Can using bed bug dogs sniff out (and eliminate) a pesky problem?

Most people will deal with a bug infestation or two at some point. It isn’t always possible to tell which bug has taken up residence in your house; some of them, like bed bugs, are tiny and quite secretive.

And when you can’t tell which type of bug infestation you’re dealing with, you can’t determine the best way to eliminate them.

This is why many people use bed bug dogs to identify whether or not their house contains bed bugs. Companies like Doctor Sniffs can bring their trained and certified dogs to your house and detect bed bugs and their eggs’ presence (or absence) within minutes.

That said, there are a few essential details to know if you’re considering using this service. It isn’t necessarily a 100% error-free process, but if you choose an exemplary service, you’re much more likely to be satisfied with the results.

How accurate are bed bug dogs?

A quick Google search will tell you that bed bug dogs can achieve up to 98% accuracy, whether searching for live bed bugs, droppings, eggs, or anything else that could indicate an infestation. Even though highly trained dogs and their handlers have demonstrated this level of accuracy, other studies have shown an accuracy of under 50%. So which is it?

It depends on several factors. For example, what were the dogs trained to do? Sniff out the bed bugs themselves, or their eggs too? Bed bug eggs are more challenging to eliminate than the bugs themselves, so if the dog missed locations where viable eggs were waiting to hatch, this would mean re-infestation within 6 to 10 days.

Another source of error can be the handlers if they misinterpret what the dog is signaling. When you’re checking out the credentials of a company that uses bed bug dogs, pay attention to what they say about the relationship between the canines and their handlers. If they’ve worked closely together for a few years, that’s a good sign.

To get the best of the best, search for a team that can detect eggs and bed bugs and has a proven track record of success over the past several years.

Benefits of using bed bug dogs

There’s more than one way to detect bed bugs, but using dogs like Beagles, Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, or Basset Hounds, is one of the best.

Keep reading to find out why!

1. Get immediate results

If you suspect bed bugs but haven’t been able to confirm their presence in your house, one option is to use bed bug interceptors — passive traps that catch bed bugs as they climb up your bed.

The advantage of this strategy is that it’s 100% accurate: if you catch a bed bug, you have an infestation on your hands.

The disadvantage is that it can take up to two weeks to catch anything since bed bugs only feed every 5 to 10 days. This gives them plenty of time to lay eggs and start a new generation while you’re waiting for your trap to work.

With bed bug dogs, however, you can get nearly as accurate and way faster results. With luck, you could catch the infestation before it spreads and keep the extermination costs to a minimum.

2. Process less disruptive

To find bed bugs through a visual inspection, it’s usually necessary to disassemble furniture and flip over beds to ensure no colony is missed. This means that even after the inspection, your work is far from over — you must put the entire house back together.

Fortunately, this isn’t needed if bed bug dogs are performing the inspection. However, you should still prepare the space for their arrival. For example, removing clutter and anything that could distract the dog’s sense of smell (cigarettes, food, or pet items) is helpful.

3. Detect viable eggs

To eliminate bed bugs, you don’t just have to get all the bugs but also the eggs. Viable bed bug eggs sometimes evade extermination efforts since they’re usually hidden inside deep crevices. If they survive a round of extermination, they’ll hatch within the next ten days, and your bed bug nightmare will start again.

One solution is to use bed bug dogs after extermination to see if they can sniff out any viable eggs missed the first time. Remember, though, that this takes special training; the dogs must know the difference between eggs and dead bed bugs.

4. More efficient

The main alternative to using bed bug dogs is a visual inspection. It would make sense to start with all the beds in the house…but bed bugs don’t limit themselves to their namesake pieces of furniture. They can camp out almost anywhere, meaning a visual inspection could take several hours to complete. This could be pretty pricey if you’ve asked a professional to perform the inspection rather than doing it yourself.

With a well-trained dog, on the other hand, the entire inspection could take minutes instead of hours. Since these dogs detect the bugs based on smell rather than sight, they can work much more efficiently than someone peering under every cushion and into every corner.

5. Reveal specific areas of infestation

Without knowing where the bed bugs are (and aren’t), the exterminator would have to blanket the entire home with pesticides. This increases your cost and the number of toxic chemicals released into your home. Bed bug dogs can identify precisely where the bed bugs are located for a more targeted extermination plan.

The takeaway on bed bug dogs

Bed bug dogs are a highly efficient and effective way to detect bed bugs. To find the right team for the job, you must know what to look for and which questions to ask.