16 October 2023 , 07:01
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Bloodhound spaniels are being deployed as Britain's secret weapon in the war against the bedbug explosion.
The popular pets - bred specifically as companion dogs - are able to track down infestations and are proving very useful to families across the UK in stamping out the pests. Bedbugs are capable of hiding in mattress seams, skirting boards and plug sockets for up to 12 months without needing to consume blood.
Surging bedbug numbers in Paris, in schools, cinemas, hotels and trains, leading to mass panic across Europe. Dog expert Brian Leith said a well-trained dog can spot in infestation in seconds.
Bedbugs have caused mass panic (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Mr Leith, of BDL Canine Services in South Lanarkshire, told the Daily Star: "It could take someone in pest control 20 minutes to find the bedbugs, if they can find them." He added: "To search the whole floor of a hotel is very time-consuming for humans. My boy can sometimes find them in less than ten seconds."
The dog handler, 60, works with a four-year-old sprocker – a mix of cocker and springer spaniel – called Benjy. They visit up to five properties a day in Scotland and the north of England, charging £150 to £350 for an average three-bedroom house. Lucy Currie, from Otley, West Yorkshire, has been hunting the parasites for two years with her English springer spaniel, Floyd. She said: "Floyd loves it. He has the stupidest expression when he finds the bedbugs. It's a game to him and then he gets the tennis ball."
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"For people with bedbug infestations, though, it can be really distressing. There is a shame around it because they have a horrible reputation for being in dirty houses, but bedbugs don't discriminate." The bedbug "sniffer dogs" can be trained at several schools, including those run by the Bed Bug Foundation (BBF) and the National Association of Security Dog Users. Some hotels now use them every three months to detect infestations early.