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When it comes to determining whether your home or business has a bed bug infestation, the only way to guarantee the most accurate reading is to employ one of the few highly specialised K9 bed bug detection services firms operating in Vancouver.

Off the shelf products such as traps or monitors are high unreliable as bed bugs won’t necessarily take the route towards them to leave any evidence. All pest controllers, be they local independents or multi-national use these very same methods to determine the presence of bed bugs.

Can dogs really sniff out bed bugs?

You may be forgiven for questioning how dogs can detect bed bugs, as on the face of it, it does seem a quite unbelievable feat of detective work. However, due to their highly sensitive noses; 50 times more smell receptors in their noses and the part of their brain devoted to process smell is up to 40 times greater than human, dogs are employed to carry out numerous highly important tasks with human handlers.

We now take it for granted when we see a sniffer dog mingling amongst travellers and their luggage at airports and border crossings, seeking out explosives and illicit narcotics. Police forces use dogs to seek out many things including drugs and cadavers. Increasingly, dogs are being used to detect assorted illness and diseases, such as cancer. So, really, it is not at all surprising that a dog can be trained to recognise and respond to the scent of a single bed bug or a batch of eggs.

How can they detect bed bugs?

Regardless of what you want a dog to detect, the process is very much the same – scent familiarization, followed by a robust, consistent detection and reward system. The reward system can be a small, tasty treat or a barrage of praise. Rio for instance is very happy with a ‘good girl’, a tummy rub and playing with her toy reward.

It is also vitally important to conduct continuous practice with any bed bug sniffing dog as this provides reinforcement and accuracy via task familiarity. Like any new skill we humans learn, it will become rusty or soon forgotten if not practiced.

The most accurate bed bug reading

Canine bed bug inspection is still a relatively recent innovation, but over the past 20 years, those who have employed the likes of Rio to conduct an inspection, have been delighted with the definitive diagnosis that no other bed bug detection method can provide.

To book Rio and her extremely sensitive nose or to just find out more about our professional K9 bed bug detection service, either call 778-855-6768 or email us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Firstly, let’s dispel a myth. Bed bugs do not discriminate, they love upmarket 5-star hotels as much as cheap and not so cheerful motels and youth hostels. They are natures ultimate stowaways and squatters. In this article, we provide some top tips to avoid them catching a one-way ticket with you back to Vancouver.

We are only three weeks away from June and for many British Columbian’s that means one thing…vacation time!

However, bed bugs are prodigious travellers and love to make their home in a wide variety of holiday accommodations. Plus, they are equally happy to end their vacation to come live with you.

As Western Canada’s original K9 bed bug detection service provider, we have years of experience to call upon. Below are some very simple yet highly effective things you can do to reduce the chance of bed bugs creeping into your luggage.

1. Don’t be fooled by price

Just because you are paying $250 per night, does not mean that you are guaranteed to be sleeping on a brand new, never been used, mattress. Bed bugs find their way into every location they reside in by hitching a ride in holiday makers’ belongings.

2. Store your luggage away from your bed

While bed bugs can live in chairs, wall cavities, window ledges, and even electrical sockets, the majority do lie in wait deep within a mattress. Therefore, it is advisable to store your luggage some distance from your bed, ideally a few feet off the floor, as bed bugs do not fly, they crawl.

3. Use plastic bags for all your belongings

We advise you to pack clothing and other items in transparent sealable bags. This helps to create a barrier between bugs and your clothes and other belongings. Either vacuum storage bags or zip-lock bags are perfect at keeping bed bugs off your clothing.

4. Launder your clothes before you pack them home

Most travellers, pack their dirty clothes in their luggage and launder it at home - DON’T! Bed bugs love to crawl into suitcases and backpacks and hide. We strongly recommend you wash, dry and fold away your clean clothes in sealed plastic bags.

5. Inspect your belongings

Never assume that bed bugs will only hide in luggage. Please do a visual check of ALL items you intend to take home with you. This includes your toiletries bag, handbags, beach towels, electrical items such as hairdryers, laptops, or stereos. A bed bug won’t mind spending a few hours hiding away in a piece of tech if there is the promise of a nice comfy bed or sofa at the final destination.

By following the above five steps, you will massively reduce the chances of taking bed bugs home with you. However, nothing is failsafe, so if you want the ultimate peace of mind, give Spot On K9 Detection a call so that we can conduct a canine bed bug inspection for you. If you have brought back a single bed bug, we guarantee that Rio our bed bug dog will sniff it out.

To take advantage of our K9 bed bug detection services, please contact us on 7788556768 or email us.

Pest control companies should be considered the fourth emergency service and lauded as much as police, medics, and firefighters. Why? They rid homes, restaurants, hotels, and offices of revolting, scary and sometimes poisonous infestations.

Even when bites are detected, they are sometimes mistaken as bed bug bites, but often they are allergies, rashes, mite, or no-see-ums bites.

Conventional detection methods are hit and miss

When it comes to bed bug detection, devices in the form of traps and monitors are hit and miss, usually miss. This is because bed bugs are notoriously unpredictable and will do anything to avoid detection. They might not take the path towards a trap, or a monitor so will return a false negative.

Off-the-shelf detection ‘solutions’ cost money and they could be an exercise in unnecessary cost and huge frustration.

There is only one fool-proof option

Happily, when it comes to bed bug detection there is a far more effective and accurate option…dogs. Yes, bed bug sniffing dogs. A highly trained bed bug dog like Rio can detect them behind walls, in furniture and in tight spaces difficult to detect by human eye. She can even detect a single bed bug.

Spot On are the pioneers of canine bed bug inspections

As the first pest control operative to use K9 bed bug detection services in BC (and Alberta for good measure) over a decade ago, I can say with utmost confidence that when you hire Spot On K9 Detection, if Rio does not pick up a scent, you can be 100% certain that you are bed bug free.

To book Rio and her extremely sensitive nose or to just find out more about our professional canine bed bug inspection service, either call 778-855-6768 or email us. We look forward to hearing from you.