Labrador retriever's nose sniffs out mold, bedbugs

Mold and bedbugs are no match for Russ the Labrador from Libby.

Russ is the key player in a new Libby-based business, Snoops K-9 Detection Service.

Owners Chris Fansler and Cliff and Dani Gordon use the trained scent-detection dog to determine if bedbugs or mold are present in a home or business.

Russ spent 600 hours in training in Florida after he was rescued from a shelter by Bill Whitstine, owner and operator of the Florida Canine Academy.

Fansler and the Gordons spent four days in training with Russ, under Whitstine’s tutelage, before opening their business. The training is similar to what a police drug-detection dog undergoes.

Russ is recertified every couple of months. If he finds either bedbugs or mold, Russ sits until his handler tells him to indicate the specific site. He does and is then rewarded with a handful of dog food.

Fansler said her brother-in-law, Cliff Gordon, owns a pest control business in Libby and he pitched the idea of the scent-dog business to her in the course of doing some research about bedbugs. She wasn’t sold on the idea at first, but eventually agreed. In January they opened Snoops.

“Bedbugs are making a huge comeback,” Fansler said. The tiny reddish-brown bugs — about the size of a tick, but flatter — live in this area, she said. “They’re everywhere.”

Six or so decades ago, it was estimated that bedbugs lived in one out of every three homes in the United States, she said. They were killed with DDT, which is now a banned pesticide because of its toxicity, and have made a resurgence in recent years. 

One reason cited for their reappearance is increased international travel. They travel by hitchhiking, Fansler said. Bedbugs will crawl into a suitcase or briefcase or computer or essentially anything. They feed on blood, but can live as long as a year with no food, Fansler said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the risk of encountering bedbugs increases if you spend time in places with high turnovers of night-time guests — such as hotels, hospitals or homeless shelters.

Fansler discounted the myth that bedbugs are somehow associated with poor housekeeping. That has nothing to do with their presence, she said.

Bedbugs are typically killed with heat, Fansler said. There are other commercial options available for killing bedbugs.

People can detect bedbugs on their own, Fansler said. But a scent-detection dog is significantly faster and more accurate.

Russ can inspect a large room in three to five minutes and is accurate 90 percent of the time, Fansler said. It would take a person between one and two hours to do that same inspection with a 30 percent accuracy rating, Fansler said.

Snoops charges $100 for a residential inspection. If mold samples are required, there is an additional fee. The rate for inspecting businesses is $200 an hour. Russ is trained to recognize 18 common types of mold, Fansler said.

Snoops serves a wide area. Fansler or the Gordons can travel with Russ essentially anywhere in the United States, but are focusing mostly on Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Russ is the only trained scent-detection dog in Montana, Fansler said. Snoops can be reached at 877-593-5911 or by e-mail at snoopsk-9@hotmail.com. The company has a website, www.snoopsk-9.com and Russ has a Facebook page.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.