Dogs sniff out bed bugs

Whenever we talk about sniffer dogs on the news, its usually bomb sniffers or tracking criminals. But in this next story, the highly trained K-9’s are sniffing out bed bugs. And as Kelda Yeun shows us, one Hamilton women is making sure the bed bugs don’t bite.

Meet Kira. This German Shepherd is on a mission, to sniff out these bed bugs. Tiny pests that are also on a mission. “All they want is blood.”

Human blood. they leave behind bites that itch. if left undetected

“The infestation travels really really quick.”

And pay no attention to their name, because these bugs aren’t just found in *beds*.

“Wherever you go, they are around. From theatres, to hotels, to libraries.”

Lique de Roode has been a dog trainer for over 20 years. She began training dogs to detect bed bugs in 2011: “Their nose is 25 times greater than a human. Our dogs can do a hotel room within two minutes, and know if there is a bed bug. For a person if it’s in a little crack, you cannot find it.”

In my left hand are dead bed bugs, and in my right hand, these are live bed bugs. The dogs Lique are training, are only trained to sniff out the live ones.

“This is the only one I want the dog to alert to.”

The container with the live bugs are put in number 7. The rest are either empty or have dead bed bugs. When Kira detects a live bug, she signals by sitting. In this case, she was correct.

During training, Kira is also asked to sniff out live contained bed bugs hidden in furniture, a task she does with astounding accuracy.

“For a human to find a bed bug, it’s only 15 percent while for a canine, it’s 95 percent accurate.”

It’s this accuracy rate that’s making this form of bug detection increasingly popular. And helping to stop bugs before they become a bigger problem.

Experts say, if it’s just one bed bug, just treat the room. If it’s spread, you need more treatment. The dogs can only detect them. If there is a problem, you must call a pest control company