New York, NY - A Company With Dogs That Detect Bedbugs |
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News Source: NY Times
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New York, NY - Cruiser made four house calls on a recent rain-soaked Tuesday. There were two happy endings and two unhappy ones, a fairly typical outcome for a typical day in the life of a bedbug-sniffing puggle.
“Except that there’s nothing typical about this business,” said his handler, Jeremy Ecker, 35, whose six-month-old company, the Bed Bug Inspectors 
, has vetted hotels, college dorms and Midtown office buildings, suburban homes, bare-bones Brooklyn rentals and tony Manhattan co-ops. (Mr. Ecker, who charges $350 for a residential inspection, is an independent inspector, meaning he has no affiliation with an exterminator, though many hire him to check a property they have treated.)
Increasingly, real estate lawyers are urging buyers in contract to inspect apartments before they close, and in their advertising, many pest control companies exhort would-be tenants to “inspect before you rent.” And dogs like Cruiser can inspect a room in minutes, whereas lesser mammals like human beings need hours to conduct a visual inspection.
Bedbug-sniffing dogs, adorable yet stunningly accurate — entomology researchers at the University of Florida report that well-trained dogs can detect a single live bug or egg with 96 percent accuracy — are the new and furry front line in an escalating and confounding domestic war.
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Read Comments (13) — Post Yours »
1
Mar 11, 2010 at 08:46 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Price seems a bit steep. Competition is needed in this business.
2
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:05 AM ShatzMatz Says:Report as Inappropriate
Sorry to report that this whole industry is a scam. Anybody wth intimate knowledge of this subject knows that this dog-inspection thing does not work. Bedbugs have become a very big problem recently, and it is nearly impossible to solve. Therefore many people have gotten desperate. Whenever you have desperate people you are bound to have hoaxters cropping up to take advantage of them.
While in theory the dogs can sniff out bugs under ideal conditions, in practice it does not work. A normal house that has been treated for bedbus has residual smell from all the chemicals used in addition to usual food odors and other insect smells. This greatly reduced the accuracy of the dogs smelling ability. So while the dogs can sniff out a major infestation, it will likely miss a few bugs here and a few eggs there. All you need are a few eggs to survive and you have a full blown outbreak a few months down the road.
These are incredibly hardy bugs. The only solution to this problem will be with innovative chemical and/or biological strategy to wipe them out and keep killing them for at least 2 years continuously. This is how long they can stay dormant before re-attacking.
3
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:10 AM Exterminator Says:Report as Inappropriate
As a PC tech I had customers that used a dog but they can only give you a yes or no answer but can't tell you exactly were the bed bugs are and anybody with knowledge about bed bugs will tell you if you don't find them you can spray as much chemical as you want if their is no contact with the bugs they will not be killed so basically you still need a human inspection
4
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:18 AM exterminator Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Price seems a bit steep. Competition is needed in this business. ”
A human inspection is cheaper and might get deducted if same exterminator does the job
5
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:33 AM Exterminator Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Sorry to report that this whole industry is a scam. Anybody wth intimate knowledge of this subject knows that this dog-inspection thing does not work. Bedbugs have become a very big problem recently, and it is nearly impossible to solve. Therefore many people have gotten desperate. Whenever you have desperate people you are bound to have hoaxters cropping up to take advantage of them.
While in theory the dogs can sniff out bugs under ideal conditions, in practice it does not work. A normal house that has been treated for bedbus has residual smell from all the chemicals used in addition to usual food odors and other insect smells. This greatly reduced the accuracy of the dogs smelling ability. So while the dogs can sniff out a major infestation, it will likely miss a few bugs here and a few eggs there. All you need are a few eggs to survive and you have a full blown outbreak a few months down the road.
These are incredibly hardy bugs. The only solution to this problem will be with innovative chemical and/or biological strategy to wipe them out and keep killing them for at least 2 years continuously. This is how long they can stay dormant before re-attacking. ”
You don't know what you are talking about. This works big time if you know when to use it. I as an exterminator recommend the dog constantly to my clients even if at the end of the day I make less money on the job (because I only spot treat where the dog sniffed it out).
6
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:49 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Let's see what all the frum dog haters have to say now.
7
Mar 11, 2010 at 10:19 AM PC TECH Says:Report as Inappropriate
Very often the Dog can get false positives. This may be good for the exterminator, but not for the customer. In a private house this may be more effective, but in multi-family dwelling there is a greater chance of having a false positive.
Personally, I would not rely on the dog to spot treat. Thoroughness is important for bedbug treatment. Totally relying on the dog is not recommended.
8
Mar 11, 2010 at 10:55 AM frumer Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Let's see what all the frum dog haters have to say now. ”
how about all the dog frum haters
9
Mar 11, 2010 at 11:34 AM Moshe Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ how about all the dog frum haters ”
Brilliant, only somebody who learned Gumrah with Rishonim and Achronim can be such a deep thinker.
10
Mar 11, 2010 at 11:39 AM Exterminator Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Very often the Dog can get false positives. This may be good for the exterminator, but not for the customer. In a private house this may be more effective, but in multi-family dwelling there is a greater chance of having a false positive.
Personally, I would not rely on the dog to spot treat. Thoroughness is important for bedbug treatment. Totally relying on the dog is not recommended. ”
As a PCP myself I disagree with you. A "Thorough spot treatment is highly effective" with the dog inspection. Remember I make less by spot treating and still offer it. Because its the right thing for the client.
11
Mar 11, 2010 at 02:55 PM MOISHE Says:Report as Inappropriate
If there are dogs that can find bedbugs is there any way to train dogs to look for bugs on our vegetables or in our water? What a help that would be!
12
Mar 11, 2010 at 03:36 PM formally Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Sorry to report that this whole industry is a scam. Anybody wth intimate knowledge of this subject knows that this dog-inspection thing does not work. Bedbugs have become a very big problem recently, and it is nearly impossible to solve. Therefore many people have gotten desperate. Whenever you have desperate people you are bound to have hoaxters cropping up to take advantage of them.
While in theory the dogs can sniff out bugs under ideal conditions, in practice it does not work. A normal house that has been treated for bedbus has residual smell from all the chemicals used in addition to usual food odors and other insect smells. This greatly reduced the accuracy of the dogs smelling ability. So while the dogs can sniff out a major infestation, it will likely miss a few bugs here and a few eggs there. All you need are a few eggs to survive and you have a full blown outbreak a few months down the road.
These are incredibly hardy bugs. The only solution to this problem will be with innovative chemical and/or biological strategy to wipe them out and keep killing them for at least 2 years continuously. This is how long they can stay dormant before re-attacking. ”
dogs can smell explosive devices, fruit, tract people, find accelerant 7 days after a fire, find bodies after a disaster, cancer. Many of those case are much less than ideal condition,
To find bed bugs would be a easy for dogs
13
Mar 12, 2010 at 01:36 PM Bedbug Detector Says:Report as Inappropriate
The only way to control bedbugs to to check for them regularly and head off a new problem before it gets too bad. Once there's a full infestation, it will cost you thousands of dollars and many months to clear it out.
There's a new product coming out soom call BEDS - Bedbug Early Detection System - it's a special monitor designed to attract bedbugs - you check the monitors every week or month and this way you can get a head start if you detect a problem.
Finally a good way to get ahead of the problem and not chase it.