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March 13, 2012 at 7:40 pm #602496
texasMemberAnyone have a recommendation for a bed-bug sniffing dog? A relative found a bug in her elderly father’s house and she thinks a dog would be the best way to assess the situation.
March 13, 2012 at 8:37 pm #751443
transplantellaParticipantHere is a great site for bedbug information:
And if you look at the Seattle page, you may be shocked by all the bedbug reports. They’re here.
March 14, 2012 at 2:44 am #751444
furryfacesParticipantBed bugs are absolutely in Seattle. We have a client whose animals we are treating successfully….luckily. The apartment complex he lives in is infested because bed bugs travel through walls. It is a slum lord situation, taking advantage of people that have very little, including access to help.
In trying to assist our client with the bigger problem we spoke with King County Public Health. Bed bugs are not considered a public health threat, hence, there is nothing King County Public Health can do about it.
We called The Tenant’s Union’ to see if there are any steps that can be taken to help our client and his pets, plus the other residents of this multi-unit complex. This step is still in process.
March 14, 2012 at 2:53 am #751445
service dog academyMemberSince we specialize in scent training we were thinking about doing bed bug detection training. The one problem with it is that you have to have, feed and store LIVE bed bugs. Make sure any company you are working with trains with all stages of the bug (from egg to full adult) and works by training with LIVE bugs. Live bugs smell completely different than dead ones.
Also in regards to diagnosis and treatment, skip the exterminator and go directly to the trained dog and subsequent heat treatment. Heat is the only way to kill all stages of bed bugs. Im completely paranoid about those blood suckers and know way more about them than I should.
Mary McNeight, CPDT-KA, CCS, BGS
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March 14, 2012 at 3:02 am #751446
service dog academyMemberfurry faces: one thing i would recommend is if the landlord refuses to work with the tenant, do what they did on an episode of infested on animal planet. have the tenants live outside of the home in a tent. its a great way to gain fast media attention and get the landlords cooperation.
March 14, 2012 at 3:35 am #751447
transplantellaParticipantI am so horrified by the current epidemic of bedbugs in the ‘developed’ world, I have actually done a bit of digging recently.
Bedbugs are a no-man’s-land of responsibility in the US. I have seen some current conversations about tenant’s rights and leases, landlords are now writing into leasing contracts that tenants are responsible for pest eradication and control in rented units, even if the pests existed before the tenant moved in.
Bedbugs are becoming something like the mold problem–difficult and expensive to eradicate, difficult to prevent, and a widespread hazard that recognizes no boundaries. Shift the burden onto the person at the end of the line.
I have seen reports of bedbugs in the US in public places as well–movie theatres, airplane seats, office furnishings. Mr. transplantella is a building engineer in a downtown Seattle highrise, the staff there has been required to attend several seminars about the growing bedbug issue.
I’m never buying any second hand upholstered furniture ever again.
March 14, 2012 at 4:08 am #751448
AlkiKmacParticipantThe dogs detect bed bugs by smelling for blood of a bitten person. They don’t actually detect a bed bug. Back up any test with a trap test from a bug control professional.
March 14, 2012 at 8:33 am #751449
texasMemberI’ve read that spraying 70% isopropyl directly on them will kill them. Also, heat over 120 degrees. The best place around WS for both active and passive bed bug monitors is McLendons (none at Home Depot). Another good resource is bed bug tv on youtube (he’s a bit weird, but in a funny way, and everything you could possibly want to know about the buggers.) Still looking for a dog!
March 14, 2012 at 5:48 pm #751450
kgdlgParticipantthe problem is that they aren’t “technically” a hazard, since they don’t transmit any diseases or sickness. therefore, they are considered more of a “nuisance” than anything else, due to the scratching and general uncomfortability they cause.
the ONLY way to permanently eradicate them is through heat treatment, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. this is why they are so hard to get rid of in apartments, because they just run through the walls into another unit when one is being treated.
Sprague Pest is my recommendation. They do all the big hotels and apartments in seattle. and don’t let anyone tell you this is a “low-income” problem. It actually is worst in hotels, many high end, because of the number of travelers from Asia in particular, where in some places bedbugs are just a common problem that no one seems to worry that much about.
They have dogs that are very well trained. They know what they are doing and what works and what doesn’t. if you have a responsible landlord, they should pay for treatment. if not, threaten to blow up every online resource to tell people they have bedbugs, and then maybe your landlord will listen.
March 14, 2012 at 6:25 pm #751451
DelridgeResidentMemberI have a friend who manages apartments in Bellevue and they used Powerheat, who unfortunately went out of business. However, the dogs were contracted and are now used by Stop Bugging Me.
March 14, 2012 at 8:22 pm #751452
texasMemberkgdlg: have you actually used Sprague? Is this a personal recommendation? My relative has spoken with this outfit a few times, and they are very nice on the phone, apparently, but she made a couple appointments and the guy doesn’t ever show up. Thanks for the recommendation, Delridge Res!
March 14, 2012 at 8:32 pm #751453
kgdlgParticipantI used Sprague but as a representative of a large multi-family portfolio. So I can speak to their quality work, but not their customer service towards the “little guy” in terms of a single family home or one apartment needing treatment. (Corporate accounts often get special service). What I do know is that they do enough work to know what is working and what isn’t. My father recently told me he used a company that “sprayed” for bedbugs on the east coast. UGH I had to tell him he had been taken. I know from experience that there is no “spray” out there (and legal) now that works. That is why we have a problem, because we cannot spray DDT anymore. This is what eradicated them in the 50s. So we all got cancer instead of bedbugs.
March 15, 2012 at 4:31 am #751454
westseamikeMemberhttp://www.spraguepest.com/pest-solutions/bed-bug-services/bed-bug-heat-treatments heat is the only way to kill bed bugs, spraying ‘might’ get them but more than likely will only deter them for a short while in specified areas. Fry the buggers!
March 15, 2012 at 10:34 am #751455
kootchmanMemberIf you travel… for business. Unless you are one of those that has to bring a massive trove of stuff. Never bring the suitcase in the house. Take the outerwear immediately to the dry cleaner. Sock, skivvies, etc… put em in sealed plastic zip bags until they can hit the hot water cycle in the washer at the laundromat.
March 15, 2012 at 4:01 pm #751456
AlkiKmacParticipantYes, you can spray for confirmed bed bugs, but it must be done several times in order to account for their egg hatch cycle. AAA Pest Control is recommended, too.
June 20, 2012 at 3:33 am #751457
bugsniffingbeagleMemberSeattle’s bug sniffing beagle. http://www.bugsniffingbeagle.com
June 20, 2012 at 4:26 am #751458
JiggersMemberNot a public health problem? Mmmmm… just ask any homeless people when they sleep on those mats at the homeless shelters how much of a problem those bed bugs are.
June 20, 2012 at 5:49 am #751459
bugsniffingbeagleMemberWe would be willing to inspect some homeless shelters at no cost. If you know of any that need our services have them contact us at http://www.bugsniffingbeagle.com
June 21, 2012 at 3:51 am #751460
kgdlgParticipant@jiggers all I meant is that bedbugs don’t transmit disease. So they are not considered a public health hazard. Otherwise tenants would have leverage over landlords that do nothing. All the shelters in Seattle have them, so I am told and I can only imagine that it is miserable. As if being homeless weren’t bad enough.
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