Training For Bedbug Dogs Not Always Adequate
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Bed bug-sniffing dogs are so popular, one even has his own Facebook page, but as WCBS 880 reporter Marla Diamond reports, they're not always reliable.
As the demand for the dogs soars, so do complaints from people about false positives.
Podcast
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports
Bed bug dog trainer Pepe Peruyero said the industry needs to be regulated. "It's very easy to cut corners when you are training a dog."
"It's critical we do it. I think there's enough professional companies out there that want a standard," he said.
Experts say the detection industry is outpacing regulations or standards for the training of the dogs.
"We're really working in a new era now, a new world with bed bugs," Missy Henricksen, with the National Pest Management Association, said.
The agency is drafting standards for its 7,000 members nationwide.
"Hopefully that will provide the right guidance for professionals in using them and also for consumers that they can take confidence that these dogs that are trained are actually doing the work that can be so effective in identifying where bedbugs are hiding," Henricksen said.
Bed bug experts said the dogs are a helpful tool, but the best way to tell if you have a problem is by sight or bites.
