Radar, the bedbug-sniffing beagle
New York City has turned to dogs for help in combating a bedbug infestation.
According to an article in the New York Daily News, bedbug infestation complaints have risen from 537 in 2004 to 6,889 last fiscal year, and dogs like Radar the beagle are being used to sniff out the blood-sucking bugs in city apartments and hotel rooms.
"We are inundated with requests from hotels and apartment owners," Carl Massicott, of Advanced K9 Detectives, told the newspaper.
Though he has six dogs working steadily and two more in training, “it's difficult to keep up with the demand," he said.
Massicott wouldn’t name any of the hotels where his dogs are being used because of confidentiality contracts, but he said his clients include many “top-end hotels."
He said his dogs, some of which are adopted from shelters, can check out a room in less than two minutes and that they signify that they have located bedbugs by barking or swatting their paws. He rewards them with treats. "A dog's nose is cutting-edge technology," Massicott said.
Photo by Associated Press
Comments
Beagles are very good at this sort of thing because they have top-notch smellers. They've been bred to hunt rabbits and hares, animals that leave very little scent. Turns out they're just as good at hunting bugs and pests. They're outstanding at locating underground termite nests, and there's a company in DC that employs a staff of Beagles to do just that.
Posted by: Anne | March 6, 2008 10:31 AM