Orkin in Vancouver has just acquired a bed bug sniffing dog.

Vancouver, meet Frankie!

Frankie was rescued from a shelter and trained for 600 hours at Florida Canine Academy (run by Bill Whitstine).

An Orkin employee wrote to Bedbugger,

For a VERY limited time our company will be offering free inspections to those in the Vancouver area that fear they have bed bugs but professionals have not been able to turn up any evidence.

It is important to note that we will not be doing inspections for people that have not yet had any pest control professionals do an inspection first.

They will need to provide proof that the pest professionals are stating that they did not find evidence. We will also only be able to do this free of charge for a limited number of people.

Just to repeat, you must have already been told by a pest control operator that you do not have bed bugs, based on an inspection.

This will surely be a good offer for some in the area. Thanks to Orkin for sharing it with us.

If you’re in Vancouver and qualify, please call the Burnaby manager at (604) 434-6641 and tell them Bedbugger sent you.Similar Posts:

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The video below, from the the Today Show, focuses on the tenacity of bed bugs (giving the example of one family who spent $6000 on treatment and then had a dog come in because they still had bed bugs). What went wrong?

It contains some not quite precise information (Bill Whitstine of Florida Canine Academy is credited as Bill Whitestone). The show also cited the University of Florida bed bug k9 research, saying a recent study found “dogs were 98% accurate in finding bed bugs.”

Bed bug dogs can be an effective tool for detecting the presence of bed bugs. But the statement out of context is misleading to consumers new to the idea of bed bug detecting dogs, since it does not clarify that the training a dog receives and the handler it is working with probably make a big difference in terms of the dog’s effectiveness for the job. The site conditions are also relevant to the effectiveness of the dog, or so we have been told.

Nevertheless, we are always glad to see bed bugs in the news, because it helps raise awareness. Consumers need to be aware of how costly and difficult it can be to get rid of bed bugs.

Update (10 minutes later): Doug Summers, who is the bed bug dog handler featured (but not named) in the video, tells us the home had four vikane treatments. The family is probably being reinfested via some source. See Doug’s comments in the forums.Similar Posts:

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The long-awaited University of Florida study of bed bug dogs that we mentioned last year has now been published:

Ability of Bed Bug-Detecting Canines to Locate Live Bed Bugs and Viable Bed Bug Eggs

MARGIE PFIESTER, PHILIP G. KOEHLER, AND ROBERTO M. PEREIRA
Department of Entomology, Building 970 Natural Area Drive,
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
J. Econ. Entomol. 101(4): 1389-1396 (2008)

Here’s the abstract in full:

ABSTRACT The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., like other bed bug species, is difficult to visually locate because it is cryptic. Detector dogs are useful for locating bed bugs because they use olfaction rather than vision. Dogs were trained to detect the bed bug (as few as one adult male or female) and viable bed bug eggs (five, collected 5-6 d after feeding) by using a modified food and verbal reward system. Their efficacy was tested with bed bugs and viable bed bug eggs placed in vented polyvinyl chloride containers. Dogs were able to discriminate bed bugs from Camponotus floridanus Buckley, Blattella germanica (L.), and Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), with a 97.5% positive indication rate (correct indication of bed bugs when present) and 0% false positives (incorrect indication of bed bugs when not present). Dogs also were able to discriminate live bed bugs and viable bed bug eggs from dead bed bugs, cast skins, and feces, with a 95% positive indication rate and a 3% false positive rate on bed bug feces. In a controlled experiment in hotel rooms, dogs were 98% accurate in locating live bed bugs. A pseudoscent prepared from pentane extraction of bed bugs was recognized by trained dogs as bed bug scent (100% indication). The pseudoscent could be used to facilitate detector dog training and quality assurance programs. If trained properly, dogs can be used effectively to locate live bed bugs and viable bed bug eggs.

You can easily access it on the Armed Forces Literature Retrieval System, using the title above.

The study used dogs trained by Pepe Peruyero.

The results are impressive: “Dogs trained to locate live bed bugs and viable
bed bug eggs had an overall accuracy of 97%, which is similar to previous studies on insect detector dogs” (1394).

