JonTK9

Trust K9 often gets asked by customers ‘how did I get bed bugs?’

Firstly, bed bugs have nothing to do with cleanliness.  The following are common ways you can get bed bugs, with a bit of bad luck thrown in.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Bed bugs will live anywhere where they can get a blood-meal, so planes, buses, trains, the tube, anywhere that people frequent and sit still for a while are perfect habitats.

Some airlines do use bed bug dogs to check aircraft for bed bugs, but many don’t.

Hotels
Anywhere where there is a high turnover of guests will be at high risk for bed bugs.  This could be in hotels, hostels, friends or families houses and shared accommodation.  One of our own staff members encountered bed bugs when she moved into a rented room which already had a bed bug problem.

Second hand furniture
People unwittingly bring bed bugs into their homes by buying second-hand furniture. This previous blog goes into more detail about this particular issue.

Neighbouring property
Bed bugs can travel between houses so if your neighbours have bed bugs, it is possible you will get them too. Tell-tale signs are beds or mattresses outside the house.

If you suspect you have bed bugs, or have recently stayed somewhere with bed bugs, Trust K9’s bed bug sniffer dogs are a great solution for early detection.

If you are unlucky enough to have a bed bug infestation, the golden rule is to get it treated by a professional.  Trust K9 is a member of the BPCA and the NPTA, so you can be sure you are in safe hands.

Trust K9 has had a long year fighting and sniffing out bed bugs. 2012 has been a great year, and here are some of our highlights:

• This time last year, our Bed Bug Dogs Alfie and Bess were bringing up 8 gorgeous pups
• We kept 2 of those pups who are now fully trained bed bug dogs giving us the largest UK dog team , of 5 dogs
• In November we attended the NPTA’s Pest Tech Exhibition -Mark was a guest speaker with his sidekick Lola, showing the audience how she sniffs out bed bugs
• Trust K9 opened a second office in Wiltshire
• We successfully treated an entire Nursing Home using bed bug dogs and heat treatment
• Trust K9’s bed bug dogs gave the all clear for the Olympians
• Trust K9 launched ‘Mobile Heat’ option

After such a busy year, we have decided to give our staff and dogs a well-deserved break over Christmas and New Year to come back refreshed in 2013. Click here for information whilst we are closed.

Trust K9 understand that finding out you have bed bugs can be distressing at the best of times.  However, when you are preparing to bring a new baby into your house, the last thing you need to worry about, or waste time on, is getting rid of bed bugs.

Trust K9 frequently get calls from pregnant women who have discovered they have bed bugs.  The most common scenario is that they want to get rid of the bed bugs before the baby arrives – and they want to know this for SURE.

Whilst chemical is an effective way to treat bed bugs when applied correctly, it can take weeks, sometimes months, to fully get rid of all of the bed bugs.  Heat offers an immediate solution.  We heat up the structure of your house or flat for around 24 hours to ensure that all of the bed bugs and eggs die immediately.

But how do you know for sure that the bed bug treatment was effective?  Trust K9 can then use our highly skilled team of sniffer dogs to give you the peace of mind that the bed bugs really have gone.

Even if they feel they can wait a month or so for all the bed bugs to die using the chemical treatment, most expectant mothers want to minimise the amount of pesticide used in their home so close to delivery of their new-born. Heat kills bed bugs immediately without the need for chemical.

A combination of bed bug heat treatment and bed bug sniffer dogs gives you an immediate solution for bed bugs, and the peace of mind that you can get on with the important task of preparing for the arrival of your new baby.

Trust K9 has been extra busy detecting and getting rid of bed bugs recently.  We previously blogged about the Olympics and the suspected increase in infestations bought by the influx of visitors to London, and have seen an increase in outbreaks when compared to this time last year.

There was an article it the paper today, about the lady covered in bed bug bites after staying at a leading hotel chain. She described it as “like being in a bush tucker trial”. It looks like this Hotel could do with a full bed bug dog search to check how far the problem has spread and then regular monitoring moving forward.

Unfortunately bed bugs cannot be prevented; however, regular proactive dog searches give Hotels and their guest’s confidence that any issues will be detected before they reach the levels indicated by the number of bites in these photos.

Next time you stay at a Hotel make sure you ask how they monitor for bed bugs.  We recently had a call from a 5 star hotel who wanted their rooms checked on request from a customer! This goes to show that reputable and responsible hotels will listen and act.

Click here for more information on Bed Bug Dogs either click here or give us a call on 0208 299 4090.