Roscoe The Beagle Is Sniffing Out Termites

By Rick Wells, The News On 6

SAPULPA, OK -- It's termite swarming season. Termites head out of their nests a couple of times a year, looking for new wood to chew on.  Early detection of a new colony is important in preventing serious damage.  And, there is a new four-legged weapon in the war on termites.  

There's a sight no property owner wants see:  termites.  Often they'll go undetected, so what you need is a good termite detector.  Roscoe is a three-year-old beagle who has been trained to sniff out termites.

Roscoe belongs to Dustin Hough who works at EMCO Pest Control in Sapulpa.  Roscoe was his rabbit dog, then Dustin got the idea he might be trained to sniff out insects.

"I just did a lot of research on the internet seeing who's the best.  Made a lot of phone calls," said Dustin Hough with EMCO.

Hough settled on a place in Alabama that trains bomb dogs, drug dogs and termite trackers.  Roscoe was the only dog in his class to get certified.

"Tulsa had one other termite dog in the past but that was many years ago," said Larry White with EMCO.

He says he thinks Roscoe's the only one now, and he's good.

Roscoe's an eager beagle.  He's been at termite tracking for about four months and so far, they say he's 100% effective.

"The whole idea of this is early detection, before it causes the home a bunch of damage," said Dustin Hough with EMCO.

Dustin has to work with him three or four days a week to keep him sharp.

You can contact Roscoe through EMCO's website.