But there was also a 10% no-indication rate on viable bed bug eggs (10% of the time, dogs did not alert to viable eggs being present). The study suggests this can be attributed to a low concentration of the target odor. These false negatives (as well as false positives) can also be attributed to the handler’s “misreading dog behavior” (1394).

Ultimately, the study concludes that

Dogs can be trained to locate cryptic insects that are difficult to uncover visually as long as dogs are trained in a similar manner to the method we used, training is maintained regularly, an experienced handler is used, and nontarget odors are separated from target odors (1395).

This comes as no surprise, but cannot be emphasized enough. We know that bed bug dogs can detect bed bugs. We also know that it doesn’t always work.

Bed bug dogs have to be properly trained, the training needs to be ongoing once they’re with the handler, and the handler has to know what they’re doing and do it well.

Everyone is not cut out to be a dog handler. This is a booming industry and a lot of people are trying to get in on it. People with no experience handling dogs are among them and some of these may not be cut out for it.

The potential is there for people to obtain bed bug dogs from the trainers but to handle them improperly, or not maintain training. So even if your bed bug dog handler got his or her dog from the same source, depending on how the handler is working with the dog now, your results may not be as impressive.

Consumers considering a bed bug dog need to remember that anyone can hang out a shingle and advertise their “bed bug dog;” there’s no government agency certifying their effectiveness. So get references and recommendations and choose wisely.Similar Posts:

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This Globe and Mail article is about Vegas, Care Pest and Wildlife Control’s bed bug dog, based in Burnaby, British Columbia.

But it includes a section on the status of bed bug aggregate pheromone research being undertaken by Dr. Gerhard Gries of Simon Fraser University:

Understanding how insects communicate with each other is the key to developing effective new tools in the fight to eradicate bedbugs.

Simon Fraser University professor Dr. Gerhard Gries, an expert in insect chemical ecology, is investigating how bedbugs use airborne chemical compounds called pheromones to communicate.

Not only have Prof. Gries and his collaborators identified this compound, they now know how to manufacture pheromones in a laboratory.

“A synthetic replica of this message, made of very harmless chemicals, can be put into a trap and placed in a room with a potential infestation, and if any insects appear, you know there are bedbugs in the room.”

The SFU-developed pheromone traps have been patented and will soon undergo testing. If all goes well, they will be in the toolboxes of Vancouver exterminators within two years.

We’ve heard more than one team is working on bed bug pheromone traps.

Whoever wins the race to the working bed bug trap will have a lot of happy customers.

Not to sound ungrateful, but I sure hope it takes less than two years.Similar Posts:

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Carl Massicott and Vince Mangano, bed bug dog handlers of Radar and Taz, who are regularly called to sniff in the New York area, were featured in this Daily News article Monday.

According to the article, it’s hard to keep up with demand for the doggy detectives.

But here’s what caught my eye in the article:

Experts say the surge of international visitors to New York City is partly to blame for the epidemic as travelers unwittingly bring bedbugs in their luggage from Europe and Asia.

“Yes, yes,” you say, “we know.”

So how much would you pay, readers, to stop at the bed bug dog kiosk in JFK or Newark airports, for a sniff down of you, your luggage, and junior’s stuffed teddy bear? You could then avoid bringing bed bugs home. (Be wary of the infested taxis, my friends.)

$10 per person or bag?   Even at such a low price, the profit margin would be big, compared with k9 teams going to homes for inspections.

(On-site decon could even be offered for person, stuffed animal, and luggage. But that, my friends, would be much trickier and expensive.)

If any bed bug dog handlers steal this idea, I want a kick-back.

No, seriously? Just do it, someone. It’s a great idea.Similar Posts:

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Click here for footage from WBTV News 3 shows Mr. K working with bed bug dog handler Mike Rogers, in North Carolina.

And can anyone tell us which outfit trained Mr. K?

The news story is imperfect otherwise, but wanted to share this because people are always looking for ways of detecting bed bugs.

