Bed Bugs in the UK

What are bed bugs & why use a K9 team?

The most common species of bed bug in the UK is Cimex Lectularius. These small, parasitic insects grow to around 5mm in size and feed on blood. They spread by either crawling between areas or being carried on items such as clothing or bedding. Bed bugs can be difficult to locate due to their preference to spend time in dark areas such as tiny cracks. They can survive hundreds of days without feeding and breed prolifically, making an infestation very difficult to control. Bed bugs are more commonly seen in highly populated buildings such as hotels, care homes or student accommodation for example. However, they can be found in any premises where cross contamination has occurred and a suitable environment exists, such as private residences, vehicles or office environments.

Bed bugs can have a substantial effect on human health; their bites can result in itchy, red lesions, rashes and blisters. The psychological effects of bed bug infestations cannot be underestimated; these bites can cause stress, anxiety and sleep disturbance.

In the hospitality industry an untreated bed bug infestation can be incredibly harmful to business reputation and therefore revenue, and so it's of utmost importance to accurately pinpoint any problem areas as soon as possible before it spreads and causes further disruption.

Why use a K9 detection service?

HIGHLY ACCURATE - Canine detection teams can accurately pinpoint the presence of bed bugs and allow you to focus on problem areas.

FAST - Locations can be searched much faster and with greater accuracy than searching by human eye. If you can identify a problem as quickly as possible, the opportunity for it to spread is lowered, and it can be treated faster, allowing you to utilise the location again.

RELIABLE - Canine teams can detect the presence of bed bugs with an extremely high degree of success.

DETECTS TRACE ELEMENTS - Canines, with their highly sensitive noses, are capable of detecting trace elements of bed bug activity, and will successfully identify bed bugs where it would be impossible for the human eye to find them.