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Bed bugs can be difficult to find as they often hide away during day light hours and 3 out of 4 people show no sign of bites until the problem gets quite established.

In the next 6-8 weeks there can be little or no signs, but the earlier a bed bug infestation is detected, the quicker the can be treated- and most importantly is key to stopping the bed bugs from spreading  from room to room. Bed bugs are hitchhikers and are easily carried to other living areas in the house or property.

In the first 2-4 weeks it is almost impossible to find any traces of a bed bug infestation visually, it really down to sheer luck.

If you have taken a good look and checked for bed bugs, but still suspect you may have a bed bug problem, be it you are getting bites, or have recently stayed somewhere that you know has a bed bug infestation, bed bug sniffer dogs can detect a bed bug or eggs from the same day that they arrived.

So for peace of mind and quick accurate detection contact Trust K9 the bed bug specialist to find out about our bed bug detector dogs.

Take bed bugs seriously and get your life back- these are one guest you don’t want!

When people use bed bug sniffer dogs, they are putting their trust in the dogs to detect bed bugs.  Bed bug dogs are a great solution for finding early infestations, for example if you have just come back from a holiday; or need to search a large area.

Bed Bug Sniffer Dog at Work

Trust K9 have spoken to more and more pest controllers who are buying and training bed bug sniffer dogs. So how do you know which bed bug dog company to go with?

Trust K9, as far as we are aware, currently have the largest team in UK and bought the first NESDCA certified dog to the UK.

Anyone who works with dogs will understand that it takes a lot of training to become a great sniffer dog team for both the dog and the handler. The dog and the handler need to build a bond, and so our sniffer dogs live with their handlers.

The dog and handler will work together for a number of months in training so that they learn how each other behaves and acts.

A good bed bug sniffer dog team will work in partnership with each other to produce the best results.

So why is this important?  If the handler has had no sniffer dog training or has not spent sufficient time to read the dog, the dog may give subtle indications or behavioural changes that the handler will not pick up on.

To see our great bed bug sniffing team in action please call us to arrange an appointment.

In my last blog I spoke about Bed Bug Heat Treatment, and why use Heat.  Today I will focus on:

Methods of delivering bed bug heat treatments

There are several differing methods for generating the heat needed for an effective bed bug treatment. These are:

1) Direct Heat i.e. space heaters. 
These are usually propane burners that have a naked flame and fan that heat up the room.

Space Heater

Whilst highly portable these are limited to the size and number of rooms that can be treated. Also the use of naked flames has an inherent risk of scorching. There is an alternative system that uses an enclosed flame and exhaust vent making it much safer and is good for high rise flats or individual hotel rooms.

2) Blown Air Heat
These systems avoid the risks of naked flames by using an external heat source and pipe the hot air in to the building. This has limitations as the flexible ducting used to move the air in to the building can lose heat in winter limiting the achievable temperature in the treated area. Also this type of heat has very restrictive high limitations.

3) Hydronic Heat

Hydronic Heat as used by TrustK9

This system uses an external heat source to heat a liquid and then pumps the hot liquid into the building via insulated rubber hoses and then through a heat exchanger where an integral fan draws air through a radiator matrix which heats the air in the room. The advantages of this system are:Flexibility, it allows for multiple rooms to be treated at the same time and with added inline pumps can attain considerable height. Controllability, with flow and return temperature monitoring and thermostatic controls the heat in the treated areas can be controlled very accurately.

Less affected by external temperatures, as the system can run up to high temperatures and has insulated hoses the ambient temperature is much less of an issue than with the blown air system.

As with any system there are disadvantages, the main disadvantage of this system is the weight as it is a very heavy duty system and as such the components are fairly heavy. This is a problem for the team rather than a fundamental flaw that effects the treatment.

With all our customers we would advise that they ask for as much information regarding the purposed heat treatment as possible and make sure that whichever company and method you are going to use is fully insured. Trust K9 offer a 6 month guarantee on our Heat Treatments.

Till next time
Sleep tight  Pete

As many of you fellow pest controllers know the trade show calendar is a full one. Shows are scattered all across the globe throughout the year.

Following on from our attendance of Pest Tech earlier this year, Trust K9 is attending PestEx next week. Trust K9 Founder,  Mark Astley will be giving a talk and a demonstration of one of our Bed Bug Sniffer Dogs at 10am on Wednesday the 10th of April 2013, in the technical theatre.

PestEx takes place at the ExCel Centre in London over 10-11 April 2013 and the Trust K9 team will be at stand to answer any questions you have about bed bug sniffer dogs and heat treatment eradication for bed bugs.

Mark and Lola at PestEx 2011

PESTEX – 2011 – Click to watch Mark Astley and Lola from Trust K9 at the show

Make sure you stop by to say hello and meet the dogs-you may get a Lola badge too!