(Thanks, insomnia, for the tip!) Similar Posts:

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Jennifer Brown of The Star reports that Toronto politician Paula Fletcher is agitated about bed bugs–and trying to do something about them.

She wants the health department to investigate whether they’re a health hazard:

Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth) has received so many calls from constituents she’s asked the health department to declare them a health hazard. Last month, Fletcher met with Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health. It was decided the Board of Health would issue a report in February on what should be done about bedbugs in the city and whether they should be declared a health hazard.

Here’s a hint, Toronto: stress, anxiety, loss of sleep, are all health issues. You need look no further. Something more sinister is clearly a possibility, but these other concerns are not to be taken lightly.

Next, Fletcher wants people to talk about how to get rid of bed bugs, and prevent their spread:

In the meantime, says Fletcher, “We will have a bedbug summit with all the people who are interested in and involved in this issue.” Fletcher is advocating the city address the problem with education, not enforcement.

“Some people said they were living beside a house and the bugs were travelling from the house or apartment next door,” she said. “I’d like to see a focus on what needs to change in terms of behaviours; what do you need to do to stop bringing them in and what do you need to do to get rid of the bedbugs.”

This is all familiar ground for us.

Fletcher seems a bit distracted by the idea that bed bugs primarily affect a certain region of Toronto:

The bedbug problem seems to be concentrated in areas south of Bloor Street, says Fletcher.

“They might be north of Bloor, but the infestations and pockets are definitely south of Bloor. Right now tracking them is not a requirement but that’s one thing we’re looking at is how are we going to track and where are we finding them?”

While they may be more common in certain neighborhoods (and certainly spread more easily to those next door than to those across town), they will spread anywhere, and are certainly moving in all directions. And not just from neighbor to neighbor, but to workplaces, co-workers, people who frequent the same gyms, doctors, schools, and shops. Public transportation is likely to be affected. (David Cain tells stories of encountering this situation in London.)
Fletcher mentions the concern of people bringing in used furniture, and getting them to not do so is a public education issue. But her ideas about eradication methods are quite progressive:

“Sometimes people are bringing bedbugs into a whole building inadvertently and they are travelling unit-to-unit. I’d like to see a model where there are teams of people who go into a building to assist and not simply spraying, but cleaning, washing, getting rid of them and then when the spraying happens, you have a better chance to eradicate them.”

The article also quotes PCO and bed bug dog handler Michael Goldman of Purity Pest Control, who claims that “most hotels” have bed bugs, at least in one room. This is a far cry from the claims made by other companies.

The article also concerns itself with the need for notification of other tenants when bed bugs are found in a building.

Unlike schools that send home letters when lice are found in a school, superintendents rarely post a notice saying bedbugs were a problem in a unit, says Fletcher.

Finally, there’s a nod to Vancouver, which has some of the more progressive bed bug-fighting protocols in place (though we rarely get details of them).

Vancouver has launched one of the best pilot projects in its downtown east side as the city prepares for the 2010 Winter Olympics. “They’re vigorously trying to figure out what to do with bedbugs and they have a program set up but it’s very labour-intensive.”

The Vancouver pilot included tenant and landlord education, public education workshops, pest control and development of a health and safety protocol.

I hope politicians in New York City and other US cities with bed bugs (from Boston to Cincinnati) will take note, and that they’ll trade notes with their counterparts in other cities, from San Francisco to Toronto and Vancouver.

The number one complaint I’ve heard now from professionals (entomologists and PCOs) in several cities is that their local politicians will not listen to those with bed bug experience. This is a grave mistake.

Though it is not explicitly mentioned here, it’s clear Paula Fletcher is listening.

However, there was one small problem. This:

“The chemical approach isn’t necessarily the only way or best way to go. It’s one piece of a bigger puzzle,” says Fletcher, who would like the city to help people control bedbugs. “What people have to learn is that to control bedbugs they must become good at cleaning their bedding. People have to be taught how to do that.”

People do not get bed bugs, nor do bed bugs persist, because people do not know how to clean their bedding.

