By MIKE CAPUTO
Skinner, a longtime youth lacrosse coach, asked the boys why they continued to stand outside the rooms.
"Because you haven't checked the rooms yet," his son Colin told him.
Through years of lacrosse tournaments with his three sons, the players began to expect Skinner, longtime owner of A&C Exterminating in East Meadow, to inspect the rooms for bed bugs before making themselves comfortable. If the rooms are unacceptable, Skinner said, he usually asks to move the group to another side of the building or may even take the players to another hotel.
"Bed bugs can move up to 100 feet," he said.
Skinner joined local lawmakers at a news conference on March 10 to help spread awareness about the influx of bed bugs in Nassau County. He introduced Scout to news
agencies.
The problem goes beyond popular belief that bed bugs exist primarily in some hotels and urban settings. These itchy insects have begun to infiltrate suburban areas like Nassau County.
Up until about four years ago, A&C would have an occasional bed bug call, but nothing compared to jobs for well-known pests like ants, termites and cockroaches. Now, bed bugs make up 40 percent of Skinner's business.
In response to what quickly became a growing problem for local residents, Skinner, manager Brian Taggart and other staff members performed extensive research to learn more about bed bugs. They traveled the country to learn from experts at the University of Florida and the University of Kentucky.
"As they say, if you want to kill your enemy, you have to know your enemy," Skinner said. "You have to know them, study them."
Skinner and his staff concurred that manpower was simply not enough to combat these creatures, which enjoy feeding off the blood of humans at night.
That is when A&C recently became the first exterminator on Long Island to employ a bed bug sniffing dog. The talented nine-month-old beagle, Scout, is one of only 30 bed bug certified dogs in the country, Skinner said.
Scout is specifically trained to sniff out tiny bed bugs, which are often difficult for the human eye to spot. During a test run at A&C's headquarters on East Meadow Avenue, Scout quickly pointed out a bed bug that was enclosed in a plastic container and hidden inside a bag.
Even though Scout is friendly and occasionally seeks out affection, Skinner explained that he has to keep the hired dog focused on the task at hand.
"You don't want him to lose focus," Skinner said. "It's a working relationship."
At home, Skinner has to walk Scout separately from the family's five-year-old dog, Champ. Also, Skinner, his wife, Mary-Ann, and their three sons, Colin, James and Kevin have trained themselves to restrain from playing with Scout.
Like bomb and drug-sniffing dogs, Scout is rewarded upon fulfilling the task at hand. He is fed at least twice a day, which always follows the detection of a bed bug.
"The idea of fun for him should be working," Skinner said.
Bed bugs are often found on or inside mattresses, and often hide in crevices of headboards and dressers and sometimes even seat cushions. They are small, about one-fifth of an inch, and can quickly reproduce and spread.
The intricacies involved with bed bug treatment make the process more expensive, but the pests can be wiped away within hours, Skinner said.
"You need to be very, very intense about treating everything," Skinner said. "We can't miss an egg."
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
