This is the first in a series of blog’s that will appear at least once a week. Now, if I get excited, and my fellow employees throw me a bone, I may on occasion write more than one in a particular week. This introductory blog is just to get my paws wet and introduce myself and my family to you interested readers. My family is the Lupini family, the owners, and operators of Loyal Termite and Pest Control; one of the largest independently owned termite and pest control companies in Virginia.

My name is Hunter. I am the only Certified K-9 Termite Detective in Central, VA. I live with Daddy Nick, the President of Loyal, and Mama Gena, Vice President of the company. Nick oversees the Termite Division here, and Gena oversees the Pest Control Division. I don’t remember much about being a puppy, however; I’m told I was rescued from a pound in Florida. I then took my basic and advanced training in termite detection and graduated “Magna Bark Loudly” from a renowned training academy. Once certified to sniff out pesky wood eating termites, I came up here to Richmond to live and work, with my new family.

PaPa Joe Lupini and Ms. Peggy, Joe’s wonderful wife, are the principal owners of Loyal and are highly respected in this market as setting superior standards as a termite and pest control business; standards unmatched by any of our local competitors. Everyone who works here from the technicians to each and every support staff member, are required to complete all testing necessary and become certified as a QualityPro designate. We are proud of that because it means we are all committed to providing customers with the highest quality pest control services. Customer satisfaction is the primary goal of QualityPro companies. Our technicians apply products designed for the safest and most effective control of the targeted pest infestation.

Along with Joe, Peggy, Nick, and Gena; there is Sister Kim Williams, Joe and Peggy’s daughter. Kim is our Senior Vice President. She is very smart and keeps the office running as smooth as a brand new cowhide dog bone. Lupini cousins occupy other important positions in the office. You can see I’m having fun working here with all my extended family, as well as, the other terrific employees at Loyal Termite and Pest Control.

In future blogs, we’ll get into anything and everything to do with pest control. I’ll discuss all the local bug types, their habits, how they can be managed, and if they become a nuisance to you, your family, or your valuable property; Loyal’s company commitment to taking care of all of your termite and pest control needs. Feel free to direct any questions you may have to this blog, give us a call at 804-737-7777, ”Like” us on our facebook page, facebook.com/loyalpest, Follow us on Twitter @loyalpest, or fill out the contact section on our website, loyalpest.com. Oh, there’s a video of me in action on the website.

Until next time, this is Hunter, your Loyal K-9 Termite Detective, asking; “What’s Buggin’ You?”

It must seem a little strange to you Hunter “dog-blog” fans that he is not barking out his 74th weekly blog, “What’s Buggin’ You?” Well, if you followed us through Hunter’s last blog that he wrote 2 weeks ago; and have tuned in to our monthly newsletter, The Loyal News, emailed out September 5th you know what is going on. For those of you who are not caught up, this blog, my first blog in a short series named, Glen’s Loyal Blog, “What’s Buggin You? will be educating and entertaining you until Hunter gets back from his temporary assignment in Sarasota Florida.

Briefly, this is what’s going on. Hunter has completed his 9-week training class at the Florida K-9 Training Academy. He graduated with honors, Magna Bark Loudly, and is now a Certified Bedbug Detective, in addition to being a Certified Termite Detective.

Loyal Termite and Pest Control is going through a well planned and very calculated growth period. We have recently hired 1 new technician and are looking to hire 3, maybe 4 more. The hiring process is very tedious in that Nick and Gena Lupini, our company’s President and Vice-President respectively, are looking for special people to fill these positions; people that are upstanding in character, dedicated to their work and the Loyal customers they serve and are looking for a career providing quality pest control services for many years to come.

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This is not an overnight process. To match the quality and character of Loyal’s current technicians is going to be tough. There are several that have been with the company for 10+ years and Nick and Gena are making sure those people they hire are of the highest quality available. We are reaching out in many ways to interview potential candidates. If you know anyone who is looking for a career position who possesses these qualities, please have them refer to our company’s Career Page on our company website www.loyalpest.com.