Reminds me of  when the chief medical health officer in Vancouver, John Blatherwick, implied bed bugs were spreading in Vancouver due to hanky panky in downtown eastside hotels.  Doing or not doing “naughty things” had no bearing on the spread of bed bugs.  What is it with politicians and their weird ideas?

Read the rest of the article here. Similar Posts:

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Vacancy-bell-(3)

Originally uploaded by sonicksjs

Finally, someone in the business arena sees the light about bed bugs and the bottom line: and it’s not the flashing dollar signs of the over-the-counter bed bug spray industry, either. Kerry Miller published an article entitled “The Cost of Bed Bugs” yesterday in Business Week, about how business owners are suffering financial losses due to bed bugs in their rental properties, hotels, and other establishments.

While many with bed bugs in their homes might say, “So what, how does that help me?” I feel this is really good news–because if big business declares bed bugs a problem for their bottom line, we might see some more action in terms of halting their spread. And that helps all of us. But judging from this article, we’re not quite there yet.

Miller begins with the story of Rosemary Salinas, a manager for five buildings in San Francisco, who in 2004 dealt with an infested apartment in one of those properties, where the bed bugs spread to four other units, the hallways, and walls of the building. Eliminating it cost $40K plus a $9 payout to a tenant who threatened to sue.

Salinas now issues regular notices in every building she supervises reminding tenants to call management immediately if they suspect a bedbug infestation. Still, the property owners she has talked to haven’t been eager to do the same. “They don’t want anybody to suspect that they have them, or to think that they could have them,” she says.

Rental property owners aren’t the only ones with that attitude. In a statement on its Web site, the American Hotel & Lodging Assn.—an industry group that co-hosted an international bedbug symposium last fall—says the resurgence of bedbugs in the U.S. has “had a minimal impact on the vast majority of hotels, which maintain state-of-the-art sanitation and adhere to strict standards of cleanliness,” adding, for good measure: “Bedbugs are brought into hotels by guests; it is not a hotel sanitation issue.”

Where bed bug denial and the bed bug blame game meet, it’s not a pretty sight. Bed bugs are certainly brought into hotels by guests (or workers, or management, or in shipments). But they leave with other paying guests. And that is definitely the hotel’s problem. (We’ve talked about the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s head-in-the-sand attitudes about bed bugs before.)

One PCO had actual statistics on hotels they had worked on:

A study by the Steritech Group, a commercial and institutional pest management company, found that nearly 25% of the 700 hotels it tracked over a three-and-a-half year period between November, 2002, and April, 2006, required treatment for bedbugs, though of the 76,000 hotel rooms in the study, fewer than 1% were found to be infested. But the public stigma that bedbugs carry makes the line between discretion and transparency a delicate one to tread.

And, it appears that bed bugs have spread a lot since the 2002-2006 period Steritech studied.

The article goes on to describe how mattress encasements designed to protect against bed bugs have to be marketed as “allergen-proof” not bed bug-proof, in order to sell to hotels, and how bed bug dog services have to pretend they’re sniffing for mold when they visit nursing homes. I don’t mind not making clients panic, but lots of us actually do want to know hotels are trying to protect us from bed bugs.

A loss-control agent at an insurance company mentions he first started seeing bedbug-related claims from property owners two years ago.

Then there are other costs: the negative publicity, erosion in brand value, and drop in business that can result from a poorly handled infestation. Damage control (BusinessWeek.com, 10/17/07) is tricky since unhappy bedbug victims can easily spread word of infestations online via blogs or user-submitted travel review sites such as TripAdvisor (EXPE). “How many people hear about a hotel that had bedbugs and don’t stay there because of it? You just don’t know,” Morello says. Last year an Australian study estimated that bedbugs cost the Australian tourism industry $75 million annually. (No such estimates are available for the U.S.)

Therein lies part of the problem: we haven’t studied it yet in the US. We should learn from Australia–how much does their tourism industry take in per year? What sort of comparison can be made on the impact in the US if the rates of bed bugs are comparable?

Other interesting tidbits here:
Most property owners prefer to settle bed bug claims out of court.

