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K-9 Bed Bug Inspections

In the San Jose, San Francisco Bay Area & Central Valley

In the early stages of an infestation, bed bugs and their eggs can be virtually impossible to find because they hide in tight, dark, undisturbed places and generally only come out in the early hours of the morning when it is dark. Few things can interrupt life quite like thinking you have bed bugs. They can prevent you from sleeping properly and make it hard to concentrate on anything else until you know.

Studies show that K-9s are 90 to 95% effective in finding bed bugs. Our dog, a friendly beagle named Megan, or one of our other three bed bug detectors, generally takes less than 30 minutes to inspect your residence. Our bed bug K9 inspection is quick, easy to schedule, and low-cost. We offer K-9 inspections for as little at $190 with a minimal surcharge for inspections in San Francisco and Marin County.

Click here for a University of Florida canine study showing K9 efficacy in bed bug searches.

Meet Megan

Megan, a Beagle. Weighs only 18 pounds. She is our premier bed bug sniffing dog. She was trained at Ironheart High Performance Working Dogs, LLC in Shawnee Kansas. Ironheart is one of only two K-9 detector training centers in the United States, nationally accredited by The National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association (NESDCA).

According to Matt Skogen, the owner and director of training for Ironheart, training such dogs is one of the most difficult detector dogs to train. It requires a long period of daily training, but Ironheart’s positive training methods, coupled with many years of experience, have produced excellent results for K-9s placed across the nation and also internationally.

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Meet the Rest of the Team!

Jake ~ Becca ~ Lucah

Jake is a Jack Russel Terrier and weighs 14 pounds. The way he can jump around, one might say he can leap tall mountains! He is 3 ½ years old and loves to sit on one’s lap.

Becca is a Tri-Color Beagle, weighing in at 15 pounds. Her play time is exuberant activity with Tyson, Johnny’s very sweet Pitbull. Becca is youngest of the crew, starting her work at about the same age as Megan did at 1 ½ years. She’s now going on 2 and promises to be every bit as accurate as our Grand Lady, Megan.

Lucah, the best, is saved for last. He is a Tri-Colored Beagle and weighs 25 pounds. He, too, is 3 ½ and is the most inquisitive pup you could ever know. This is a great advantage in his work as a scent detecting K-9.

Elite Canines

Very few dogs make the cut to be trained as bed bug detection dogs. At Ironheart the canine must have an extremely high food drive, much more so than the average dog. The dog must also show a strong work ethic and the ability to focus, along with a certain kind of courage and inquisitiveness to constantly be in a new situation working. These K-9s are generally trained for just one thing (scent); They seek out only live, viable bed bugs and their eggs.

Did you know that the average dog has 220 million scent receptor sites in his/her nose as opposed to a human’s five million? These receptors are so sensitive that even some of the most accurate scientific scent measuring technologies are unable to compete. Scent is undoubtedly the strongest of the dog’s practical senses, but also the most difficult for us as humans to comprehend.

According to Ironheart, bed bug dogs sniff an average of 118 times per minute; there is a regular marathon going on as they search out bed bugs. They are, in fact, elite athletes in their own way. Our K-9s work for 20 to 30 minutes then take a 20 to 30- minute break so they are always on top of their game.

Hardworking and Effective

It is not uncommon for organizations to have a K-9 bed bug sweep of their premises on a regular basis just to be assured there are no bed bugs. This is a proactive approach to what has become a major pest problem in the United States.

All our K-9s are professional working dogs. They participate in rigorous weekly training to stay honed for their missions. These canines love their work; it is the very best of sport to them. They work hard, train hard and play hard! Their meals are earned on the job!

Sleep Tight Tonight.

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