Demand for bedbug-sniffing dogs soars at hotels in Japan

A surge in tourists has fuelled a rise in bedbug complaints

Hotels in Japan are increasingly using specially trained dogs to detect bedbugs as infestations rise along with a surge in international travel, the local media reported on Wednesday.

Complaints about bedbugs have reportedly climbed sharply in recent years, prompting growing demand for these canine services.

Bedbug-sniffing dogs can reportedly detect up to 95 per cent of infestations and are being deployed to inspect hotel rooms and other accommodations across Japan, according to The Asahi Shimbun.

The Japan Pest Control Association, which represents exterminators and firms handling pests ranging from cockroaches and rats to mosquitoes and bedbugs, reported 1,176 bedbug-related complaints in 2023 – about 500 more than the year before. That number reportedly edged up further to 1,185 in 2024. The numbers for 2025 have not yet been released.

Industry watchers attribute the upward trend largely to the sharp rebound in overseas travel following the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, Japan welcomed a record number of foreign tourists last year, with arrivals surpassing the 40 million threshold for the first time.

The jump marks the second consecutive year of record-breaking tourist numbers. The country received 36.87 million foreign visitors in 2024 and the momentum carried into 2025 as travellers from overseas injected 9.5 trillion yen into the economy, up from 8.1 trillion the previous year.

Pest control experts say increased global travel has made it easier for bedbugs to hitchhike across borders in luggage and clothing, raising the risk of outbreaks in densely used accommodation spaces such as hotels, hostels and dormitories.

To address this, companies like Tokyo-based Asante Inc are expanding their canine detection programmes, training more dogs and handlers to meet rising demand. In the past year alone, Asante’s dogs have reportedly checked thousands of hotel rooms in Japan, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

Elle, a two-year-old beagle trained from the age of six months, is among a growing number of dogs being deployed to detect bedbugs in Japan’s accommodation sector. Working with handler Ataru Shimoyama, Elle can inspect a room in just a few minutes.

In 2023, South Korea was struggling to tackle a rising number of bedbug infestations as complaints were pouring in from different parts of the country.

The first reports of instances of bedbugs came in September that year when students at Keimyung University in Daegu, around 240km away from capital Seoul, were bitten by parasitic insects in their dormitory.

Media reports emerged later that larvae from the insects were found under the floor mats at a public sauna in Seoul’s neighbouring city Incheon, around 27km away, according to The Korea Times report at the time.

Bedbugs were quite a significant concern in major cities, including London and Paris, that year.