Tis the season of 4th, 5th & 6th grade camp sessions. If memories are not the only thing brought back with your happy campers, it could be a nightmare!

Campground cabins are known for having bed bugs. Any lodging facility with high turnover rates is at risk to receive bed bugs. Add the additional high risk practice of having people bring their own bedding (sleeping bags, pillows, sheets) as well as luggage and clothing and it is very likely you're going to get bed bugs in those wood bunk beds.

Our K-9 teams search cabins on a regular basis. Most of our campground accounts are monthly or quarterly inspections. The use of dogs allows low level (think one or two bugs) to be caught before a whole cabin is crawling with them.

K-9 teams are used in campground situations for quite a few good reasons. First, the speed of the search is undeniably faster and in turn more affordable than technician visual inspections. Secondly, when inspecting locations that have had many (and we do mean many) previous bed bug treatments there can be a lot of evidence. Is it old? Is it new? Properly trained K-9 teams only alert on live activity. This takes a lot of the guessing out of the search. Third, K-9 teams can rule in/out areas so that treatment can be made in one room or one half of the cabin as opposed to an entire cabin that may sleep 5-25 people.

One of the best reasons to use properly trained and certified K-9 teams is the reduction in liability for the campgrounds. Because of all the reasons above, using K-9 teams on a regular basis proves your commitment to be proactive with bed bug management. Should you become involved in a lawsuit, having documented inspections on a regular basis, coupled with timely licensed professional treatments could be the difference between a big pay out or little to no payout.

K-9 alerted on a bunk and the handler is checking to verify the alert.