Saturday, March 25, 2000 "Special to The Sun" By IRENE FERRADAZ . Inspector Gidget has a Nose for Bugs

Watch out termites. Inspector Gidget is on the case.

The feisty 20-pound beagle may be the tiny home-wreckers worst nightmare. She's trained to detect even the slightest scent of termites and carpenter ants and works just as hard as the Orkin man.

Gidget works with Alachua Pest Control. Other companies contract her to work with them for $175 to $200 an hour. During the past month, Gidget has checked seven houses and businesses.

Her owner and trainer, Jose "Pepe" Peruyero, is a retired police officer who has been training dogs for 10 years.

"She's an exceptional little dog," Peruyero said of the 1-year-old beagle that came from a home in Clermont. "Her drive, temper and high energy were perfect for what we were looking for in a termite dog."

Peruyero, who used to work with the Gainesville Police Department's canine unit, has been training the brown-and-white beagle in scent identification for the past six months at J & K Canine Academy in Alachua. Most hound dogs are good at sniffing out and detecting scents people wouldn't notice, such as the methane produced by termites.

"What we are doing is taking a dog's natural instinct and using it to detect specific scents," Peruyero said, mentioning that dogs have long been trained to sniff out narcotics, produce and explosives. Gidget indicates where the termites are by scratching at the spot of major infestation.

Having Gidget sniff out a building is better than traditional inspection methods because shecan pinpoint concentrations of termites instead of requiring workers to spray the entire home with chemicals, he said. "It really is impressive to watch her work. She goes from 1,000 miles an hour to 0 in a minute," Peruyero said.

Bobby Libengood, a supervisor at Ell's Pest Control Inc. in Gainesville, said he knows Gidget and "understands that she works well." However, Campbell uses the traditional bait system and liquid treatments to get rid of termites.

Regardless of what treatment people prefer, now is the time when termites are thriving.

Tom Currin, an entomologist with Florida Pest Control in Gainesville, said spring is "swarming season" for termites. This is when termites are breeding and flying, making them easier to detect by inspectors. Florida is especially good for termites because of its constant moisture and humidity. An entire colony will die only if it is cut off from the source of moisture, which is usually outside, he said.

Florida Pest Control, which ranges from about $35 to $100 an hour for a termite inspection, relies on more traditional methods of termite control.

"There are several companies in Florida that usedogs, but nothing is foolproof," Currin said. "Dogs can get a false termite smell."

Peruyero is quick to say that Gidget does not replace or do away with the need to hire regular termite inspectors.

"If human inspection turns up nothing, then the dog enhances," Peruyero said.

Philip Koehler, a professor of urban entomology with the University of Florida, said dogs can detect the odor of living termites and not simply termite damage. He said he is not aware of any other system or device that can do that.

Koehler said the typical inspector goes around and checks a home where termite damage is most likely to occur, such as close to the ground or inside walls.

But termites sometimes sneak past inspectors by making their way into ceilings, he said.

Peruyero said Gidget is so good at what she does because her pink nose and lips are moist, making that area sensitive to picking up certain odors. Even her floppy ears that drag as she sniffs the floor help by whisking a scent up to her nose.

The idea of using dogs to sniff for termites has been around for about 10 to 12 years, originating in California. Peruyero estimates that about five dogs in Florida do the same type of termite inspection. Gidget can determine the scent of something because she has stored it in her memory, much like a human.

However, dogs separate and categorize different smells more elaborately than people. "It's like when a human smells a soup; he just knows it smells good, and it reminds him of his mother's cooking," Peruyero said. "But Gidget can tell there are carrots, celery and basil in the soup."

Irene Ferradaz can be reached at 338-3111 or ferradi@gvillesun.com

One-year-old beagle, Gidget, sniffs out termites

JOHN MORAN - The Gainesville Sun