Local business trains bed-bug-sniffing dogs
BREA – Bed bugs are turning up more than ever, and sniffing out the parasites is becoming big business.
Officials at the Orange County Vector Control District – which deals with insects and rodents that impact public health – say bed-bug infestation has become an increasing problem in Orange County.
"I can tell you that here at the Vector Control District, we are fielding more phone calls in recent years," said Laura Krueger, a vector ecologist.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attribute the spike to various factors, including an increased resistance to pesticides and greater international travel. Bed-bug bites cause itchy welts on some, while others may have no reaction. Bed bugs tend to collect where people are at rest for a long time.
Experts say canines can help – they are better equipped than people to find the blood-sucking insects and their eggs.
"Basically, the dogs work," Krueger said. "They are hugely used. That business is booming."
That is where Falco K-9 Academy comes in.
The Brea facility, which trains dogs to find everything from gun powder to marijuana, last year started offering bed-bug-detection classes for canines and handlers.
For $10,500 – about the same cost as training a drug-sniffing dog – handlers get a fully trained bed-bug sniffing canine, along with a training program for themselves. The dogs are trained for up to six weeks before meeting their handlers; then the dog and handler train together for 10 days.
Handlers who complete the training can open their own bed-bug-detecting business or go to work for an exterminator, said owner Andy Falco, a former Anaheim police officer and K-9 trainer for the department.
The dogs may be called on to find beg bugs and eggs in hotels, senior-living facilities, movie theaters, apartment complexes and single-family homes. Falco's clients come from around the country, he said.
A canine even might detect the scent of bed bugs in electrical outlets, behind walls or in lamps.
"That is ideally what the dog is for,'' Falco said, "to find things that we can't find."
Once found, the dog will sit – an alert to the handler. The dog is then given a toy as a reward.
"The dog thrives for that," said Falco employee Sherry Mardikian. "He wants that toy."
Falco said his company will train about 40 bed-bug-detection dogs and handlers this year. He expects that number to rise in the future. An ideal dog candidate is a playful one that is 1½ to 6 years old. Labradors tend to work out well, but many breeds can work; some bed-bug sniffers come from shelters.
"We look for a dog that has confidence and courage," Falco said. "A dog has to be social and trainable."
A handler can earn $200 to search a two-bedroom house and $9 to $15 per room in a hotel. Handlers in the bed-bug-detecting business can earn $50,000 per year, Falco said.
And a handler can work with a nifty partner.
Kristy Gardiner of Huntington Beach, a Falco graduate, works with Bo, a 2-year-old black Lab. Gardiner and Bo completed training last summer and have worked with Orkin, a pest-control company, since January.
"Not only is it unique, but I get to work with something I love," she said.
|
Published On March 22, 2011 - By LOU PONSI
|
 Dakota, a 1-year-old mix, searches for bed bugs in a training course at Falco K-9 Academy in Brea.
JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
