So sorry to read all this. If I may, a few questions about process. Brief answers are fine, not asking for a dissertation (unless you want to!).
1. What is it about 'over the counter' or DIY that scatters them throughout the house?
2. You said a lot of your 'stuff' may not come back. Can you stuff it into that sofa tent and treat a bunch of it at once? Or is there some other reason that won't work? Certain types of 'stuff'?
3. I have heard CO2 atmosphere will kill them in a certain time period, i.e. dry ice allowed to evaporate in a bag. Of all the 'DIY' stuff I've seen, this one seemed fairly plausible. Is it a viable treatment?
One final comment about insecticides (for everyone): As an env. chemist and haz waste specialist, I can tell you that the organophosphates (including Diazinon and Malathion and many others) are fairly dangerous as far as acute exposure. Acute means immediate poisoning as opposed to chronic effects such as cancer from long term low dose exposure. These are cholinesterase inhibitors, basically a nerve agent.
I worked in a lab handling a lot of this stuff at one time and the only thing that ever made me ill in all my lab jobs - handling pharmaceuticals, metals, radionuclides, PCBs, every solvent known to man, and more - was an organophosphate. I was exposed due to improper handling, shouldn't have happened, but they are volatile (evaporate into the air) and are very toxic. Not saying not to use them, just don't screw around with this stuff. If it's not labeled for use inside the house, if it's supposed to be used by a pro, don't **** with it.
A few years back a couple died from a Vikane bed bug treatment when their mattress was not sufficiently aired out and they slept on it and died. Vikane is not an organophosphate but is obviously dangerous if instructions are not followed.
Be careful out there.
1. In low infestations (about 70% of infestations), the bugs tend to aggregate and harbor quite close to where they are getting their blood meals, but do not like movement. This makes them easy to find. Over the counter chems are generally contact only, but leave dangerous residues, which are detectable by the bugs. They will produce a "run" away pheromone if they do not die quickly, and the harborage will clear out, with the bugs going all over the place. Bug bombs are also contact killers only, and, considering that these guys tuck in tight unless feeding, you are not likely going to get enough right on them to kill them, and the chems go everywhere, leaving nasty residues. Many over the counter chems have bed bugs in the title, but not on the effectivity label (bad mojo). Essential oils have little effect on bed bugs, except for one, and it is likely the other chems in the can that facilitates them to work, and they stink pretty good, as well as if they work they do so only on direct contact leaving no effective residues. .The proper stuff is intended to be available only to licensed and trained pros. The good contact killers are not detectable by the bugs (so they don't cause scattering), and break down into inert chems when they dry, with all residual activity pretty much gone in just a couple of days. Correct IGRs (insect growth regulators) and residuals are designed to have effects only on the specific bugs, and they are only deposited in out of the way places, remaining effective for several weeks. Most folks have no idea what they are doing, and do not follow the labels, exposing themselves to hazards, and scattering harborages, increasing the cost of effective treatment and causing such treatment to be much more difficult, and take longer.
2. There are a variety of ways to treat your belongings. First, it is expensive and a true pain getting them out and into supplemental storage. If you do not effectively treat them, you can re-infest yourself. Some things can be treated by hot clothes dryer treatment. Some things can be heat treated, but can't tolerate the tumbling, so portable heating pods are good. Some things can be carefully steamed. For items that can't tolerate heat, there is a vaporous organo-phosephate, diclorvos, that comes in strips and leaves no residues once properly aired out. Trapping items in a sealed container for a few weeks with a strip will kill eggs and all other stages. Commodity fumigation with vikane is expensive and not universally available. Considering the effort required to treat all my stuff, it might not all come back in, only to maybe having to go right back out.
3. The only place I have seen referencing CO2, in my research, which has been extensive, but not targeted at CO2, there are no references to treatment with CO2. The reputable sources make no mention. I therefore will not trust it. Also, CO2 is a primary attractant for bed bugs. It is what enables them to find us, then also our warmth and body chemistry (lactic acid etc.)
Vikane is an option, but a very expensive one. It is not universally available. We only have one company in Tucson that does it (
BUGWISER EXTERMINATING). Considering how bad the infestation is, it might be more cost effective than traditional methods, and it is a much faster process. Whole home heat treatment is also possible, but many items can't tolerate it and will need to be removed and separately treated, as above. Neither, whole house nor vikane treatment have any residual effects, so re-infestation is an easy possibility.
Rich P