Do you suspect that bed bugs have invaded your home or your office? Do you think you might have brought bed bugs in your suitcase as a souvenir from your vacation? There is nothing worse than waging war on these horrible bugs, but canine detection allows targeted interventions, hence minimizing the use of insecticide. Swiss Dog Team offers fast, accurate, cost-efficient and ecological beg bug canine detection throughout Switzerland and in neighboring France. We asked M. Augsburger to tell us more about his company.
How did you get involved in Canine Detection?
I’ve always had an excellent contact with animals since my childhood and my aunt had several dogs I was taking care of during my childhood summers. As a teenager I dreamed of opening a pet store, but somehow I never did. In 2012 my little sister returned back from Barcelona and brought bed bugs in her suitcase. She started to be bitten during the night while asleep and that was the beginning of the nightmare. She tried several treatments to get rid of the bed bugs in her bedroom but nothing seemed to work, because no one could really locate where they were exactly hiding.
18 months after the initial infestation, my sister had the idea to contact a canine detection company. The dog and the handler located rapidly the bed bugs and so the treatment could be adapted precisely into the right places to eliminate them. Since that day, the bedbugs are an ancient story in my sister’s life. I was amazed by the dog’s capacity.
A dog’s nose has over 220 million olfactory receptors and its sense of smell is over 1200 times superior to that of a human. I loved the whole idea of working with an animal. For me having a dog colleague and working in tandem particularly in its (his/her) area ofcompetence was immediately an idea that made me want to create this company.
What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
I had to set up a clear structure with the help of some professionals so that the dogs would be well trained. I also needed to learn to understand each dog in order to adapt its training according to its specificity and its character. The difficulty in olfactory research is the reading of the dog (understanding what messages his behavior demonstrates) during the research because the dog will emit a multitude of reactions that you must be able to read. You have to be alert and learn to understand all the signals. In addition to working in real situations, it is essential for us to keep on training our dogs every week in order to maintain their capacity for work in the long term and to ensure the quality of the job.
Where do you see this company going? What are your plans for the future?
Our goal is to inform people both on the rights gestures to put in place in order to avoid bed bugs invasion as well as how to obtain the best results when there is already an infestation. It is important to make everyone understand that it is necessary to act quickly at the first signs of a bite in order to locate the bud bugs and to pull the treatment costs down. We work for both private household as well as private and public establishments.
Sometimes you can simply sit in a bus and bring back bed bugs in your bag, so it is really a spreading issue in Switzerland and neighboring countries. Canine detection is an efficient mean, fast and precise, to block this increase. Bugs are not always visible to the naked eye and are able to hide in unreachable spots, such as inside household appliances, electric devices, furniture, rugs, baseboards, etc. Due to its acute sense of smell, a well-trained dog can detect the bugs’ scent within seconds, as well as the larva and eggs. Heat or cold treatments, insecticides, traps or chemical treatment are available, but most treatments are expensive.
Swiss Dog Team is not a pest control/exterminator company. We provide an impartial and independent canine detection with no vested interest in the outcome. After our visit, we establish a detailed report that you can transmit to a pest control company of your choice. If you require help, we can also assist and recommend you a company.
What helps the dog maintain a targeted result?
Respecting the dog and its comfort at work is our main preoccupation. We therefore always schedule resting time-spans through the day, in order to maintain the dog’s temperature as low as possible.
Do you have a few clients that can give a quote?
Karine S.: “I had bites on my upper arm and I was so worried. I was relieved to know I had no bedbugs in my flat. Very friendly and efficient service.”
Julie H.: “Many thanks for your prompt reply, for your useful tips and bringing your dog to our place. We now know where we stand and where to go from here. Many thanks for your support.”
As a thank you for the article, Swiss Dog Team have kindly offered a 10% SPRING DISCOUNT from 15 March to 30 May 2020 to all knowitall.ch readers. Just use this discount code: know it all
Swiss Dog Team guarantees confidentiality during interventions. Their vehicles are advertisement-free and the dog handler is dressed in civilian clothes. All dogs are certified and trained in Switzerland. The team speaks English and French.
Canine detection prices:
— Apartment Fr. 295.-
— House Fr. 395.-
Swiss Dog Team
www.swissdogteam.ch/en
Canine detection Geneva: 022 550 14 03
Canine detection Lausanne (Vaud): 021 550 94 19
Offers 24h/7 assistance
For private clients in the Geneva, Vaud, Neighboring France areas, but Neuchâtel and Valais are possible with an extra charge for the transport.
For corporate clients and for a bigger issue like a complete building, cinemas, restaurants, stores, hotels, schools, kindergardens, hospital etc., Swiss Dog Team can work anywhere in Switzerland or Europe and can come with a team of several handlers and dogs.
