Phoenix, AZ Don’t fall for a scam! Use third party bed bug detection canines.

By Keith Coddington

Cimex K9 is a Phoenix, Arizona based company that specializes solely in bed bug canine inspections.  Our goal and service is not only to find bed bug infestations, but more importantly protect our customers from being charged for unnecessary treatments and also making sure treatments were successful by completing post-treatment inspections.

Detection dogs have always been our business and we employ experience handlers and trainers that are experts in their field.  We do not offer treatments and we have a good reason for that which you will learn about as you read on.

Unfortunately as with any service there are unethical practices taking place.  This specific scam that we have seen involves pest control companies that own their own bed bug detection dogs and use them improperly to sell pricey treatment services that are not needed.

Here’s how the scam takes place:

Most people are already in a panic when they think they may have bed bugs which makes them venerable and some companies cash in on it.  Once you call a company that has their own dogs (there are only a few in Arizona) they send out their K9 team.  The dogs often false alert on areas where there is actually no bed bug activity.  From this point the customer is usually an easy sale and can be talked into anything.  To top it off the K9 handlers are usually paid a commission for the sale of the treatment.  If that is not a conflict of interest then I don’t know what is!

The good news is that there are ways to protect yourself.

First of all if you are about to hire a bed bug detection dogs ask the company that has dog services if they are using a third party or if they own the dog and employ the handler directly.  Verify their Pest Control License which is required by Arizona Office of Pest Management even for inspections of Bed Bugs and also check the Better Business Bureau.

Next, if the dog does alert or the handler claims there is an active infestation have them show you the evidence of the live colony.  In any detection dog scent discipline the handler always confirms an alert with visual verification.

Be familiar with what bed bugs look like as carpet beetles and their larvae are very commonly found around beds and are sometimes passed off as bed bugs to make the sale.

Watch the inspection and be there with the inspection team in the same room during the entire process.  If the handler claims that the dog can’t work with you in the room then you need to be very skeptical as something fishy might be going on.  A properly trained detection canine can work through any distraction including food, people, other animals and just about any other distraction that you can imagine.

Last of all, If something doesn’t seem right get an opinion from different company.  If you are in the Phoenix, Arizona area feel free to contact us for free to learn about your bed bug treatment options in Arizona including only the honest and ethical companies that we have had the pleasure of working with over the years.

Now just to be clear we are not accusing all companies that offer treatment and own bed bug detection dogs of this practice.  Also, there are many companies that utilize a third party bed bug detection dog service such as ours to check their own work so just be sure to ask them if they own their own dogs or hire an outside company for their bed bug detection dog work.

Good Luck and if you live in Arizona and have questions regarding bed bug detection dog services or need assistance contact us on Thumbtack.com

Keith Coddington

Cimex K9, LLC

Founder / Detection Dog Trainer & Handler

Cimex K9’s Bed Bug Dogs in action

By Keith Coddington

[youtube=http://youtu.be/KrJeLohBZws]

It is difficult to explain how well our dogs work and illustrate accurately to the degree they are trained.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the videos of our canines in action tell even more.

Considering the owner and founder of Phoenix, AZ based Cimex K9 has an extensive background in dog behavior, training and detection dog experience, we put in the extra effort to ensure our teams are working at their full potential at all times.

People often as us “how accurate are your dogs?”  The University of Florida published some numbers a few years back showing the detection teams used were extremely accurate.  Although they attempted to create real world conditions as well as they could for the study, there is no substitute for what a detection team encounters on a daily basis.  There are always new situations, obstacles and distractions to tackle and having a highly trained, confident and motivated canine partner is not only nice, but mandatory to measure up to the level of quality Cimex K9 demands.  Have a dog barking in a kennel at us while we are working?  No problem.  Have food or crumbs in the area to be inspected?  No problem.  Want to be there watching the entire inspection?  No Problem.  Our dogs are trained to work around any distraction that you can think of.

Cimex K9 has been providing bed bug dog services since 2009.  Over the years we have serviced thousands of properties with our inspection teams.  We boast that fact that we have only had one confirmed case of missing a very small infestation and believe this track record is unmatched in the industry.  Considering this fact, our percentage of accuracy would calculate to be much higher than the testing performed by the University of Florida.

Why do we stand out in the detection dog world?  We believe that it has to do with a couple of very important factors…

1. Extreme attention to detail as every single inspection is a quality control check meaning if we miss something we are eventually going to hear about it from an upset customer.

2. Our founder has an extensive background in dog behavior training including successfully rehabbing many very extreme “last chance” cases.

3. We are honest, ethical, reliable and on-time.  Licensed, BBB accredited, Trade references available on request.

4. Our pricing is equal or less than our competitors, but we believe our quality of service is unmatched.

5. We do not profit more for finding an infestation as we do not offer treatments.

6. We work with 30+ local and national pest control companies and will be happy to work with your current company to get the job done.

Feel free to call us to pick our brains as we will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Sincerely,

The Cimex K9 Team