Questions about DE.......

What are the uses for DE? Is it used just for mites or does it help keep other pesky bugs (mosquitos, flies, fleas, etc) away? Does the food grade work as well as the other one? I THINK I saw somewhere that you could also use it for dogs to get rid of worms....true?? Sorry for all the questions.

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People use it for all sorts of things. Whether it actually DOES all those things, or is necessarily a good thing to USE for them even if it does, is another question of course

Its ability to kill mites and lice is fairly well accepted by most, although not as far as I know rigorously documented. My experience, and many others', is that while it does ok against just a few mites, if you have a real infestation it tends to be inadequate and a chemical poultry dusting powder is needed (sevin, pyrethrum, rotenone, that sort of thing).

A number of people, myself included, use it (me: in judicious SMALL AMOUNTS) under the bedding and under nestbox bedding and in cracks and crevices of coop, to try to discourage mite problems from taking hold.

Another traditional use of DE is as a feed additive intended to prevent worms. How effective it is (or isn't) at this has never been properly tested as far as I know. Personally I would class it as "conceivable, but by no means proven, but if done sensibly probably relatively harmless at worst". Note that hardly anyone who does this claims that DE *cures* a worm ifestation if the animals already got 'em.

And then some people dust it all round the coop, in the bedding, ON the bedding, on the ground in the run, wherever, apparently sometimes rather profusely. The two rationales given here are that a) it prevents fly larvae from breeding in chicken poo [unproven but possible, IMO, although it won't stop flies from coming in from elsewhere] and b) it is a drying agent that, by absorbing water, can dry damp bedding somewhat and (it is argued) reduce coop humidity. (You should remember that even food grade DE is a mineral dust that is really not good for lungs to be breathing. Thus, personally I'd argue that any application where you are putting it down in locations and/or amounts such that it can be kicked up in the air for chickens to breathe regularly is probably not such a great plan, in principle. Also, as far as dealing with dampness and humidity, IMO it is much better to go to the root(s) of the problem and fix THAT, rather than a continual band-aid.)

As far as food-grade versus any other grade of DE: they are all composed primarily of silicon, but in food-grade DE hardly any of the silicon is in the form of long sharp crystalline pieces as it mainly is in garden or pool type DE grades. Crystalline silicon, when chronically inhaled, can produce serious lung disease. Whereas food grade's amorphous silicon, when inhaled, is no worse (nor better) than yer typical road dust or such. Thus there is reasonable medical basis for saying it is a whole lot smarter to use food-grade, assuming you can count on labels to be truthful. That said, I have never heard of anyone's chickens going utterly toes-up from pool-filter DE, although various BYCers HAVE managed to dust their flocks into a state of serious coughing and sneezing (or themselves into asthma attacks) by using too much DE everywhere

I would suggest using 'search' to read a bunch of the existing threads about DE and then you can make up your own mind what, if anything, you choose to do with it.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Please check info. in post #20 in this thread for some specs:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=294680&p=2

Still waiting for someone to run down some large study results on efficacy as a wormer in poultry. All I can find are ruminant studies that describe no effect on internal parasite load.

Thanks Pat!! Im not having any problems with worms or mites at this point. I just wanted to stop anything that would be detrimental to my girls. I was sure hoping that it would take care of the fly population during the summer. Believe me when I say it's BAAAAAADDDDD!!!!!

I can attest to it helping with flies! They had gotten terrible! I started using DE and the flies were almost gone within a few days.

When I started using it I wasn't using enough. I was really starting to wonder if it was all it was cracked up to be. After a few days of rain the run turned to mud and just wasn't drying out. Of course the flies were in heaven and the smell was getting bad. I didn't want to handle my young chickens to get them accustom to it even. I decided to apply it liberally after recalling it was good at drying things up. I was pretty surprised at how well it worked, once I applied enough of it. After that I used the flies as my reminder. If the flies started getting noticeable, out came the DE. By the next day I'd be surprised to see more than a couple flies.

I also use it in their feed at the recommended 2%. I've never had an issue with worms and hope I never will. I haven't noticed any adverse effects from using it in the run, coop or feed. I'm happy with it.

I've never tried it on my dogs. If they had worms develop I would in a heartbeat.

I have a lovebird in the house that gets bothered by mites when the weather gets warm. I'm thinking about trying it on her, too.

We had a huge spider problem last year.

Rather, I should say my husband had a huge spider problem. He kept getting horrible bites (scorpions, spiders, mosquitoes, kissing bugs - they all flock to him).

We sprinkled it around the windowsills, in the sliding glass door track, put a cup or two of it behind each of the dressers and bookshelves, in the closets, under the porch... basically everywhere that it wasn't too noticeable.

I don't know if it took care of the spiders directly, or just their food supply, but it took care of the problem.


* Someone posted on here a few months ago about mixing up Food Grade with Pool Grade. He ended up with a bunch of blisters on his face. It sounded awful. Be absolutely positive that the bag says Food Chemical Codex Grade.

Thanks Pat and Ivan for the more extensive information you've provided. I am totally at a loss as to why one would put it in the feed of their animal, chicken or other. In landscaping, I've always been told that the dust is completely inactivated when it gets wet. This would correlate well with the study that Ivan posted, saying that the insects were basically dessicated by the dust. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe my chickens have quite a bit of moisture in their digestive tracts! I'm also amazed at how people are willing to throw it willy nilly all over their coops without any lung protection. Again, in landscaping, we are warned extensively at the dangers of inhaling concrete dust when cutting concrete (silicon dioxide again....) and there may even be laws enacted to prevent us from cutting without water and creating dust. Like Pat says, it often seems to be used in a "band aid" kind of way.

Chookchick - I think I've read that you can mix it with water and use it as a natural insecticidal spray.

"We mix food grade diatomaceous earth with water to paint our fruit tree trunks with it, like a white wash. The DE keeps ants OFF our fruit trees. 1 cup applied to ½ gallon of water works well. Be sure to stir frequently as the DE settles to the bottom. Good as a white wash for wood fencing too.

1 to 2 cups per gallon of water can be used to apply diatomaceous earth in a backpack or hose end sprayer for problem infestations of mites, aphids, fungus problems, etc. Food grade diatomaceous earth will turn whatever you paint or spray with it white – so it may look like a “white” winter at your place. "

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

When you used it in landscaping, was it the food grade or the pool grade?

I've even heard of people mixing it in their OJ and drinking it!

I use food grade DE. And for the most part I like the way it works. You cant expect it to work like a chemical, because it isn't a chemical. DE works on a physical level. If the insect comes in contact with it , it will die. Whether it be from drying out or inhaling it, there for cutting their insides into little pieces. patandchickens gave a great summary of the product. I have personally had real good success with a reduction of flies. And anything that comes in contact with the DE. And yes, from what I know people use it to deworm everything as preventative, but not as a eradication.
Here is the link wher I got mine from. They have been using it for a very long time. It has alot of information on Food grade DE. Good Luck~ Tacey


http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html