A detection dog can smell live bed bugs and eggs that can still hatch, even when they are hidden in a bunk frame, a sleeping loft or a crack in old paneling. For Cazadero camps, retreats and cabins that have many beds, a K9 team is one of the quickest ways to check everything at once.
When a Dog Helps Most
- Camps and retreats with rows of bunks to check before a new session.
- Creek cabins opening for the season after sitting shut all winter.
- Homes where bites continue but nothing shows up to the eye.
- Board and batten walls with many gaps to search.
- Checking that an earlier treatment worked.
How the Search Works
- StartThis dog has learned to ignore dead bugs and old shells and react to living ones and their eggs.
- SweepGuided by the handler, it works along beds, bunks, couches, closets and trim.
- AlertOnce it picks up the scent, the dog sits down or holds its nose on the exact place.
- ConfirmThe handler inspects every alert by sight and shows you the proof.
Questions to Ask a K9 Team
Ask where the dog was trained, which group certifies the team and how often they run practice searches. Find out how an alert is confirmed and what the report will show. Be cautious if a company wants to treat a whole bunkhouse after one alert that nobody backed up with a visible bug.
Before the Dog Arrives
- Shut your own dogs and cats away from the search area.
- Hold off on wood smoke, incense and scented candles that morning.
- Do not spray insecticide in the days before the search.
Questions About K9 Inspections
Can one visit cover every cabin at a camp?
Often it can. A dog works much faster than a person, so a team can move through a row of bunk cabins in a single trip. Ask for a price per building or per bed before the day.
Our dog team alerted on a bunk. Do we treat the whole cabin?
Not yet. The handler should first confirm the alert by finding bugs or eggs at that bunk. Treatment plans should rest on what the handler actually sees.
How your call is handled: Bed Bug Control CA is a free referral service. When you call or send the form, you are connected with an independent, licensed pest control company that serves Cazadero. That company inspects, quotes and does the work.