There has been a recent surge of interest in Bed Bugs due to the recent outbreak in France, but these pests have been an issue for many years. A recent article by BBC News (1) highlighted that “Bedbugs have been an issue in the UK for many years and were a public health pest that is notoriously difficult to treat”. So why are we only hearing about this now?
Bed Bug infestations are often found in hotels, cinemas, trains or other commercial premises such as schools and hospitals. Understandably, owners are not keen to advertise these outbreaks so they rarely make the news.
Pest control treatment for bed bugs can be tricky, requiring professional chemical or heat treatment to eradicate. As the bugs can live for up to a year without feeding, and can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime all traces of bugs and eggs must be removed.
Bed bug detection dogs offer a fantastic way of detecting bugs or eggs early on before an infestation can really take hold. In studies they have been found to be 98% effective at detecting live bed bugs, offering an alternative solution to relying on visual inspections (2).
Gradko Forensics sells Scentlogix Bed Bug Detection Training aids for training Sniffer Dogs on the scent of Bed Bugs.
Sources:
(1) BBC News, 10/10/23 – Bed Bugs: Luton Council deals with 86 bedbug incidents in a year
(2) Pfiester et al, Ability of Bed Bug-Detecting Canines to Locate Live Bed Bugs and Viable Bed Bug Eggs, Journal of Economic Entomology, Volume 101, Issue 4, 1 August 2008, Pages 1389–1396,