David A. will be moving up from his inspector/sales position to be Hunter’s official handler. He will be responsible for taking Hunter out on all Termite and Bedbug appointments where Hunter’s exceptional talents are needed to get the job done. David is currently running 10 to 15 appointments a day just to keep up with the calls coming in. Our other competent inspectors are equally as busy. David will need full training to take Hunter out on assignments, while his replacement, Brandon H. ( a current technician), will also need to be trained. Nick and Gena are very busy with their current duties, so if Hunter was here now; he would be busting at the seams, running around the office, ready to get out there and get to work.

When visiting Hunter at his graduation, Nick and Gena took him to the beach for a couple of days of relaxation. While there, they informed Hunter that it would be best for him and Loyal Company if he were to stay temporarily in Sarasota Florida living and working with one of Nick Lupini’s “pest control company owner” friends. We heard briefly from Hunter in his monthly column, “Hunter’s Backyard”, in the September ’13 edition of The Loyal News. He is doing fine and enjoying getting out there each day sniffing out termites and bedbugs. He is being handled by an instructor from the Florida K-9 Academy that he knows very well. Nick’s friend is paying the handler a handsome amount to work with Hunter, however, given the sharp spike in business he is receiving by having a K-9 Detective aboard, especially one of Hunter’s caliber, he is very happy having Hunter as long as it takes Nick and Gena to get ready for Hunter’s return.

Hunter is so busy; he does not have time to write his weekly blog. My name is Glen Eastman, the Marketing Director here at Loyal Termite and Pest Control. This blog will be called Glen’s Loyal Blog, “What’s Buggin’ You?” Since our company has this term registered with the State of Virginia, I am using it in my blog as Hunter did in his.

Next week, I’ll start getting into the subject matter and the tone of my blog. Don’t fret, Hunter will be back with us and when he does he will resume writing his “dog-blog”.
He will still be reporting back to us from Florida in his newsletter column. If you don’t currently receive a monthly edition of The Loyal News, you can sign up on our website; www.loyalpest.com, our facebook page, facebook.com/loyalpest or contact me via email at geastman@loyalpest.com. Thank you for joining me on my first official company blog.

Termites are fascinating little creatures. As destructive as they are to family dwellings and business structures ($5+ billion annually); their colony formation with its inhabitant’s strict discipline, and pecking order, continue to amaze the experts. Many experts refer to a termite colony as a “perfect society”. Since the beginning of time on this earth, their God-given purpose in our world has been to clean up the dead wood and debris of fallen trees in forests. A termite colony in itself is a wood eating machine. 

This is why I am very proud of my job as Loyal Termite & Pest Control’s exclusive K-9 Termite Detective. Although, termites aren’t very shy and will go about their destructive culinary business without fear; many colonies develop under slab foundations or in walls. In these cases, it is difficult to discover their presence. That’s where I step in with my handler, David Anderson, and promptly sniff them out by recognizing their distinct pheromone smell. Once discovered, our certified technicians take over. They thoroughly treat the structure, thus eliminating the termite colony or colonies. Mission accomplished!

I began this termite series speaking about the reproductive castes of a termite colony. First and foremost, the most important individual in a termite colony is the Queen. If there are a million termites in a colony; each and every one of them is there for one main purpose and that is to serve the Queen. Beyond the reproductive castes and the Queen, the main population of a termite colony is made up of workers and soldiers.

Termite workers make up the largest number of individuals within a colony. Workers are wingless, white to creamy white, and ¼ to 3/8 inch long. They do all the work of the colony; feeding the other castes, grooming the Queen, excavating the nest and making tunnels. In working, they chew and eat wood, causing the destruction that makes termites economically important.

Soldiers resemble workers in color and general appearance, except that soldiers have large, well-developed brownish heads with strong mandibles or jaws. Soldiers defend the colony against invaders, primarily ants. 

Again, as a dog who spends his working day sniffing out termites (and now bed bugs as well), it is important to me that my blog readers understand termites in general and why they can be so destructive to the structure of your home and/or business. Until next time, remember this; when it comes to termites and pest control, Hunter says, “If you got ‘em, we’ll get ‘em!!” I’ll bark at you later. Ruff! Ruff!

