Bed Bug-Sniffing Dogs
No one wants to think about bed bugs, much less talk about them, but a downstate company tells us they have a unique way of addressing bed bug infestation.
Green Titan, of downstate Hazel Park, specializes in bed bug treatment.
Like many companies doing this kind of work, they use heat treatments of 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
But they also use bed bug-sniffing dogs to help find infested areas.
Owner Baratt Shanaman says he had to travel to Kansas to have the company’s dogs trained by someone who primarily trains police dogs to sniff for drugs, money or cadavers.
The training isn’t cheap; it costs about $7,000 per dog.
It also involves a great deal of time because the training habits have to be reinforced daily by a handler.
Green Titan has two dogs, and Shanaman serves as their handler.
They should be able to work for about ten years before retiring and becoming pets.