TYLER, Texas — Dogs are capable of many things including sniffing out bed bugs.
Katie McCullough owns K9 Service of Texas and has trained her dogs to detect these pests.
"Dogs are very important for this because we don't have to actually see the bug to know that they're there," McCullough said. "You can teach them to hone in on any scent."
For almost a year, McCullough and one of her dogs, Morgan, have been sniffing out bed bugs in hotels, homes, and other public places. She says the dogs can do more than just alert t someone of the presence of bugs.
"We can come in and tell them, okay they're in the mattress, or they're in the closet or they're in this room, but not in this room," McCullough explained.
She says while it might take exterminators a while to thoroughly examine a location, it can take dogs just minutes.
This is not a natural gift, the dogs have to be trained.
"The dogs are trying not to hit on dead bugs just on live ones," McCullough said.
Training is done in different locations to provide dogs with various distractions.