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Bed bug sniffing dogs

mdurette

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i belong to a Facebook group for a TS I own in FL. Someone just returned and mentioned she was happy to see the bed bug sniffing dogs there. Said they are used every 3-4 months. I have never heard of such a thing. Do all places do this?
 

DaveNV

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I've never heard of it either, but just Googled the subject. It seems there is a growing industry for bedbug sniffing dogs. Who knew?

Dave
 

dioxide45

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If you have ever watched Hotel Impossible on the Travel Channel (don't know if this is still on as we dropped the DirecTV package that included the Travel Channel), Anthony uses them fairly often. They seem to be very effective.
 

Passepartout

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I don't think it really takes bedbug sniffing dogs. I mean, it isn't rocket science to see brown stains (blood-bug poop) along the seams of the mattress/pad. When you move into a hotel/timeshare, just pull back the sheet and check the seams under it.
 

dioxide45

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I don't think it really takes bedbug sniffing dogs. I mean, it isn't rocket science to see brown stains (blood-bug poop) along the seams of the mattress/pad. When you move into a hotel/timeshare, just pull back the sheet and check the seams under it.
I think the dogs can smell the bugs before they very far along. There may be bedbugs recently introduced that don't show the signs that you are referring to. Better to be proactive than to let your guests find them. May be just as cheap to pay someone to bring a dog through than to tie up staff. Sure you could have the maids check every day, but it is perhaps better to have a professional.
 

Passepartout

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May be just as cheap to pay someone to bring a dog through than to tie up staff. Sure you could have the maids check every day, but it is perhaps better to have a professional.
'Professional bedbug sniffing dog'? Officially certified by the same organization that issues 'Emotional Support Animal' vests to peafowl and goats and gerbils. Really?!?!?
 

dioxide45

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'Professional bedbug sniffing dog'? Officially certified by the same organization that issues 'Emotional Support Animal' vests to peafowl and goats and gerbils. Really?!?!?
I would more likely compare it to a trained service animal for the blind vs an emotional support "pet".
 

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I would more likely compare it to a trained service animal for the blind vs an emotional support "pet".
Call it whatever you want. But until there is some recognized testing criterion, it lacks credibility. Orkin (and their ilk) have cred.
 

bbodb1

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Call it whatever you want. But until there is some recognized testing criterion, it lacks credibility. Orkin (and their ilk) have cred.
Your avatar would like to have a word with you......
 

silentg

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Ok, I’m going to ask the question. What is the difference between a service dog, an emotional support dog, and a bed bug sniffing dog? Are all of them allowed to stay in a timeshare ?
On a side note. Last night we were out to dinner at a nice restaurant. The people at the next table came in with a stroller, we thought it was a baby, until Fido poked his head out. So if you get a fancy stroller for your pet you can bring him/her anywhere?
Thank you for clarification on this matter.
Silentg
 

bbodb1

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Ok, I’m going to ask the question. What is the difference between a service dog, an emotional support dog, and a bed bug sniffing dog? Are all of them allowed to stay in a timeshare ?
On a side note. Last night we were out to dinner at a nice restaurant. The people at the next table came in with a stroller, we thought it was a baby, until Fido poked his head out. So if you get a fancy stroller for your pet you can bring him/her anywhere?
Thank you for clarification on this matter.
Silentg

I have to ask SilentG - was the pooch better behaved than the kids in the restaurant?

Seriously though, I do get your point here. In so many areas today, reasonable standards have been plowed under in favor of personal whims. Consideration for others has given way to self fulfillment. This is not a positive trend.
 

dioxide45

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Call it whatever you want. But until there is some recognized testing criterion, it lacks credibility. Orkin (and their ilk) have cred.
Do they use dogs to track suspects and search for missing people? Is there an official certification or is the dog and handler just trained? Is a piece of paper always that important? Isn't it their sense of smell that gives them credibility?

Are you also saying that pets don't provide emotional support?
 
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shorts

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I have seen pest control companies advertise the use of a dog in their bedbug treatment service.
 

silentg

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I have to ask SilentG - was the pooch better behaved than the kids in the restaurant?