Hello, dog lovers and “dog blog “fans. This is you’re your old pal “Hunter”, Loyal Termite & Pest Control’s faithful Termite, and now, Bedbug K-9 Detective. I’m officially back at the typewriter pawing out the first of many informative and interesting blogs about my favorite subject material; termites and household pests. Generally, the regional pests that negatively affect our Residential, Commercial and Industrial customers. I’ll be providing you with information about what pests are prevalent in our Central Virginia Region, what their habits are, how you can identify them, and how Loyal Company can be your partner is lessening the effect these regional pests have on your day to day life.

Since getting back from Florida, I have been running a very busy schedule with David Anderson, my handler, in sniffing out unseen bedbugs for our customers. Bedbugs have become a real problem in our area. Soon, in addition to running a busy bedbug schedule, David and I will be back out running appointments with me sniffing around concrete slabs, as well as, dwellings without a crawl space; discovering the hiding places of home wrecking termites.

This brings me to the subject of this blog; subterranean termite swarmers or alates. You know the old question, “What came first, the chicken or the egg”? If this question was applied to the termite world, it would be, “What came first the Queen termite or the female swarmer?” Our phones have been ringing since late January with folks inundated with these little flying ant-like creatures.  Ants are very similar to termites in their reproductive life cycle. That’s where the similarities end. As adults, they are mortal enemies. An adult ant will kill an adult termite in a skinny minute. OK, they are also similar in they both are committed to their Queen, and they are highly social within their colony, but that’s it. If you catch one, look at it closely. If it is a swarmer this means there is an established termite colony present. Here’s what happening.

Periodically, mature termite colonies produce a brood of winged reproductive offspring called swarmers or alates. These winged termites fly in large numbers to disperse and initiate new colonies. Flights of these termite swarmers (or piles of their shed wings) are often the first sign to the homeowner of the infestation. Swarmers are not a danger to structures; most will die of dehydration if they fly inside. However, a fight of swarmers indicates a healthy termite colony nearby, and the problem should be investigated; especially if the swarmers are found inside.

If there is a problem try to remember this little jingle; “Who ya’ gonna call? Call LOYAL!!” That sounded good. One more time. “Who ya’ gonna’ call? Call LOYAL!!”

I will continue with the Swarmer Story in my next blog. Until then remember my mantra?

When it comes to termite and pest control, Hunter says, “If you got ‘em, we’ll get ‘em.

Thank you for joining me. I’ll be barking at you next time. Ruff! Ruff!

By working here at Loyal Termite and Pest Control I am constantly learning new things about the insect and bug world. If you recall, my last blog was about an insect that I had never seen or heard of before. A friend that lives in Deltaville sent me a picture of a very large nasty looking bug that was identified by one of our technicians as a “Wheel Bug”. It turns out that the 21/2” long Wheel Bug is capable of giving a painful bite and is also in the “kissing bug” class. Bugs in this class prefer to have a blood meal (just like a bed bug) rather than consume other insects; it’s other food of choice. Needless to say, my friend appreciated my identifying the Wheel Bug and advising her to stay away from this dangerous bug at all costs.

This morning I was looking in the Professional Pest Management Association (PPMA) website and was surprised to read and learn about another bug that has actually been attacking and killing people in Japan and China. The recent death toll in what experts are calling ground zero, in the outskirts of An Kang, China is 42 and counting, and the number injured is in excess of 1,600! Officials in An Kang say the actual number of dead and injured is much higher. This aggressive killer is the Asian Hornet or the Giant Asian Hornet (pictured above) as the larger species is known.

“These hornets have been killing people for some time, said an official who requested anonymity, “This year, just in this district more than 20 people have been killed. The number should be much higher than that. The number is shocking.” The Asian Hornet, or Vespa Mandarina, can grow to be thumb-sized. It is capable of flying at speeds of up to 25 mph and a distance of 50 miles. Their stingers carry a lethal mix of foreign protein and when mixed in the human bloodstream can cause sepsis. Without proper treatment, such as dialysis, a victim will die.

