Meet The Team
Annie is a black labrador retriever that I have trained for bed bug detection. Together we make a powerful tool customers can use to combat a bed bug problem.
THE K-9 ADVANTAGE
Using a K-9 detection team for Bed Bug control has many advantages over traditional methods. Fast accurate inspection, reduced treatment costs, the ability to concentrate control efforts and confirmation that control has been gained.
HOW IT WORKS
Annie is trained to alert to all living stages of a Bed Bugs life cycle. This includes eggs, nymphs and adults. Many hours of training have been devoted to ignoring dead bed bugs, blood or fecal material, castings and non-viable eggs.
Our Training Program - Above and Beyond Simple Detection
Simply training a dog to alert to living bed bugs is not enough to insure accurate inspection results. Our regular training program includes:
- On and off leash searches
- Searches are performed with and without handling
- Searches are performed with active and inactive bed bugs
- Preferred bed bug hiding spots and unlikely hiding spots are practiced
- Steps to insure that fecal material, dead bed bugs and cast skins are not alerted to
- That as few as one adult bed bug can be found
- Kesa is trained to find active bed bug eggs
- That multiple bed bugs locations can be found in the same room
Still with all of this training, problems can occur. This is where an experienced pest control operator, visual confirmation, multi dog inspections, training log, and a dedication to continuous improvement make the difference customers can count on.
THE INSPECTION PROCESS
Control over the working environment is the single most important factor ensuring a quality K-9 inspection. The fewer the distractions the better. Pets, multiple bystanders, pesticide use, poor air current conditions and K-9 safety are some of the factors that need to be addressed before any inspection can begin.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Annie is trained to alert to the source of the scent. What this means to the customer is that if there are multiple bed bugs in one room the K-9 will alert to the “strongest” source. This may not include every bed bug in that individual room. Also sick, starving or moulting insects are not emitting the pheromones necessary for an alert.
In homes where there are no bed bugs Annie will often lack enthusiasm during the inspection process. I do a visual inspection of the areas the dogs showed interest in but did not alert (better safe than sorry).
While Annie is obedient she does not work in a “robotic” way. During training and in the work environment Annie is encouraged to follow her noses and is not expected to follow every directional command. After all Annie has a better understanding of scent and how her noses works than any human could.
For an alert Annie sits and touches the area with her paw. She will also point in the direction with her nose. Annie only receives a reward when a live find is made.
Certification
While certification is a great start, I believe the policy/warranty I offer for my service is of more value to my customers.
Policy/Warranty
I will not offer extermination services unless I can find a live bed bug or viable egg during the K-9 inspection.
If our K-9 team does not make any finds during the inspection and there proves to be a current infestation, I will provide my extermination services at price reduced by twice the inspection fee. (This applies for up to one week after the inspection has been done and to single dwelling homes only.)
Customers can request a second inspection within 30 days of the original inspection at no additional charge.