Dogs trained to protect crops and vineyards from invasive pests

By Stephen Beech

Dogs are being trained to protect vineyards and other crops from invasive pests.

American researchers discovered that man’s best friend can be coached to effectively sniff out destructive bugs and creepy crawlies.

A new study, led by Virginia Tech, found that volunteer dog-handler teams - made up of everyday people and their pets - can detect the elusive egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that's damaging farms and forests across the United States.

The study is the first to show that citizen dog-handler teams can achieve detection success rates comparable to professional conservation detection dogs.

Study lead author Dr. Sally Dickinson said: “These teams demonstrated that citizen scientists and their dogs can play a meaningful role in protecting agriculture and the environment from invasive species.

“With proper training, dog owners can turn their pets into powerful partners for conservation.”

The spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014.

It has rapidly spread to 18 states, laying its eggs on trees, stone, lumber, and even cars and trailers, where it can hitch a ride to a new home.

Scientists say catching the bug early is key, but finding its egg masses is no easy task.

Study co-author Professor Mizuho Nita, a plant pathologist at Virginia Tech, said: “They often resemble mud smears or lichens and are tucked into bark crevices, cracks, or hidden undersides.

“Finding them is like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

But, with a sense of smell that’s tens of thousands of times more acute than humans’, dogs can be trained to sniff out spotted lanternfly egg masses without disturbing the environment.

Previous research had shown that professional conservation detection dogs can do so with high accuracy.

But professional dogs are expensive, and there aren’t enough of them to cover the growing threat.

The researchers wanted to find out if thousands of dog owners who already do scent detection as a hobby could also be trained to sniff out pests.

More than 1,000 dog owners expressed interest in the study, with over 40% having previous experience in sport scent detection or related activities.

Eventually, 182 teams from across the U.S. were selected and given devitalized – or non-hatching – egg masses as training aids.

Participants trained their dogs at home or in small groups, overseen by a designated local trainer.

After several months of training, the dogs were put to the test in two environments – one indoor and one outdoor.

In the controlled indoor environment, dogs had to complete an odor recognition test, identifying the box with the spotted lanternfly egg mass from among multiple boxes with other items and scents.

Those who passed the odor recognition test advanced to a field test, where they had to find the scent in an outdoor environment with competing smells.

The results, published in the journal PeerJ, showed that dogs correctly identified the egg masses 82% of the time in the controlled tests.

In real-world field trials, accuracy dropped to 61% — still better than many human searches.

Of the dogs that passed both tests, 92% were successful in finding live egg masses with minimal extra training.

Study participant Bill Wellborn of Roanoke, Virginia, said his seven-year-old Tibetan terrier, Pepe, enjoyed the challenge.

Over the course of six months, they trained with devitalised spotted lanternfly egg masses two or three times a week for 15 to 30 minutes.

Bill said, “Anytime you can stimulate your dog, it’s good for them.

“Pepe obviously enjoys it. And it’s a way we can take dog skills and training to help our community.”

Katie Thomas and her pit bull mix, Finch, also volunteered for the study, hoping to put their seven years of recreational scent work to real-world use.

Katie, of Radford, Virginia, said: “Being able to do the same thing for the greater good - for citizen science -adds another layer we didn’t have before."

Professor Erica Feuerbacher, an animal behaviorist at Virginia Tech, said the findings show the "untapped" power of community science.

She said: “There are thousands of people out there doing scent work with their dogs just for fun.

“What Sally’s study shows is that this can be more than a hobby - these citizen-scientists and their dogs can be a valuable resource for fighting the spread of an invasive pest.”

A separate study co-authored by Professor Nita, Dr. Dickinson, and Professor Feuerbacher, with researchers from Texas Tech University found that trained pet dogs could also detect powdery mildew, a major fungal disease of grapes and vineyards, with over 90% accuracy.

For Dr. Dickinson, who also works as a firefighter and career search-and-rescue canine handler, the project reflects a personal mission: giving more dogs and their humans a chance to do meaningful work.

She added, “This research is about more than detection.

“It’s about empowering people to work alongside their dogs to protect the places and communities they care about.”