AVELLA, Pa. -- Dogs are now being trained to detect pesky, biting creatures known as
bedbugs, and WTAE Channel 4 Action News anchor Sally Wiggin reports that there's one such pooch in western Pennsylvania.
"Sort of on the obsessive side," said Gretta MacIntyre, who owns a little Jack Russell terrier named Jumpin' Jack Flash. "Trust me, that is all he wants to do. He wants to find bugs. That is it. That is his life."
In 2001, MacIntyre and her husband used her border collies to start a Canada goose control business. Looking for another dog enterprise, she looked into canine bedbug detection. Her business is located at the couple's sheep farm in Avella, Washington County.
"I just checked some students who came back from Florida. One of them had bedbug bites. Checked out the suitcase, and checking a sorority house this week," MacIntyre said.
Jack spent five months being trained by the scent-detection dog experts at
J & K Canine Academy, while MacIntyre got 80 hours of training in bedbugs and how to work with Jack. They are now certified by the
National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association.
Wiggin followed them to fellow dog trainer Marge Sarver's house, where MacIntyre planted vials of bedbugs that she uses to train Jack every day.
"She has assured you they are in containers and can't get out. Are you a little nervous?" Wiggin asked.
"If I find a bug, she is dead," Sarver said.
Jack found the planted bugs. Then, he was told to check Sarver's bedroom, where no bugs had been planted, and he didn't find any bugs.
Heat is the best -- and greenest -- way to get rid of bedbugs, MacIntyre said.
Dogs are effective in pinpointing the exact location of the problem, but eradication should be done by a professional, MacIntyre said.
Jack is the only certified bedbug dog in the Pittsburgh region. He visits schools, hotels and dormitories.
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