A trained dog can smell live bed bugs and viable eggs hidden in a couch frame, behind a headboard or inside a trailer cushion. When a Knightsen property has a main house plus a cottage or ranch quarters, a K9 team can check all of it in a single short visit.
When a Dog Helps Most
- Lots with more than one building where people sleep.
- Bites reported but no bugs found by eye.
- Horse trailers with living quarters after a show trip.
- Checking a rented cottage between tenants.
- Making sure a treatment worked.
How the Search Works
- CueThe dog is trained to signal only on live bed bugs and viable eggs.
- SearchThe handler guides the dog past beds, couches, trim and outlets in each space.
- SignalThe dog sits or points its nose at the spot.
- VerifyThe handler checks each alert by sight.
What to Ask a K9 Team
Ask who trained and certified the dog, how often it practices and how the handler confirms an alert. Be careful with any plan to treat every building on a ranch because of a single alert no one verified.
Getting the Property Ready
- Keep ranch dogs and cats away from the rooms being searched.
- Avoid air fresheners, candles and fly spray inside that day.
- Do not use insecticide in the days before the visit.
Questions About K9 Inspections
Will the detection dog be bothered by our horses and ranch dogs?
Handlers work around farm animals all the time. Keep your own dogs penned or inside during the search and tell the team about livestock near the buildings.
Does a dog alert prove there are bed bugs?
No. The handler must find and confirm bugs or eggs by sight at each alert before anyone plans a treatment.
How your call is handled: Bed Bug Control CA is a free referral service. When you call or send the form, you are connected with an independent, licensed pest control company that serves Knightsen. That company inspects, quotes and does the work.