Oh, and–

To treat infested units in her San Francisco building, Salinas hired a company to empty each apartment and freeze the contents for 48 hours. (Extreme temperatures are one of the few reliable ways to kill bedbugs.) The cost: about $2,000 per unit.

It must have been very, very sub-zero freezing. And something must have been done to the rooms themselves. But I would love to know more about companies willing to remove and freeze your stuff. It would be wonderful for people trying to move (many of whom hire someone to gas their belongings with vikane to avoid moving bed bugs). Both methods are exhorbitant, but surely when they become commonplace, the prices must come down?

There’s so much more here, I can’t respond to it all, but let me leave you with the ominous (and stupid) ideas with which the article closed:

[Lawyer Christian] Hardigree has fielded phone calls from property owners interested in putting an addendum to lease agreements holding tenants responsible for bedbug infestations. Others are interested in tweaking the language of contracts with pest-control companies so they can sue if the bedbugs return. (Her response to both: “You can put that language in, but I can’t tell you it would be upheld by a court.”) In any case, bedbugs aren’t a problem that can be solved by the wave of a gavel.

These ideas are based on a misunderstanding of how bed bugs work, from a scientific standpoint. You cannot blame the person who discovers and complains of bed bugs, for bringing them in. There really is no way of knowing when and how bed bugs were introduced into a unit. There’s no way of proving how long they were there, since people do not necessarily react to bites, or see bugs. And even if they do react, it may take them a long time to do so.

As for the second idea, many good PCOs who know bed bugs will only offer a brief warranty (60 days is considered pretty good right now). My understanding is that this is because (a) the property owner may be refusing to properly inspect and treat the whole building, and so resurgence may be inevitable in some cases, (b) people can bring in bed bugs repeatedly even they do not realize the source, and (c) bed bugs can be very stealthy–it would be hard to prove the bed bugs were not hiding out in a sealed bag, for example, that was unpacked. (This happens.)

On the other hand, many infestations take 3, 4, or more treatments by traditional methods. If PCOs re-treat aggressively at proper intervals throughout a 60 day period, then customers have a good shot at waving bed bugs goodbye. However, some PCOs are not up to date on the latest methods, or the stealthy habits of bed bugs. And in those cases, unfortunate customers often end up having to seek another treatment provider after the sixty days. It’s bad for the business reputation of the original guys, but some people are just out to make a fast buck. In the long run, let’s hope the best PCOs thrive and expand without compromising on quality.

I would hope that we can press for tenants, owners, and PCOs to be accountable and to use best practices, cooperatively, to fight bed bugs. There are people busy figuring out what those best practices might be. Give up the denial and the bed bug blame game: it’s pointless. Let’s fight the real enemy.Similar Posts:

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In an article today entitled “Hard-worker sniffs out bedbugs,” from the Taranaki Daily News (New Zealand), Sharon Marris writes about bed bug dog Joni who works with Pro-Tek Systems owner John Morley in New Zealand.

We’re familiar with bed bug dogs, here at Bedbugger, but it is interesting to read of the situation in NZ.

“She’s not big, she’s clean and she’s a clever dog,” Mr Morley said of the three-year-old. “She can get into little places and sniff inside mattresses.”

Well, I bet she’s less clean when she comes out of some of those mattresses.

Yesterday Joni worked through 20 rooms and even detected bedbugs that were behind a headboard fixed to the wall.

When she finds something, she will tap at it with her paw before Mr Morley asks her to check again with her nose. After bedbugs are found, each surface of the room can be treated with steam within a day whereas chemical treatments could see a room shut off for many days. Mr Morley says the combination of Joni and steam produces a 98 per cent success rate. Manual treatments have a 20 per cent success rate.

I found this interesting, and I’d like to hear more about companies working with a combination of dogs and steam. What it sounds like Morley is describing is a situation in which the dog pinpoints the exact location of bed bugs (or eggs, which the article tells us she can also detect), and then that area is carefully steamed (I assume with a dry steam machine). Steaming that pinpoints a specific area does seem both more reliable and easier than steaming the whole area, hoping to strike bed bug gold.

