Hey,
About killing bugs in the refrigerator, I've got a bit of advice:
PUT THEM IN THE FREEZER!
This is what we do with plant samples, especially in the summer. Thing is, a refrigerator is 36 deg. F (~2 deg C), where as a freezer is 32 deg F/0 deg. C.
Many insects in the temperate areas have no trouble surviving a fridge. I've seen bugs hatch out of samples that were stored in a fridge for *four years* (okay, they were soil samples, but you get the point).
If you want to rid a sample of bugs, take it from a warm storage area, and throw it in the freezer (or colder) for at least a week (if you can afford a -80 oC freezer, use that overnight. Liquid nitrogen baths work well too
). The trick is the sudden temperature change, followed by the prolonged ice treatment.
As to dealing with spouses, it's always worth pointing out that it's easier (and cheaper) to put the axe in the freezer and kill the bugs, than it is to put all the furniture in the freezer after an infestation starts. Throwing that worm-eaten knife out will just infect the neighborhood, so the only choice is to freeze it and kill the bugs.
F