Naked human legs are like cherry Popsicles to bedbugs.

Chomp.

Slurp.

Yum.

Bedbugs, like fleas or mosquitoes, suck our blood.

Molly visits homes, boats and buildings to sniff out intruders. She works for Leigh Ann Coleman, who owns Pest Detection &Consultation Services.

Molly is a dog, a bedbug-sniffing border collie mix.

“She’s been a benefit to us and our clients,” said Cody Pace of Eden Advanced Pest Technologies in Seattle. “A visual inspection is great, but Molly can smell bedbugs behind walls.”

Bedbugs are small wingless insects that feed solely on blood. According to the Harvard School of Public Health Web site, they are as cozy as, well, you know, bugs, in couches and luggage.

Babies are about the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 1/4-inch in length.

The pesky critters migrate indoors on used furniture, belongings, people, backpacks and suitcases brought home from hotels and cruises.

“This is not just a low-income housing problem,” Coleman said.

She recently used Molly to hunt bedbugs on six ships in a Seattle-based fishing fleet. The pair have been summoned to work at high-end homes on Magnolia Bluff in Seattle and in Woodinville.

Funny, those clients did not want to talk to me about infestations.

The Edmonds handler went to Florida last fall to be certified with Molly, who cost about $8,000. Her trainer was Bill Whitsine at bedbugdog.com. He is known worldwide for training canines to detect mold, peanuts, termites and cadavers, as well as signs of arson and drugs.

For more information about her service, call 206-257-9953.

Coleman keeps live bedbugs in prescription bottles with mesh lids. She orders shipments from New York that are used to keep Molly on point. She hides live bedbugs in containers around the house.

Molly uses her keen nose to reveal disgusting freeloaders that emit an odor to dogs, similar to raspberries.

On a detective job, bug hunters may spend 45 minutes turning houses inside out, checking bedding, headboards and clothing.

“The human eye is finding them with about 30 to 40 percent accuracy,” Coleman said. “A dog can sweep an entire room in 3 to 4 minutes with 97 percent accuracy.”

In her property management career, Coleman ran into bedbugs at rentals. She called for an expert diagnosis.

“I said ‘Bedbugs?’Are you kidding?’ ”

The Woodway High School graduate used to think bedbugs were creatures in fairy tales.

“You hear that from your grandparents,” she said. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

Her stable of live bugs need to be fed.

With my approval, she tipped the bottle upside down and pressed the mesh on the palm of my hand. Teensy creeps dashed to suck lunch through my skin. I could see them, but barely felt the bites.

Ewwww.

I’ve got to stop scratching.

Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.