I’d also like to know what that 98% success rate represents: I assume it means 98% of cases need not be serviced twice. (Or does it mean most cases eliminate 98% of their bed bugs? Big difference, no?)

This does sound promising, though as a customer, I would not mind if they then employed a bit of residual or mechanical (dust) killer to seal the deal. When it comes to killing bed bugs, I don’t think there’s such a thing as overkill.

It sounds like Joni does a lot of sleuthing looking for bed bugs in hotels, and a regular run through with the bedbug dog and an industrial steamer would be greatly reassuring to me as a prospective hotel guest.

In Australia, similar dogs are used to sniff out termites, which mainly affect the coastal urban areas of the country. Joni was trained in Queensland, one of five dogs around the world trained to sniff out bedbugs.

I think this may be based on outdated statistics, since I know of at least five bed bug-sniffing dogs currently working in the United States! Nevertheless, it does sound like bedbuggers in New Zealand and at least some parts of Australia have or will soon have access to this service, which is spreading quickly, as is (unfortunately) the need for it.

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We knew this was coming, but this is the first actual report I’ve heard of a hotel displaying a sign saying they were bed bug-free. The Blue Moon Hotel in the Lower East Side of New York City is a boutique hotel where, Tripadvisor tells us, the average room costs $637 a night. According to a blogger known as fishouttawater, they proudly display a sign certifying the establishment as bed bug-free, pointed out by the staff of the hotel:

So he is trying to sell the place to us, and he leads off with THIS gem/tidbit of marketing info: “The Blue Moon Hotel is CERTIFIED BED BUG FREE.” And he points to a framed certificate on the wall- I’m not making this up- it was nicely framed and had a drawing of a nasty bed bug with a big red “zero/slash” around it. GNARLY.

Then the lady at the reception chimes in, and she starts bragging about how a real beagle dog came and did the sniff-inspection, and that was supposed to really impress us, to show us exactly how bed-bug-free this newly-opened hotel was.

Well, fishouttawater was jolted out of a blissful, no-knowledge-of-bedbugs’-existence state. But many people who travel to NYC are aware that most NYC hotels are infested with bed bugs.

What I want to know is who did the certification, and how often does that bed bug dog walk through the rooms and corridors and inspect for bed bugs? Because as we all know, they can be brought in any time. If the inspections are very regular, it certainly would be a comforting feature.

All I can say is, when someone is able to offer this service regularly in lower-priced accommodations, I am going to sleep a lot easier while traveling.

Or will I? A google search for “certified bed bug free” brought up this website for K-9 Bed Bug Detection Services, where a bed bug dog inspection service offers to certify accommodation as such:

How do you get Certified Bed Bug-Free?

We will customize an inspection program for your property – either monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly. Once you property is inspected and any areas alerted to are treated, we will issue you a framed certificate indicating your bed bug-free status. This can be displayed to show your guests and residents that your facility meets the highest standard in bed bug-free properties.

I assume that this company was not the one that certified the Blue Moon, since the picture of the certificate on their website does not match fishouttawater’s description.

I am sure that bed bug inspections at either monthly, bimonthly or quarterly intervals are much better than no bed bug inspections. However, I feel that monthly inspections are the minimum. No one wants to stay in a hotel room where bed bugs have been feeding on people and breeding for two or even four months. Yes, I realize that hotel room prices are going to go up based on this additional cost.

Certified Bed Bug-Free announces that you have taken every possible precaution to ensure that your property is free from these elusive pests. In turn, this could limit your liability in the event of a lawsuit.

Note to travelers: like so much in this “Bed Bug Gold Rush” period, a Certified Bed Bug Free sign does not mean anything in particular. (Neither does “bed bug dog,” for that matter: they’re not all the same, and have varied skills and levels of effectiveness.)

If you find this sign, well, obviously, it’s a good sign. But you should realize it can mean the hotel was checked once, is checked yearly, quarterly, bimonthly, monthly, weekly, or after every guest walks out the door. Hopefully hoteliers will be honest when you enquire about that.

Thanks to Hopelessnomo for the fishouttawater tip!Similar Posts:

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