Seriously though, I do get your point here. In so many areas today, reasonable standards have been plowed under in favor of personal whims. Consideration for others has given way to self fulfillment. This is not a positive trend.
Yes, if the dog didn’t poke his head out we would have thought it was a baby. Very quiet, just thought very elegant stroller for a dog.
 

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They have dogs that can detect blood sugar issues (met a lady in Hawaii with a Yorkie worn in a sling across her chest) and seizures about to start, so why not one that can smell bed bugs? We got ratted out by a little fruit beagle in Hawaii when we didn't realize they were as concerned about fruit leaving as they were fruit coming in (we praised the dog and they let us sit and eat our apples before proceeding further into the airport).
 

Panina

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I have had one of these bed bug sniffing dogs in my home to get an insurance policy if my get them in my home in the future. It was offered by the pest control company I use.

I freaked out when the dog was sniffing my couch and started barking and jumping up. Not known to me the company had placed a closed dish with a live bed bug in it. I was told they randomly place it. This way they know if the dog is 100% that day. They do not want to insure a home that has bed bugs already.
 

bbodb1

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They have dogs that can detect blood sugar issues (met a lady in Hawaii with a Yorkie worn in a sling across her chest) and seizures about to start, so why not one that can smell bed bugs? We got ratted out by a little fruit beagle in Hawaii when we didn't realize they were as concerned about fruit leaving as they were fruit coming in (we praised the dog and they let us sit and eat our apples before proceeding further into the airport).

Did you share?
 

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My sister got bed bugs in her house once a long time ago and hired a service that used a dog. She loved the dog, said she was so cute and nice.

But there are some easy practical measures you can take to help prevent bed bugs that are probably more cost effective than hiring bed bug dogs to come inspect every 6 months.
 

clifffaith

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. Did you share?

Didn't occur to us to offer a dog an apple. Carrots would be another matter, every dog we ever had enjoyed raw carrot sticks. And one year I grew sugar snaps in pots and had to move them to the front porch because our beagle would stand on his back legs to reach up to pick peas!
 

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Two of my coworkers had bedbugs in their apartments :eek:
 

Jan M.

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We were staying at a resort in Florida when the handler brought the bed bug sniffing dog through. He gave us a demonstration and of course the dog got his treat. The guy told us he did a lot of places in the area. I think it might have been when we stayed at the Vanderbilt Beach Club in Naples. Great resort btw.
 
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We just had an issue with a stay in a unit with cockroaches (ewww :eek:).

It freaked me out so much, I bought clear plastic bags large enough to close up our luggage when not in use so as not to pick up hitchhikers. Now we just pack them with us as a matter of course.
 

vacationhopeful

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Coachroaches are NOTHING compared to bedbugs. A national extermination company's quote for bedbug treatment was OVER $4500 for a 2 bedroom place. Plus a contract for a monthly service plan for one year.

I had a 'idiot' 75yo tenant who took in a new 55yo boyfriend who was living in his car. She called and said she had bedbugs ... even the town's housing office called the guy, Mr Bedbug ... as he was the nexus of MULTIPLE bed infestations.

So, I did some investigating state housing code rules. Seems bugs are NOT a landlord problem IF the unit is the ONLY unit in the building with an issue. She was the ONLY occupied unit ... her family ended up PAYING for the extermination service (first they removed the boyfriend) and then, the bedbug issue.

And I raised her rent.

PS I had warned this tenant to KEEP him out of her unit as a 'municipal person in the know' informed me about his bedbug issue. But it was like waving a RED CLOTH with her. He was sitting on her stoop and I stopped and called her aside .... but SHE KNEW BETTER.
 

DrQ

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Coachroaches are NOTHING compared to bedbugs. A national extermination company's quote for bedbug treatment was OVER $4500 for a 2 bedroom place. Plus a contract for a monthly service plan for one year.
Yeah, that I get. The cockroaches was a warning shot. That's why I purchased the plastic bags as precaution.
 

pedro47

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We store our luggage on cold tile floor in the bathroom. Bedbugs hate cold tile floors. They have no place to hid and lay eggs.
 
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