Northwest K9 Bed Bug Detectives

Very well considering the obnoxious problem. Great to have the sniffer dogs to identify the extent of the problem. Treatment was based on the identified problem area and thus limited to one floor. Heat treatment took about half a day, just takes time to heat all rooms to bug-killing temp. Scheduled a follow-up walk through with the dogs a week or so later to ensure no bugs were left (none was) and for our peace of mind. Treatment is not cheap but it falls into a "what choice do we have" category. Everyone involved was professional, timely and friendly to work with. Not a service you want to schedule obviously but if you bring the critters back from a trip (as we did), K9 was an excellent choice. The detection dogs are a great way to identify the problem and to verify results. One note: said it's not cheap but that was because we chose the heat treatment for sure kill. It's not a problem you want more than once.

Susan went out of her way to accommodate our tight schedule and to make it possible for us to have a canine inspection. She spent time on multiple detailed emails with us until that materialized. Christina and Pistol came on time and Christina explained everything involved and allowed time for questions. As far as we can tell they did a very thorough job and we are very happy with the negative results. We feel that they are reliable and valid, given the high quality of the team involved.

It went well. See the comment above.

unknown

We called Susan and she and Magic came for an inspection within a day. Magic immediately identified areas where we spend the most time in our house while awake, then jumped on the bed, where I had found nymphs under a bolster with a lint roller that happened to be on the dresser because I had tidied my black blouse before going to the symphony. What a juxtaposition! Susan explained details of the bed bug life cycle and we began scheduling for a heat treatment of our whole house.
Susan realized our bed would be a problem, as it had a base of map files that my husband had made to hold years worth of prints, photographs and maps. The walls were lined with books, which Susan pointed out were the most difficult feature of our general clutter. Heating an entire house so there are no cold spots for bedbugs to retreat and regroup while spiking the heat to the lethal 120 degrees is a difficult task. There are many factors that must be dealt with and we had to pull it all together in about six days in late June-early July, when our first treatment commenced. We had no idea what we needed to do, and in retrospect see that we would never have been able to imagine stripping away SO MUCH of our 36 years in our small, stuffed house.
One complaint we have is that the we don't believe we were ready for the first treatment. We wonder if the tech in charge might have prevented our proceeding before more was done, maybe spent more time checking obvious problems. It likely comes down to nobody's fault, but if there is a probability the problem cannot be dealt with under the existing conditions, it would be helpful to let the homeowners know that the expensive treatment has a limited chance of success. It was confusing and harrowing.
When the problem returned in late September this year, we knew it would be much harder The wooden bed had to leave and we are still sleeping on an inflatable bed with our mattress now in double allergy cover. like many people who join forum discussions on the web, we live out of plastic tubs and Ziploc bags. We are waiting for delivery of the portable heating unit we decided to buy to heat our luggage, etc., so we can gradually return to normal life.
Susan was responsive and helpful but it seems to me that support services are sadly lacking. We finally found a company called Make Right Cleaning, before the second treatment, who came in and bagged up belongings that could not be heated in the house as we could not afford to have insulating materials interfering with heat flow. We still had to stay up until 4 am to clear the way for the second group of techs to do another treatment.
The overwhelming amount of information and misinformation is exhausting. The things that happen to painted walls and furniture in heating seem a small price to pay, but only if this time, it works. This may not seem like a great recommendation, but more than anything it is about a concerned and conscientious local business woman in an (unfortuately) emerging field. It has been helpful and disappointing to have this technology available, though still and quot;buggyand quot; as chemical treatments are frightening, and those that aren't are increasing ineffective. Susan makes sure that your web research is well grounded.
The good thing is that she is there, the sad thing is that she is one of a very limited field, and the only local business I know, that provides this service. Needing her is hard. The options are so limited. It isn't a problem you can ignore - or even move away from.