Utilizing scent detection dogs in the early detection of Ips typographus damages – Presented by Reetta Kangaslampi & Dr Olli-Pekka Tikkanen

Scent detection dogs have been used for dozens of years to identify illegal substances, diseases, people and animal scat. In this study, the use of scent detection dogs was studied regarding the identification and control of the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus). The main goal was to find out if a trained scent detection dog could be used to reliably identify a small group of bark beetles under laboratory conditions, and whether the method could be transferred to a field trial setting. The purpose of this study was to carry out a comprehensive testing of the functionality of the method in the laboratory and to perform a small-scale study in a field setting. The study was conducted by training two scent detection dogs to identify live bark beetles from empty samples and interference samples. The dogs were trained with positive reinforcement.

The study concluded that trained scent detection dogs can identify a small sample of European spruce bark beetles with a 98.0% sensitivity, 99.8% specificity and 99.6% accuracy in the laboratory. The sensitivity was remarkably high and gave positive indications of the method’s functionality and usability in the future. The use of a scent detection dog can be a cost-effective and time-efficient way to map and combat biotic forest damage also in Northern Europe. The use of a scent detection dog is also significantly less invasive than many other tree pest mapping methods.

The use of scent detection dogs could be especially useful in the early identification of European spruce bark beetles, when attempting to detect the first strikes in a new area. Further research is especially needed to determine the method’s functionality in different terrains through larger field tests, which is something we are currently studying at the University of Eastern Finland in our research group (Bark the Beetle -project, Finnish Cultural Foundation 2024-2027).

Coming soon.