Training For Bed Bug Detection

Ongoing Daily Training

Every day we present Scout and Ally with new challenges and different scenarios in order to keep a realistic work environment. To do this, the professionals at Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions K9 Scent Detection have built a custom training room in our office and rearrange it with different furniture, distractions, and other challenges on a daily basis. This intense training allows us to work the dog in many different situations. For more on types of inspections, visit our page on what canines can do for you.

Control Hide

A control hide is when the handler places out a vial of live bed bugs in order to focus the canine so they are ready to work. Only after the canine finds the control hide is he or she ready to search for bugs at the job site. The handler will do this before every job in an area that is unlikely to be infested. Sometimes the canine will not find the control hide right away- that's OK. Remember that a canine isn’t like a light switch that can be turned on and off. The trainer needs to be able to recognize when the dog is and is not working. The handler will try the control hide again until the dog finds the hide. As soon as the canine finds the control hide, the canine is ready to go to work! Watch the video to see the handler place the hide and then run the canine.

Proactive Inspection

Oftentimes customers want to "proactively" look for bed bugs, especially in the hotel and hospitality or other service industries. This means that there is no complaint about bed bugs, no suspicion of bugs, but they are just random checks of rooms and other areas. In these inspections, we are looking to find low level infestations as soon as they come in: before they have a chance to spread or grow into larger problems. Watch the video to see the canine clear a room that is free of bed bugs; now we know it's safe to rent out!

Reactive Inspection

If there is reason to believe there might be bed bugs, but there are no obvious signs, or if evidence is found but no bugs are, a client may call us in to confirm or dispute an infestation. Often times we'll find low level infestations, which means just a couple of bugs. Other times we’ll find out that there are no bugs and the person may be getting bit by something else! This type of inspection is particularly useful to the hotel and other servicing industries when liability lawsuits may come into question. Watch the video to see the canine confirm an infestation of bed bugs.

Confirmation Of Elimination

This type of inspection can confirm that a treatment was successful and that the infestation is gone from the room. This type of inspection, however, has some limitations: we cannot do it right after a chemical treatment and it's not our place to say whether the treatment failed or the bed bugs were reintroduced, such as from an adjacent room, from a person who went into the room after treatment, or another source. Watch the video to see the canine clear a room that has been previously treated.