Archive for the ‘pets’ Category

Bed Bug Sniffing Dogs

Monday, March 10th, 2008

Many of you may have read or seen on TV stories about dogs that have been trained to sniff bed bugs. Now, Advanced K9 Detectives, a company that boasts a pack of bed bug sniffing dogs that can quickly, cheaply-and most importantly, effectively-sniff a room for bed bugs following an exterminator’s visit.

It amazes me how dogs’ powerful sense of smell-which can be as much as 2,000 times stronger than that of a human-can be capitalized on to detect so many different things. There are even dogs who can sniff out bootleg DVDs!

But I am not interested in hiring Advanced K9 or any other similar company; I want to know how a dog can be properly trained to detect bed bugs. I would love to buy a beagle or any other breed that could accurately pinpoint the secret locations of the bed bugs in my home, because although I haven’t been bitten in a long time, I do occasionally come across a dead bed bug or two, which makes me believe they’re still out there, like Al-Qaeda, silently waiting to execute their next great attack.

Would anyone know if this is possible for a civilian to own a detection dog? M loves dogs and I know a trained bed bug sniffing dog would be an incredible bonus to having a dog living with us.

Posted in bed bug smell, news articles, paranoia, pets | 2 Comments »

Bed Bugs: Beware the Wrath of Charlie!

Sunday, October 15th, 2006


I figured I’d give you guys a break from all the hard news (bugs sprays, City Council hearings, etc.) and give you somethng a bit more light-hearted. Meet my family’s pet turtle, Charlie.
He eats broccoli and meatballs, but one day I discovered my 13-year old nephew was catching cockroaches and feeding them to him.

From then on, whenever I’d spot a bed bug anywhere in the apartment, I’d bring it right to Charlie, whose appetite made sure that bug would never bother me again. So far I’ve fed about a dozen or so bed bugs to him over the last two weeks.

I guess you could call Charlie a form of organic insecticide. Watch out, bed bugs!

Posted in pets | 1 Comment »

Save Kitty!

Monday, January 30th, 2006

I remember something my friend Joe told me a while back concerning his bed bug problem. As I mentioned in my first post, Joe’s cat was going nuts from being bitten by the bugs. The cat began acting crazy, attacking Joe to the point where he finally had to call the city to pick up the cat and put it to sleep. Even though bed bugs prefer human blood, they will feed off of any warm-blooded animal lying on the bed. Unfortunately, like many pet owners, Joe allowed his cat to sleep in bed with him. The ultimate result of Joe’s actions was very difficult for him to bear, as he saw his beloved black cat carried away in a net.

No wonder the cat went nuts; its little animal brain couldn’t possibly comprehend what the hell was happening to him. Between the bites, the welts and the possible itching, the cat must have lost all its marbles. The cat obviously couldn’t scratch the itchy bites. I know I would lose my mind if I had an itch I was unable to scratch. My heart goes out to my friend, because I know how much he loved that cat.

Joe always left his bedroom door open so the cat would always walk into the room and onto the bed after he was asleep. So remember, if you want your pet to not lose its mind and have to be put to sleep, once you realize you have bed bugs, do not allow your pet to be in your bedroom after dark and close the door to keep it from entering during the night.

R.I.P. “Sammy”
b. ? – 2005

Posted in pets, tips | 2 Comments »