How could bed bugs get into my home?

Bedbugs can be found everywhere and they are easily transported. Bedbugs can travel on luggage, secondhand furniture and clothing.  They can be transported on buses, trains, and planes, and in shopping containters.

Many people who find that they have bed bugs in their homes have often recently traveled.

Bedbugs are not a socio-economic issue, nor a cleanliness issue. They have no connection to race, religion, nationality or culture. 

What will it take to get rid of them?

There are several approaches. The best approach is a canine inspection pre-treatment  and post treatment, working with your pest control company. Inspections done both pre and post treatment provide the most peace of mind, and in the long run, are the least costly. This approach leads to a targeted treatment plan, and  can decrease the amount of pesticide used.
 

What happens during an inspection?

The team arrives at your home at a pre-arranged time. After a brief discussion, it is our standard protocol is to hide a secure vial of bed bugs  in the search area  The purpose of this is to excite the dog and to make sure he is on task.  It will take at least 15 min. for the bugs in the vial to establish an odor presence. After this time has passed, the team begins an orderly search of the home, working each room from left to right, inspecting everything in the room.  This continues in an orderly fashion, proceeding from room to room, until the search area is completed.  After the search, we immediately report our findings to you.

How disruptive is an inspection?

In terms of disruption to the household,  the search itself is not disruptive.  We walk through the home, in an orderly fashion, room by room, with the dog scenting his way through.  The dog is under the control of the handler and on a leash at all times. 

We do not move anything or touch anything.  We will ask your permission for the dog to get on beds, or furniture to inspect these more thoroughly. If we believe that we could search an area more thoroughly if furniture or other items were moved, we will inform you and you can make the decision whether or not to move them.

Do I need to do anything to prepare for an inspection?

Yes.  Because Bingo is a specially trained dog with tremendous ability to identify the odor of live bed bugs and to isolate the location(s) of the problem, we require that certain conditions be met before the inspection.

The following necessary steps will help to insure a proper and thorough search.

• You will need to move any pets, pet toys, pet food and water to an area that is not involved in the search.

• To create the most effective search environment, you will need to minimize noise and human distraction.  Please - no loud music, television or radios in the search area.

• Turn off air conditioners, heaters, and ceiling fans 20 minutes prior to the team's arrival.

• Two hours prior to the inspection, you need to extinguish all smoking materials and remove all odor containing products.  This would include such items as air or room freshening sprays and products, perfumes, scented candles, and plug-ins.

• We ask that you crack open all bureau, dresser, and desk drawers to about two or three inches. Should there be bedbugs living in these areas, it will be easier to detect them.

• Vacuum all carpets and floors prior to the visit.  Avoid using any scented carpet powders or scented cleaning products. Floors and carpets need to be free of any objects that the canine detection dog could ingest or that would distract from the search.  This would include food, candy, food spills, pills, buttons, pins and other such objects.

• Whenever possible, please move beds away from walls so that the entire area can be searched.  Arrange rooms so that the dog and his handler have easy access and can move about freely to inspect all areas of a room.

• No socialization with the bed bug detection dog is allowed prior to or during the search.  Any socialization with the dog should wait until after the search is complete.

Will you maintain my confidentiality? 

Yes.  All of our records are confidential.  We do not share any information you provide to us. 

What does it cost?
The cost of a search depends on several factors, for example the size of the area to be searched, the number or rooms that need to be searched, etc. Please call us at 413-537-7584. we would be happy to get the details and give you the cost.

I have already contacted a pest control company.  Do you work with them?

New England Canine Detectives is an independent bedbug detection service.  We work for the homeowner or renter to pinpoint the location of any bed bugs.  If you are working with a pest control company, you could forward our findings to them so that they could pinpoint treatment.  If you have recently had pesticides applied, you would have to wait a minimum of 30 days before we could search.  Searching sooner, would expose the dog's sensitive nose to chemicals that could damage the dog.