Sniffer dogs are the latest defence in the battle of the bedbugs in Metro Vancouver, but consumers should be wary of pest-control companies that do not conduct visual inspections to verify the canine findings.
Bedbug-detecting dogs are touted by several Vancouver companies because trained dogs can detect bedbugs' scent through all life-cycle phases from eggs to adults, and can find them in out-of-reach areas such as in walls and baseboards.
But a concern has been raised that the dogs give too many false positives, causing consumers to fork out hundreds of dollars needlessly, following a report in the New York Times Thursday. The article found that as infestations rise in New York City and the demand for the dogs has soared, so, too, have complaints about some companies' dogs "finding" bedbugs in apartments where other companies have found none.
Vancouver's top canine psychologist at the University of B.C., Stanley Coren, identified several reasons the dogs may give false positives, including that they could be picking up the scent of bedbugs from a ventilation shaft in a neighbour's apartment, or they could be picking up the scent of other types of mites.
Another theory is that because some handlers reward a dog's result with food, the animal might be tempted to invent bugs for treats.
Coren adds that with other, harsher methods, dogs can get too stressed out. He said he'd much rather see a service dog dancing around when it's time to go to work, than "coming out with his ears down thinking 'Oh no, what is going to happen to me today?'"
In B.C., no one regulates standards and accuracy. The Ministry of Environment regulates the application of pesticides if an infestation is found, but it does not set standards for bedbug sniffer dogs.
So industry experts here caution that if companies use dogs, consumers should demand that staff do visual inspections to ensure the presence of bedbugs after the dog has detected them.
Sean Rollo, a manager for Orkin pest control in Vancouver, said dogs are "exponentially" better than humans at detecting bedbugs, but admits that it can be tricky if the dog senses bedbugs behind a wall or under a baseboard, where it may be difficult to see with the human eye.
"If the dog is trying to pull a fast one, it is really important the trainer correct that problem before it becomes a pattern. A good handler can read the dog. Maybe the bugs are in the wall, so you have to trust the dog is accurate," he said.
And that is where the relationship between dog handler and dog becomes crucial, he said. In Vancouver, Orkin employs the services of Frankie, a three-year-old Jack Terrier, who is trained yearly by an expert sniffer-dog trainer from Florida.
To ensure Frankie's skills are up to snuff, the company tests him by hiding sealed vials of bedbugs in hotel rooms. If he finds every one, they'll remove the vials and send him back in to search again. If he detects bedbugs, staff mark the area and go back in for a visual inspection.
Bedbug-detecting dogs are touted by several Vancouver companies because trained dogs can detect bedbugs' scent through all life-cycle phases from eggs to adults, and can find them in out-of-reach areas such as in walls and baseboards.
But a concern has been raised that the dogs give too many false positives, causing consumers to fork out hundreds of dollars needlessly, following a report in the New York Times Thursday. The article found that as infestations rise in New York City and the demand for the dogs has soared, so, too, have complaints about some companies' dogs "finding" bedbugs in apartments where other companies have found none.
Vancouver's top canine psychologist at the University of B.C., Stanley Coren, identified several reasons the dogs may give false positives, including that they could be picking up the scent of bedbugs from a ventilation shaft in a neighbour's apartment, or they could be picking up the scent of other types of mites.
Another theory is that because some handlers reward a dog's result with food, the animal might be tempted to invent bugs for treats.
Coren adds that with other, harsher methods, dogs can get too stressed out. He said he'd much rather see a service dog dancing around when it's time to go to work, than "coming out with his ears down thinking 'Oh no, what is going to happen to me today?'"
In B.C., no one regulates standards and accuracy. The Ministry of Environment regulates the application of pesticides if an infestation is found, but it does not set standards for bedbug sniffer dogs.
So industry experts here caution that if companies use dogs, consumers should demand that staff do visual inspections to ensure the presence of bedbugs after the dog has detected them.
Sean Rollo, a manager for Orkin pest control in Vancouver, said dogs are "exponentially" better than humans at detecting bedbugs, but admits that it can be tricky if the dog senses bedbugs behind a wall or under a baseboard, where it may be difficult to see with the human eye.
"If the dog is trying to pull a fast one, it is really important the trainer correct that problem before it becomes a pattern. A good handler can read the dog. Maybe the bugs are in the wall, so you have to trust the dog is accurate," he said.
And that is where the relationship between dog handler and dog becomes crucial, he said. In Vancouver, Orkin employs the services of Frankie, a three-year-old Jack Terrier, who is trained yearly by an expert sniffer-dog trainer from Florida.
To ensure Frankie's skills are up to snuff, the company tests him by hiding sealed vials of bedbugs in hotel rooms. If he finds every one, they'll remove the vials and send him back in to search again. If he detects bedbugs, staff mark the area and go back in for a visual inspection.
"We strongly believe in showing proof that something is there," he said.
Staff at Vancouver-based Care Pest and Wildlife Control, one of the first Canadian companies to use sniffer dogs to detect bedbugs, echoed the importance of using well-trained dogs to minimize false positives.
For three years, dog handlers at that company have been working with three bedbug-busting beagles named Vegas, Bonnie and Clyde. The dogs were trained in Florida by expert for more than 800 hours, said Katelyn Antrobus, Care's office administrator in Burnaby.
Antrobus also said their dog handlers reward the beagles with food when they work.
"Very rarely do we see false positives. Everyone makes errors, so they are not 100 per cent. We say they are 80-to 90-per-cent accurate," said Antrobus.
Beagles are the ideal sniffer dog, said Coren, because they are small and they have more nasal scent detectors than other dogs -- 225 million, as compared to a Dachshund, which has 149 million (A human has only 5 million.)
From the Downtown Eastside to the swankier West End, Vancouver is infested with bedbugs. And the problem isn't going away, said Rollo.
"It will get worse before it gets better," he said, adding that in the past three years he has seen a 500 per cent increase in calls.
As of Friday, the online bedbug tracker bedbugregistry.comhad nearly 2,000 reports of the creepy crawlers in Vancouver -- with the heavy majority of complaints coming from West End residents.
ticrawford@vancouversun.com
Staff at Vancouver-based Care Pest and Wildlife Control, one of the first Canadian companies to use sniffer dogs to detect bedbugs, echoed the importance of using well-trained dogs to minimize false positives.
For three years, dog handlers at that company have been working with three bedbug-busting beagles named Vegas, Bonnie and Clyde. The dogs were trained in Florida by expert for more than 800 hours, said Katelyn Antrobus, Care's office administrator in Burnaby.
Antrobus also said their dog handlers reward the beagles with food when they work.
"Very rarely do we see false positives. Everyone makes errors, so they are not 100 per cent. We say they are 80-to 90-per-cent accurate," said Antrobus.
Beagles are the ideal sniffer dog, said Coren, because they are small and they have more nasal scent detectors than other dogs -- 225 million, as compared to a Dachshund, which has 149 million (A human has only 5 million.)
From the Downtown Eastside to the swankier West End, Vancouver is infested with bedbugs. And the problem isn't going away, said Rollo.
"It will get worse before it gets better," he said, adding that in the past three years he has seen a 500 per cent increase in calls.
As of Friday, the online bedbug tracker bedbugregistry.comhad nearly 2,000 reports of the creepy crawlers in Vancouver -- with the heavy majority of complaints coming from West End residents.
ticrawford@vancouversun.com
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