The insect’s existence in An Kang is not new. Nor is this the first time humans have been attacked. For years the Asian Hornet has lived among inhabitants here and elsewhere across East Asia. Parts of Japan, in particular, have been home to significant populations for years. But they have never attacked as they are attacking now. Many believe a disruption in the ecosystem of the forest has contributed to the outbreak of hornet attacks.

“Years ago”, a local said, If you didn’t bother them, they would not bother you.”

There is no concrete explanation for why the Hornets are attacking with such ferocity this year. Experts point to urban sprawl as one reason the hornet’s natural habitat has been compromised. Hives are now commonly found underground or in buildings. Left alone, the Hornets typically don’t attack humans. But as humans and hornets live in increasing proximity of one another inadvertent disturbance can ignite a vicious response.

Emergency teams are working nest to nest in an attempt to destroy as many as possible, but there is no guarantee. This year, in particular, a mild winter and several months of hot weather may be behind the increased population.

The Asian Hornet is decimating the livelihood of honey beekeepers. The hornet feeds on the larva and pupa stages of the honey bee. In order to satisfy their ferocious appetite, large numbers of Asian Hornets will attack honey bees at their hive in a violent fashion, chewing their victims’ flesh into a powerful substance that boosts the hornet’s strength. They will annihilate over 30,000 bees in less than 3 hours; severing the bee’s heads off at a rapid-fire rate The result; the honey bee hive will be totally destroyed.

Officials hope the attacks drop by the end of the month and cease completely by December when the hornets retreat for the winter. But next spring Queen Hornets will welcome thousands of new offspring.

Let’s all hope this ferocious killer never finds his way to America.  

For those of you who are tuning into this blog expecting to hear from Hunter, our Loyal K-9 Termite and Bedbug Detective, we ask for your patience and understanding. Hunter remains on a temporary work assignment in Florida until Nick and Gena Lupini, President and Vice-President respectively, of Loyal Termite and Pest Control, hire and train more staff. With the growing demand for our quality services; we are in need of 4 or 5 more top quality technicians. We are making progress, however; Nick and Gena insist on employing only people of equal character, work ethic and dedication to our customer’s needs as those technicians who have been working here for many years.

This is a difficult task that takes a lot of time and effort. Until the Lupini’s are completely satisfied with the new personnel hired and fully trained; will it then be time to bring Hunter back and put him on a full schedule sniffing out both Termites and Bedbugs. When he does get back, Hunter is going to be one busy hound dog. As you know, Hunter is not shy. He will be anxious to tell you all about what he is up to on a weekly basis and share his wealth of knowledge about the termite and the pest control business.

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For now, he is still reporting to us via his very popular column, “Hunter’s Backyard”, in our monthly newsletter, The Loyal News (we are now up to 2,100+ monthly email recipients). I will be posting this blog, “What’s Buggin’ You?” in his absence. The name of the blog is the same, “What’s Buggin’ You?, because our company, Loyal Termite and Pest Control, has this name registered with the state of Virginia.

This is the last mention of Hunter in my substitute weekly blog; so, welcome to my second official company blog. When Hunter does get back, he will pick up where he left off with Hunter’s Blog, “What’s Buggin’ You?” #74.

Now back to the intended subject of this blog.

The Virginia Pest Management Association (VPMA) held it’s Annual (2013) State Technical Meeting September 25th and 26th at the Sheraton Park South Hotel in Richmond, VA. Gena Lupini is beginning the second year of her 2 year term as President of the VPMA. Nick Lupini, is beginning his second of a 2-year term as Education Committee Chairman of the VPMA. Nationally the Lupini name is well known throughout the pest control industry. Joe Lupini, Nick’s Dad, now retired, was very active in both the Virginia and National Associations. Now Nick and Gena are continuing in roles as active leaders, and are highly respected by the industry rank and file.

Over 30 vendors attended the conference displaying various products used every day by the attendees; some just hitting the market for the first time. It is a great opportunity for the conference attendees to become acquainted and re-acquainted with the latest products and methods to better serve their customers.

