It happened again, but this time was different. Late February 2015 in Edmonton, Alberta a family was devastated by Do-It-Yourself bed bug control. This time the family traveled to Pakistan (vacation?) and obtained a fumigant which really does kill bed bugs. It also kills people. What is so different in this case is that THEY DID NOT USE THE MATERIAL. IT KILLED THEM ANYWAY.
Dead are an 8 month old girl and a two year old boy. A six year old boy was on a ventilator. Two boys (4 & 7) were treated and released. The mother was observed and released. There is no word on whether the bed bugs they intended the material for are dead.
The material they got was Phostoxin (or a knock-off of it). It comes stored in a metal container for a reason. They stored it in an “unmarked” container and it released phosphine gas when it reacted with the humidity in the home. It is a wonder they are not all dead. It is a pesticide restricted to licensed, trained persons for a reason. “Do not try this at home” means something.
Pest control is not a game. If you want safe, effective pest control, call someone trained and licensed by your state. There may be a few fools who pass the tests and are not caught yet, but it is still much better than killing two or three of your kids.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/phosphine-poisoning-zain-hassan-6-recovering-off-life-support-1.2981648