how dogs detect bed bugs, these professionals know how to do it right!
National Pest Management Association Recommendations
The National Pest Management Association recommends the following for how dogs can detect bed bugs:
Do a thorough inspection on how to find these pests, how they bite, and where they hide. This is how you determine whether the infestation is rising or not.
Look at all mattress seams, folds, and crevices thoroughly by how dogs track down these pests. Check your box springs as well when you have them in your home.
An inspection that deems an infestation is over 50%, treating with desiccants like silica gel may work best! There is approval for this by how dogs can sniff out bed bugs. Another treatment method is steam or how dogs inspect these pests.
When the infestation is less than 50%, using how dogs can smell out bed bugs can turn effective. These pest control professionals will know how to handle this infestation safely and how to prevent future outbreaks.
The best way you can keep your home free of bed bugs is by contacting an inspection service for how they do it right. They know how to avoid further infestations and how to treat them in the safest manner possible. Keep yourself, your family, and your pets safe from dangerous diseases or health problems that might arise without proper treatment.
FAQs
Below are further questions that people ask often and responses for them:
Can dogs detect dead bed bugs?
This is how dogs use their sense of smell to track down how bed bugs invade your home. The best way you can keep yourself and how dogs detect these pests is by hiring a professional service that knows the proper way of doing it. Whether they are alive or dead, these professionals will come in and do the job right. You can contact an inspection service today for how to do this yourself.
Can dogs hunt bed bugs?
According to how dogs can detect bed bugs, these professionals know how to proceed with the infestation and how you can prevent one in the future. They will investigate how they “hunt” them down by their scent and then treat them accordingly.
When dogs inspect these pests, they will look into every crack and crevice for how an infestation arises. They will also check how these pests hide under carpets when you have them. When it comes to how dogs hunt down bed bugs in the carpeting, this is how they use their sense of smell.
Can untrained dogs smell bed bugs?
A dog’s nose is about 220 million cells long and sensitive enough to sense small organisms like bed bugs. A dry, itchy, or crusty mouth will not let them smell anything. But once the animal gets some moisture in their breath, they can detect even smaller things than before such as traces of pest activity in your home.
Most creatures can vary between breeds when smelling out various types of pests. However, generally speaking, most dogs have larger analysis areas for smells.
The training of a dog to detect bed bugs is only as effective as its handler. Obedience, feeding, and care for the dogs along with commands to use when they encounter bed bug detection canines are inclusive. They must also know how their particular type of canine works best. It responds to ‘find it’, ‘seek’ or even just ‘show me!’
