Importance of hiring a third party Bed Bug Detection Dog Service in Phoenix, AZ

By Keith Coddington Cimex K9, LLC would like to stress the importance of hiring a third party bed bug detection dog service.  Here in Phoenix and Nationwide there are unethical scams taking place regarding the use of bed bug detection dogs to convince customers they need costly bed bug treatments when it is not necessary.

Unfortunately we have seen this ourselves in the Phoenix area more than once as we have searched locations right after a previous company insisted there was a major bed bug problem that needed to be addressed immediately.  One thing in common with every issue like this is that even though their dog is alerting in various locations they cannot provide visual proof of the infestation as the infestation simply does not exist.

For some reason I have seen consumers just assume since a bed bug detection dog is being used that it is not necessary to verify anything and just trust the pest control company that is operating them.  Please insist on evidence and protect yourself as the dog handler may be paid on commission for selling the treatment!  If that is not a conflict of interest I don’t know what is.

Also, just because your canine service is provided to you through a regular pest control company it does not necessarily mean it is not a third party.  Many pest control companies subcontract out their bed bug canine work to a third party as is the case with most of the jobs we perform.  Feel free to ask your company if they contract out their canine services as this will minimize the conflict of interest.  Also, make sure the bed bug detection dogs are certified!

If you have any other questions feel free to contact Phoenix, Arizona based  Cimex K9 at 888-928-4364

Keith Coddington

Founder, Certified Detection Dog Trainer

The Canine Nose Undercovers

Letting the bedbugs bite? Go to the mattress with a well-trained sniffer.

by Mara Bovsun - July/August 2011 issue of AKC Family Magazine

Yet again, the human race is under siege and, yet again, we’re calling on our dogs to pull us from the brink of disaster.  The enemy this time is a tiny insect, about the size of an apple seed.  In scientific circles, the proper name is Cimex lectularius.  To the rest of us, that’s bedbug.

(Read More)

Why use a Bedbug Dog?

By Keith Coddington

Detection dogs have been working for police departments and various government agencies around the world for decades.  They have time and time again proven themselves as an effective and reliable tool for locating various items such as illegal drugs, cell phones in prisons, termites, cancer cells on humans, explosives and even bedbugs.

Research at Auburn University'sVeterinary School, shows working canines can detect a few odor molecules per billion parts of air. To illustrate this point, it would be comparable to a person being able to locate one specific grain of sand in a thirty (30) square foot section of beach.

Not only do detection dogs have the ability to perceive minute levels of a substance, they also separate discrete odors. For example, people smell pizza whereas a detection canine smells flour, tomato, onion, mushroom, peppers, cheese, and pepperoni. With this ability to distinguish individual odors, detection canines are trained to ignore extraneous smells and key on bedbugs.

Bedbugs are very elusive and it is almost always impossible for a human to find every last bug with visual inspections.  By using a bedbug detection dog the treatment is able to be applied directly to the effected areas and there is no need to treat other areas that are free from the infestation.  This can cut the costs of the treatments dramatically.

Bedbug dogs can be used extremely effectively as a preventative.  Knowing that your home, hotel, hospital or apartment is bedbug free is a very comforting thought.  Periodic inspections with a bedbug dog can locate an infestation before it quickly gets out of control and causes a major problem.

Bedbug dogs work very fast and can search a room for bedbugs in a fraction of the time it would take a technician to visually inspect the area.  These highly trained canines are very hard working and depending on the room a bedbug dog can search 100-200 rooms in one day.

Bedbug detection dogs are the most technologically advanced tool in the world used to locate as little as one bedbug.  Using these highly trained canines along with a specialized treatment is the most effective way to keep the bedbug problem under control.