During the two days; expert speakers were scheduled through Nick’s committee, who spoke on many subjects from how to organize and lead your company to success, time management, and organizational skills, the Power of Positive Thinking, to ways to sharpen your sales and marketing techniques in order to increase revenue and profits.

Gena has proven to be a real “pro” during her stewardship as President of the VPMA. She has been instrumental in building increased VPMA membership, a hardworking and responsible leader, and during the first evening of the conference at “Pest Fest” (the Industry Banquet), through the efforts of Gena and her supporting cast, raised over $5,000 for the VPMA Scholarship Fund. The fund supports students who are working on breakthrough solutions to many of the problems and challenges facing today’s PMP’s. Gena is held in very high regard by the VPMA rank and file.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the fantastic food provided by Mickey Lyles and his crew. I came away 5 lbs. heavier than I was before I got there. He had everything from smoked and BBQ cured bacon and sausage in the morning to hickory smoked pork, chicken, beans, and all the other fixins at the evening banquet. It was all fantastic!

All in all the 2013 VPMA State Technical Conference was a tremendous success!!

It’s been a long time coming and no pup could be more excited than I am right now. My K-9 Bedbug Detective Training graduation is happening this Saturday and I am proud to say I reached my goal of graduating number #1 in my class. The honor of graduating “Magna Bark Loudly” in this class, as well as, in my prior K-9 Termite Detective Training class puts me in a unique position as the only graduate in the history of this Academy to hold this honor in two separate disciplines. I will again give the Commencement Speech during the graduating ceremony. This is a great honor.

If you remember in my prior blogs, I have been mentoring a brilliant young pup; Buster or Little “B” as I call him. He aspires to be the same type of team leader that I have been throughout my career. “B” has not left my side since we got here. In every category; classroom, field study, physical training, and real-time exercises, Little “B” has come in second only to me in every section. He will be a K-9 Bedbug Detective superstar in North Carolina and with my continued long distance tutoring; he will soon have his own weekly blog and monthly column in his company’s newsletter. I’m proud of you Little “B”.

Daddy Nick and Mama Gena are coming down for my graduation. I can’t wait to see them! I have missed them so much and am very anxious to get back to Richmond and get back to work at our family business Loyal Termite and Pest Control. I don’t know at this time exactly how it is all going to work out when I get back and get settled in.

Mama Gena said that the three of us are going to take a few days off and just relax. Believe me, that is music to my floppy little ears. She said we are going to head to a quiet beach and just run and play and chase Frisbee, and eat all kinds of snacks. I can’t wait!

You know what? Something weird happened when I was talking with her on the phone. When I started talking about getting back home and seeing brother dog “Murdock” and getting back to work; I could tell she was starting to cry. I asked her, “Is brother “Murdock” all right?” She said “Yes”, and then handed the phone to Daddy Nick. I asked Daddy Nick if everything was OK. He told me that everything is just fine, that the whole family and everyone at Loyal Termite and Pest Control was very proud of me and all that I had accomplished here at the Academy. He said, “Hunter, you, Gena and I are going to take a few days to have fun and relax. We have some very important news to share with you and we will explain when we are together this coming week. With that, he said, “We love you very much and we will see you Saturday.”

Whatever Daddy Nick and Mama Gena have to tell me, I will be sharing with all the kind folks that read my column, “Hunter’s Backyard” in the September Edition of The Loyal News newsletter coming out next week. If you would like to receive an email copy of The Loyal News, simply go to our website www.loyalpest.com and give us your email address.

This will be my last weekly blog until I fully understand what plans Daddy Nick and Mama Gena have for me in my new role at Loyal Termite and Pest Control.

Thank you for being such Loyal “dog-blog” fans. This is my 73rd consecutive blog; now that’s a whole lot of pickin’ and peckin’ on a keyboard when you think about it. I know it won’t be very long before I return to you and continue my weekly blog, “What’s Buggin’ You?”

Thank you again and God Bless.

