I'm gonna attempt to keep this short, but thorough.
Moved to a one bedroom apartment here in Glendale, CA end of April. It happened to be infested with bedbugs. I just separated from my wife so I'm alone with no kids or pets. Also, I have very little furniture. I actually used the sofa bed that was left in the apartment for the first two nights, as I have no bed. Unfortunately, the sofa seemed to have been Ground Zero for the infestation and I was soon covered in bites.
Let's move along. After having a local PCO joker come out for $300 and doing exactly what you'd expect for that cheap, I now (like most of us) have done fairly exhaustive research. My "strategy" was a combination of DE, a residual spray, rubbing alcohol on my skin right before bed, and steaming the hell out of the sofa bed with a decent little steamer purchased from Target. I also use some DIY CO2 traps and climbups on the cot I now sleep on. Here, though, is where my situation might stray from the norm; I want these bugs out of my life above all else. I just want to move on with my damn life so I can sulk about my marriage. Having no dependents in the unit, and having very little regard for long-term health, I laced my place with DE.
Got drunk one night and, while using the steamer, came across a "hot spot" of the little suckers in the sofa bed (hadn't thrown it out immediately based on recommendations) and went a little postal. I started throwing handfuls of the powder in to the couch like crystalline grenades. Went along the baseboards with generous amounts of the powder, as well. That room ended up looking like January in Minnesota.
Thanks for your insight and advice, but if you want to tell me about the dangers of inhaling DE, or the likelihood of sending the bugs to other rooms, you can save it. I'm not saying what I did was correct, but what's done is done.
I haven't had a bite in a couple weeks, and have seen only about six or seven bugs (none in the traps the last three days). Most of the ones I found in the last week are kinda... lethargic? I don't know if it's the DE or what, but they don't scamper like the ones I'd seen before. Having said that, I'm feeling hopeful (first time in a while), and am wondering if I can start considering getting a real bed. My idea is to get a mattress with a BB cover (or two), and a simple, metal frame, on which I would use climbups and tape.
What do you think about this? Too early to consider getting furniture? My back is killing me from that cot. I'm a zombie all day, some days.
BONUS question: Is it too early to bring my dog to live with me?
Thanks for your time everybody. I really appreciate the help.