– Today we check the luggage of people who have been out and about, says Tor Iljar, general manager of Dogpoint. Travelers stream into the arrivals hall at Gardermoen. Iljar and the dog Andrea are here to offer a free bedbug check of the luggage. Tor Iljar, general manager of Dogpoint. Photo: Anders Haualand / news – We have checked around 30 suitcases while we have been here, and found bed bugs in one of them, he says. The dog only needs a few seconds to find out if there are bedbugs hiding in the luggage. If she gets the hang of them, she marks the suitcase by stretching her tail straight out and pointing with her nose where there are bed bugs. Half of us are worried A recent survey by YouGov shows that one in two are afraid of bringing bed bugs home from holidays. Bed bugs can be really troublesome if you get them in your house. Photo: Håvard Øyrehagen / Folkehelseinstituttet – We are probably not afraid, but we are cautious, says Iselin Ruud. She has just returned from a trip to Egypt and Germany with her mother and brother. Although Andrea did not find any bed bugs in the luggage of Ruud or the rest of the family, she thinks it was nice to have the luggage checked. Iselin Ruud had her luggage checked after she returned home from a holiday trip with her mother and brother. Photo: Anders Haualand / news – It was very simple. I’m also very fond of dogs, so it was a lot of fun, she says. – Very appropriate to use a dog Since people are out and about a lot in the summer months, it is high season for bed bugs in Norway. Many people bring uninvited guests with them in their luggage after a trip abroad. – There is a problem. Bed bugs can cause damage that is very difficult to fix, says Mats Sætrekvist, head of Settlement Property in Storebrand. Mats Sætrekvist, head of Property Settlement in Storebrand. Photo: Anders Haualand / news On a national basis, around 3,000 injuries from bed bugs are reported to insurance companies, and according to Sætrekvist, it can cost NOK 10,000 to 20,000 to repair the damage caused by them. He is very positive about using dogs in the work to prevent injuries. – Absolutely. It is very relevant to use a dog to help against pests. Injury prevention is always good, so we are very positive about it. – Dogs quickly draw conclusions Iljar was the first in Norway to train dogs to smell for bedbugs, and after eleven years, he is still one of the only ones who uses dogs to find the little pests. The bed bug dog Andrea has eleven years of experience in smelling for bed bugs. Photo: Anders Haualand / news – For being eleven years old, Andrea still works quite well. She may be a little slower than five years ago, but she is still steady and confident, he says. Iljar is absolutely sure that dogs are the most effective way to find bed bugs quickly. – That is what is so brilliant. Dogs jump to conclusions very quickly. If there are no bed bugs, they lose interest and look elsewhere. Iljar has trained three dogs to smell bed bugs. Andrea is number two. Photo: Anders Haualand / DKBU
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The dog Andrea can smell bedbugs, the way other dogs smell drugs – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
