GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The Green Bay Housing Authority is relying on a friendly pooch to combat bed bugs.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a dog using its nose for work, is one using its sniffer in conjunction with the authorities to find drugs. However, Chester is using his snout to help the Green Bay Housing Authority locate bed bugs.

Green Bay’s Housing Administrator Jayme Valentine tells Local 5 that Green Bay has used Chester since 2017. Before Chester, the city had a contract with a large company that was based out of the area. Certain circumstances with the company lead to the city getting referred to Jon Sandberg with Sandberg Canine Solutions.

The Green Bay Housing Authority does quarterly bed bug inspections on all of their units. There are also certain situations where Chester is called in including:

  • When a ‘new move-in’ is all settled
  • When a tenant buys new furniture
  • If a tenant reports they may be infested with bed bugs
    • If a unit treated for bed bugs, Chester comes in 30 days after the treatment is completed (to ensure the treatment was successful and the unit is bed bug free)

Sandberg says that as people travel for the holidays he expects to see a spike in bed bug incidents. While he says there is ‘no downtime’ for these bugs, certain times of the year can cause spikes (normally when higher amounts of travel occur).

  • Photo courtesy of Michael Lemens
  • Photo courtesy of Michael Lemens
  • Photo courtesy of Michael Lemens

Valentine says she has seen Sandberg plant a single egg (or bug) in a hiding spot and Chester immediately hits on it. She also says that other Housing Authorities across the area are contracting with Sandberg due to his ability.

Mason Manor is one of the Green Bay Housing Authority’s buildings that is checked quarterly by Chester. Valentine says that only one unit was infested during the most recent inspection. The prior quarter had zero units infested.

Back in 2017, Local 5 did a story talking about how Mason Manor was suffering from chronic bed bugs. Fast forward nearly five years and the bed bug problem has nearly vanished.

The Green Bay Housing Authority also owns and manages 48 Scattered Site family homes, however, those units are inspected when the tenants call for a possible infestation.