I am nearing the end of my Bedbug Detective training here in sunny, and muggy, Florida at the renowned Florida K-9 Training Academy. As usual, I appreciate you, my loyal “dog-blog” fans, for tuning in to my weekly blog, “What’s Buggin’ You” for an updated report on what’s been happening here from week to week. It has been a tough journey but very rewarding. I have learned so much about bedbugs, their life cycle, their habits, and most importantly how to detect their presence in a residential dwelling, hotel, or anywhere the hungry little bloodsuckers may hide waiting for an opportunity for a human blood meal.

It will be my job, when I get back to Richmond and start back to work with my family business Loyal Termite and Pest Control, to go out on daily appointments with Daddy Nick, Mama Gena, or whomever may be my handler for that appointment, and be direct and very efficient and sniff out bedbugs in whatever stage of their life cycle they may be in. My job is to detect the problem, and then we at Loyal will treat it. The bottom line is to illuminate the misery a bedbug infestation can cause a family or a business owner.

I want to share with you some of the amazing facts I have learned about my and other detection dog’s ability to smell and how incredible our talents really are. When I came down here for Termite Detective School several years ago our trainers did not share many of these facts with us. Since bedbug detection is a bit more complicated than termite detection, I thought you would appreciate understanding why I am so proud to have the god given skills that are so valuable to our company and our customers.

• For dogs, a scent article is like a three-dimensional “odor image” – much more detailed than a photograph is for a person.
• Dogs can track a scent through snow, air, mud, water, and even ash.
• A properly trained and certified detection dog is recognized in court as a “scientific instrument”.
• Dogs are extremely good at discriminating a target vapor from non-target vapors that are also present, even at relatively high concentrations of non-target odors. (Read in prior blogs how the trainers tried to trick us)
• When being trained to detect a substance, dogs learn to alert to one or two of its most abundant vapor compounds. (Remember I said termite pheromones have a sweet like smell, where bedbugs have more of a musty smell)
• Dogs can easily learn as many as ten odor discriminations.
• Dogs will find bedbugs in areas that humans can not inspect.
• Dogs are 98.9% effective at finding all stages of bed bugs including eggs (size of a pinhead + eggs are 90% of an infestation). Humans frequently find adult stages and miss eggs. Note: Last week I found a single bedbug egg in a blind 4 room mock exercise (I was the only one in the class to find the egg) Hunter strikes again!!
• Dogs can detect bedbugs inside furniture/walls/objects; humans can not do this unless they have x-ray vision.

You can see now why I am so excited to get back to work. I really miss going out in the field with Daddy Nick and sniffing out termites. When I get back I’m going to be the only dual-threat (Termite and Bedbug) Detective in our Region. You know I am going to be walking around Richmond with my little chest poking out ready to take on all termites and now bedbugs that are Buggin’ our Loyal customers. What a proud little Hunter I am!!

I’ll be howling loud and clear; When it comes to termite and pest control, Hunter says, “If you got ’em, we’ll get ’em.!!”

I’ll be barking at you later; Ruff! Ruff!

I can’t express to you, my Loyal and faithful “dog-blog” fans, how much of a changed dog I am. In the several weeks that I have been here in Florida at the Florida K-9 Training Academy; I am now in tip-top shape. As a matter of fact, with the special diet I have received in conjunction with a precise exercise program, I am in the best physical condition of my life. I completely dominated my peers in both classroom study and field training exercises. I have been told I am once again graduating #1 in my class, making this my second “Magna Bark Loudly” designation in 2 different disciplines; termite and bedbug detection. I am the first to do this in the Academy’s history. I am now in the beginning stages of composing the commencement speech that I will be giving at our graduation ceremony.

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As you can imagine, I am very anxious to get home and be with my family, my brother dog, Murdock, and get back to work at Loyal Termite and Pest Control. I really miss all the Loyal employees as well. Daddy Nick and Mama Gena, however; have insisted I take some time off before I get back to work. I do admit it will be nice not having to get up at 5:00 am for that 2-mile run/walk followed by a 100-yard all-out dash, and in my doggie bed and lights out by 8:30 pm.

