As you may have read in my previous
post, I've had a few issues with bedbugs and have been trying some natural remedies to get rid of them, which seem to be working, by the way. But there is one new, very natural, remedy to detect them that will save you from the most common way of detecting them, which involves waking up with itchy, red bites all over your body. Instead, before renting or buying, have a dog sniff the premises.
An article in the
New York Times outlines how bedbug-detecting canines can save you a lot of pain and aggravation.
When I first read that a pest control company in my area offers dog services for bed bugs, I thought it meant that they would treat your dogs for bedbugs like you would treat them for fleas. Then, reading further, I discovered that dogs are actually used to sniff out bedbugs. This new process, featured in the
Times article, has been researched by entomologists at (my alma mater) the University of Florida.
The article also provides some interesting background information which made me feel a little better about my situation. According to New York's Department of Housing Preservation and Development, bedbug complaints and violations have increased at an unbelievable rate in the last six years, from 537 bedbug complaints in 2003 and 82 violations (certified infestations) to nearly 11,000 complaints last year with 4,084 violations cited (nearly double that of the previous year).
So before renting an apartment or buying a house, it would be wise to have some sort of inspection done. According to the University of Florida researchers, the dogs can detect a single live bug or egg with 96 percent accuracy, much more accurate than a human inspection and in much less time. If you're interested, a couple of companies that offer canine services in the New York area are
MandM Pest Control and
Bed Bug Locators.
What do you think about this? Would you trust a dog to check for bedbugs? Enough to pay for this service?Image Source
Comments (2)
no. if its past 8, its time to replace. like that commercial says...
but the dog is cute though.
It took six months to get bed bugs out of my house with professional treatment, so I do wish you success in trying to get rid of them on your own. It's not easy. I did pay to have a bed bug sniffing dog tell me they were gone, twice, at six month intervals. Both times my house, and the building, came up clear.