Edmonton’s bed bug-hunting dogs are on the front lines of infestations

Sniffing out bed bugs in Edmonton has gone to the dogs.

A team of specially trained bed bug-detection dogs are put to work to help find the pesky critters – and they do it faster and more efficiently than humans can.

Dash, a Springer Spaniel who turns seven on Wednesday, is a professional at sniffing out bed bugs for Orkin Canada.

He was put to work Tuesday despite it being a holiday of sorts: National Dog Day.

“I would say he’s 99.9 per cent accurate,” said Heidi Vandenhouten, a K9 handler at Orkin Canada. “I never say 100 per cent because he’s a living, breathing creature. If I put it into terms of eyesight for his sense of smell, if we could see 500 metres, he would see 5,000 kilometres.”

Dash, in his fifth year on the job with the pest-control company, doesn’t work for free; he gets paid with toys.

He’s part of a roster of bug-sniffing dogs who alert the experts, who then wipe them out.

After the scent of the pest is imprinted on the dogs, they can locate infestations with precision.

“When you go in with a dog and you clear that unit, you can see the relief in people,” Vandenhouten said.

Bed bugs are obsessed with humans: the air we breathe out and the warmth of our bodies.

Orkin Canada says their populations are on the rise nationwide, in part due to the decreased use of pesticides and the return of international travel in recent years.

Once the hitchhiking pests set up in a home, they multiply fast and can be very hard to get rid of.

But for Dash, it’s a rewarding career that he and his handler look forward to every day.

“The best job in the world,” said Vandenhouten. “I get to play hide and seek with a dog all day, and he’s a wonderful partner. He gives me no grief.”