Many of you have asked about Buster or Little “B” as I call him. You also know I have been mentoring him since the first day he arrived. He has not let me down. He is going to graduate 2nd in our class and will be an excellent bedbug detective. He said he is going to stay in touch with me in order to hone his writing skills so one day he too can have a weekly blog and a column in his company’s newsletter. I have to say, he really looks up to me. We’ve become great friends and Daddy Nick said on occasion he is more than welcome to come up for a visit. Little “B” is excited about that.

During the time I have remaining here, my bedbug class is just running through all kinds of real-life case situations where bedbugs are planted and we go in and find them. With these repetitive exercises, bedbugs won’t have a chance when any of us start working as full-time bed bug detectives.

Like I said, it’s all downhill from here. You know whatever is happening, I’ll be sure to report back to you. Once I find out when we are to graduate, you all will be the first to know, so stay tuned for next week’s “What’s Buggin’ You?”.

I just can’t wait to get back to Richmond and start bragging again about our city’s favorite pest control company; Loyal Termite and Pest Control.

When it comes to termite and pest control; Hunter says,
“If you got ‘em, we’ll get ‘em!”

I’ll bark at you later, Ruff! Ruff!

There is something about this Florida K-9 Training Academy that brings out the very best in me. Everything has been going great ever since I’ve been down here. It is obvious that having trained here several years ago to get my Termite Detective Certificate put me a big dogleg up on all the other pups in my Bedbug Detective class. I maxed out my entire classroom testing with a final grade average of 5.0. The 1 bonus point I received was for an essay I wrote on “The Life Stages of a Bedbug”. I wrote it as an extra credit assignment. Only one other dog (Little “B”) in my class accepted the challenge with me. The Academy has asked me for permission to use it as a handout for all future Bedbug Training classes. From now on “The Hunter Lupini Bedbug Essay” will be given to all new K-9 Bedbug Detective recruits. That’s pretty cool huh?

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We are still running daily field exercises were bedbugs in various life cycle stages are hidden in obvious and not so obvious places in household settings. These trainers can be tricky sometimes. They have found synthetic scents (clones) that are pretty close to that of the musty smell I have described of the bedbug stages. Each stage, from egg, larva, and nymph to adult has a slightly different musty smell. When the trainers have swapped out the real scents to phony scents, they have tricked many of my classmates; but not Hunter the “Super Sniffer”. I have only missed 1 challenge “sniff out” and that was before I knew they had developed a very close clone scent to the bedbug. They got me that one time; however in 12 field trials since then, I am 100% accurate in denoting the real bedbug scent from the clone and finding the bedbugs wherever they hide them. No other candidate is even close to those numbers. OK, I’ll admit it, I’m the best of the rest in this class; however, these tough training exercises will make all of the K-9s in this class highly skilled Bedbug Detectives. When these pups get back to their respective families and start working for their pest control companies, they are going to do a great job sniffing out bedbugs.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have been keeping an eye on a couple of young pups that have exceptional physical and mental “Hunter” type skills. One is “Buster”, I call him Little “B”; he’s from North Carolina.  He wants to be just like me; a Termite Detective and a Bedbug Detective, as well as, write a weekly “dog-blog” and monthly newsletter for his company. Those are aggressive goals but he seems to be determined to reach his goals. I admire him for that. He has been by my side since my first day of training. Little “B” is constantly asking me questions; how can I possibly refuse a pup with a mug like that! One of these days I’m going to have him up for a visit to Loyal Termite and Pest Control and have him go out in the field with me and Daddy Nick. That’s with Daddy Nick’s permission, of course. Little “B” gave me a big “bow-wow” when I suggested that!

Well, that’s it for now. Stay tuned and next week I’ll give you the skinny of what is happening with me on my Florida Adventure; attending the K-9 Florida Academy to become a K-9 Bedbug Detective in addition to my current status as a K-9 Termite Detective.

You know what I’m going to be barking when I get back to Richmond don’t you? I bet you do;

When it comes to termite and pest control; Hunter says,
“If you got ‘em, we’ll get ‘em!”