South Korea has announced it has sent its first dog trained to detect bedbugs to Seoul airport to prevent an infestation after athletes return from the Paris Olympics.
A search dog named Ceco was used at Seoul’s main airport as part of an initiative by the South Korean government and Cesco, the country’s largest pest control company.
Ceco, a two-year-old beagle dog, is trained to detect the smell of bed bug pheromones and can locate them within two minutes with 95 percent accuracy, Cesco said in a statement.
“From August 9 to September 8 – the day the Paralympics end – the bed bug detection service will be available at Incheon Airport for anyone who wants to use it,” said a spokesman for the Korea Disease Prevention Agency.
The initiative also includes the detection of bedbugs on luggage by experts with more than ten years of experience. Disinfection of aircraft has also increased from once a month to once a week, with special attention being paid to the Paris-Incheon route.
South Korea has been bed bug-free for years, but bed bug infestations have increased as travel has returned following Covid-19. According to official statistics, more than 950 cases were detected from November to February.
Paris suffered from bedbugs last year in the summer and fall, leading to the closure of several schools.
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