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Bedbug Dogs Sniff Out Bloodsuckers

Trained hounds in high demand as infestations rise

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 21, 2009 1:49 AM CDT

(Newser) – The resurgence of an old pest has created new jobs for dogs. Bedbug infestations have soared in American cities over the last four years, creating boom times for exterminators, especially those using canny canines trained to detect the tiny suckers. Handlers say the dogs can expertly sniff out infestations and work their way through buildings a lot faster than exterminators looking for visual traces of the bloodsuckers.

"There's a high demand," the head of the Florida Canine Training Academy tells the Los Angeles Times. "These are my most popular dogs." Some entomologists warn, however, that unscrupulous firms use the dogs as a gimmick and use fake alerts from reward-hungry hounds to scare homeowners into unnecessary fumigations.

Pestec technician Carlos I. Agurto walks with Ladybug, a beagle trained to sniff out bedbugs, as they inspect a bed in an apartment in San Francisco.
Pestec technician Carlos I. Agurto walks with Ladybug, a beagle trained to sniff out bedbugs, as they inspect a bed in an apartment in San Francisco.   (Getty Images)
Ugh.
Ugh.   (AP Photo/University of Florida, File)
Dog trainer JosePeruyero watches as Nudie, a nine-pound Chinese crested terrier mix, digs furiously to signal that she's found bedbugs hidden in a bed at Peruyero's J&K Canine Academy.
Dog trainer JosePeruyero watches as Nudie, a nine-pound Chinese crested terrier mix, digs furiously to signal that she's found bedbugs hidden in a bed at Peruyero's J&K Canine Academy.   (AP Photo/University of Florida, Eric Zamora)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
marca17
Oct 22, 2009 1:41 AM CDT
outlawing insecticides like DDT
Blackbird
Oct 21, 2009 12:24 PM CDT
People from all over the world come here and sleep in hotels. We sleep in the hotels then bring the bugs home...
Netstorm2k10
Oct 21, 2009 8:04 AM CDT
Yah, a *****-sniffing dog would never false alert.

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