Comments on: NYC’s bed bug math problem

By: Renee

Renee — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:41:28 +0000

I’m glad the dogs worked for you, Dawn, and that the shelter is bedbug-free.

Since you posted a second comment about dogs, I’ll just add my own view of the dogs: I think the dog has to be highly trained and the dog handler needs to be highly trained and they need to work well together (and this combination is by no means common). And I think a human inspector should confirm the presence of bedbugs where possible.

By: Dawn Bryant

Dawn Bryant — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:24:22 +0000

Consumers need to visit the websites of the bedbug sniffing dog companies. It is always stated that “knowledge is power”. Being cognizant of your subject can minimize the amount of wrong information we congest from sources that are pacifying our fears. Our decisions follow the education process. I started a bedbug dog sniffing company after finding that it was a solution to my problem as a shelter administrator. The shelter is now bedbug free after the dog identified exactly where they were. We were paying pest control on a bi-weekly basis, yet, every week I had a new bedbug complaint. Thanks Doug and the Florida Canine Academy.

By: Bed bug math redux — New York vs Bed Bugs

Bed bug math redux — New York vs Bed Bugs — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:39:19 +0000

[...] should be accurately reported, but frequently they are not. Therefore, we are diligent with our bed bug math here at New York vs Bed Bugs. We believe very strongly that our city’s bed bug statistics, [...]

By: Out in the rain? — New York vs Bed Bugs

Out in the rain? — New York vs Bed Bugs — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:14:13 +0000

[...] So, just a heads up, among other things, we’ll have to rely on real reporters to sort out our bed bug math this year. The end of the fiscal year is at hand! New 311 bed bug complaint numbers to come! [...]

By: Make it right, WashPo! « New York vs Bed Bugs

Make it right, WashPo! « New York vs Bed Bugs — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:32:26 +0000

[...] The city’s available bed bug statistics, flawed as they are, were available to Mr. Segal at the time of his reporting. Indeed, one of the articles he ridiculed in his piece, a Daily News article on December 30, cited the correct statistics. [...]

By: Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2008: a bill in the US Congress « New York vs Bed Bugs

Mon, 19 May 2008 03:58:53 +0000

[...] bill’s findings are notable to this New Yorker for the outdated New York City bed bug statistics: SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds that– (1) on February [...]

By: Doug Summers MS

Doug Summers MS — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:36:41 +0000

Renee

You are absolutely correct.

By: Renee

Renee — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:19:39 +0000

I appreciate the comment, Doug, and the upfront disclosure.

I am a bit worried to be honest, although it’s certainly possible that I’m simply focusing on a small number of reports.

And I have to agree that a human confirmation of the presence of bedbugs should follow a dog alert and any pest control decisions taken as a result of dog alerts should be weighed very carefully if there is no such confirmation.

By: Doug Summers MS

Doug Summers MS — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:55:43 +0000

Bed Bug Dog alerts should be confirmed with a visual inspection. We teach our K9 teams to perform a manual search in the location of the dog alert.

Most problems with a K9 team can be traced to the skill of the handler & the quality of the daily training practices.

Some K9s are advertised to identify live bed bugs only. In theory, these dogs are trained to ignore feces, cast skins & dead specimens. There can be a number of inherent problems with this live specimen only training approach. False alerts are one possible result.

K9 teams are not 100% accurate. In the lab setting the stats range from 75% to 96% depending on which studies you cite.

Accuracy rates can vary considerably between individual K9 teams.

The Bed Bug Dog is the best bed bug surveillance & detection tool on the market, but these dogs are not a panacea. The K9 assisted bed bug inspection is more accurate than a brief visual inspection by an unassisted human inspector.

If HPD is going to require their inspectors to find live bed bugs in the field & base their statistics on a brief visual inspection, then it only make sense to utilize K9 teams for the investigations.

Keep in mind that my opinion is highly biased due to my work. I work for Florida Canine Academy & handle K9s for a living. We pioneered the use of K9s for bed bug detection.

By: Renee

Renee — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:51:10 +0000

Hey Doug, I think that’s certainly an idea. And there’s no question in my mind that the gap between complaints and violations is due in large part to the training and skills of inspectors and their evidence standards.

To be frank, New York vs Bed Bugs has so far hesitated to adopt a position on bedbug dogs. In general we think they are promising tools, very promising. But, as bedbug dogs have become more popular, we’ve also started to hear troubling reports of widely varying results, even to the point of all clears one day and various alerts on another day. Perhaps such results are not the rule and, in any case, much may depend on the training depth and working methods of each individual handler/dog team.