Dogs as Bedbug Detectors?

Do you know that aside from being cute and cuddly, our furry babies can be a great help to our bedbug removal feat? Yes! As much as it’s hard to believe that they can be this useful in terms of pest hunting, it has been proven by extensive research that dogs can be great bedbug detectors. 
Now, you might be worrying about the safety of dogs when they get involved in projects like this. But there is no cause for alarm because if properly trained, dogs will just point you out to the direction of the bedbugs, without exposing themselves to the danger of these nasty pests.

How Do Dogs Detect Bedbugs?
What makes dogs magnificent bedbug inspectors is that they use their sense of smell, rather than sight, in locating these pesky blood-sucking insects. This addresses that fact that bedbugs are very small and hideous insects that cannot be seen by the naked eye especially when the infestation is just at the early stage.  Several studies have already proven the accuracy of dogs’ bedbug detection capability.
Trained canine bedbug detectors can differentiate the living from the dead bedbugs. They are also capable of detecting bedbug eggs so you can exterminate them even before they get the chance to bite you. With proper training, they can also differentiate from bedbugs and other types of pests.

Training Dogs to Detect Bedbugs
If you are wondering how our furry family members can be trained to detect bedbugs, well, pest removal companies invest on tedious yet effective training methods, such as the food and verbal reward system, among others. 

Dog trainers use pseudoscents in order to familiarize dogs with the insects’ odor. Pseudoscents are actual male and female bedbugs mixed together then sealed in small containers. During the training,  the rewards for the dogs will be associated with the pseudoscents until they are familiar enough to be bedbug detectors.

Why Use Dog Detectors?

Since dogs use their sense of smell in inspecting properties for bedbugs, they can detect these pests at an early stage even when there is no visible sign of their existence yet. In stark contrast, most bedbug exterminators find it hard to perform inspections when there’s no infestation yet. It’s not very easy for the naked eye to find eggs or a few bedbugs. 

Dogs’ scent detection is just too sharp that they can point you to as few as one or two bedbugs by just sniffing the cushions, the sofa, or even your bookshelves. No wonder many pest control companies use canine detectors to help them with inspections.
But dogs can only go as far as pointing you to the right direction. No matter how trained they are, they cannot perform the extermination process. At best, using canine bedbug detectors is the first step to your pest control feat. But the next best thing to do, of course, is to let bedbug removal professionals from Jersey City Exterminators to achieve your pest eradication goal for you.