Let me start by quoting one definition of IPM which BTW stands for Integreated Pest Management:
“IPM is a process consisting of the balanced use of cultural, biological, and chemical procedures at are environmentally compatible and economically feasible to reduce pest populations to tolerable levels.”
The benefits are:
– it saves money – it has to do with the process
– it promotes a healthy environment because it reduces the use of chemical pesticides
– and for the entertainment and hospitality industry, it maintains a good image. It shows that you are pro-active and that your primary concern is your customer and his/her health and piece of mind.
So, using a dog to detect bed bugs before it becomes a huge, costly and un-controllable problem fits well within the IPM approach. Using a dog is cost-effective because a dog can scan a room in 3 minutes on average (compared to a human visual inspection of 30 minutes), pinpoint the location of the infestation and thus prevent a broad-spectrum application of pesticide use to eradicate bed bugs.
Same with heat treatment. The dog can pinpoint infestation to a room and check adjacent rooms for infestation and thus minimize heat treatment to those rooms. A bed bug detection dog like Nicki or Malamer is a no-brainer. Plus they are sooooo cute!
“IPM is a process consisting of the balanced use of cultural, biological, and chemical procedures at are environmentally compatible and economically feasible to reduce pest populations to tolerable levels.”
The benefits are:
– it saves money – it has to do with the process
– it promotes a healthy environment because it reduces the use of chemical pesticides
– and for the entertainment and hospitality industry, it maintains a good image. It shows that you are pro-active and that your primary concern is your customer and his/her health and piece of mind.
So, using a dog to detect bed bugs before it becomes a huge, costly and un-controllable problem fits well within the IPM approach. Using a dog is cost-effective because a dog can scan a room in 3 minutes on average (compared to a human visual inspection of 30 minutes), pinpoint the location of the infestation and thus prevent a broad-spectrum application of pesticide use to eradicate bed bugs.
Same with heat treatment. The dog can pinpoint infestation to a room and check adjacent rooms for infestation and thus minimize heat treatment to those rooms. A bed bug detection dog like Nicki or Malamer is a no-brainer. Plus they are sooooo cute!
