Bed Bug Beagles

MYFOXNY.COM - Meet the first line of defense in the fight against bed bugs. It is a beagle named Freedom. He goes into homes and businesses and uses his nose to find bed bugs. Freedom alerts his handler by scratching when he finds something.

A 2008 University of Florida study showed that beagles could find the live scent of beg bugs and bed bug eggs with up to a 95 percent success rate. That compares with a 30 percent accuracy rate for humans.

The dogs are motivated only by a treat for a job well done.

Jeremy Ecker from The Bed Bug Inspectors says Freedom, and other beagles, receive special scent traing. His company uses J&KCanine Academy , which he says is considered the top bed bug scent training school in the world.

His dog teams travel across the globe looking for bed bugs.

Ecker, who has 17 years experience, says the problem has been around for more than a decade but has just started to explode with media coverage.

This summer there have been well publicized infestations in several New York City stores, including Hollister and Victoria's Secret.  Most recently, a Times Square movie theater was closed because of the bugs.

Bergdorf Goodman has now hired The Bed Bug Inspectors as a precautionary measure.

And what if you find bed bugs in your home?

"Once you have a bed bug problem in your home you have to call a professional," Ecker says.

The good news, according to Ecker, is that bed bugs do not jump from person to person.

Bed bugs have become such a problem that the  New York City Council created an Advisory Board to figure out how to deal with the critters.

Since 2009, bed bugs infestations have hit the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office , CNN at the Time Warner Center ,  Victoria's Secret , Abercrombie and Fitch , John Jay College , Manhattan College , a Brooklyn movie theater , and even offices of the city's Health Department .

Bed begs, which feed on human blood, are not known to transmit disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.