Food Grade Diatomacoeus Earth

[Geri]

Researching diatomacoeus earth, food grade, has been very eye opening.

It kills fleas and ticks, it is safe, you can sprinkle it on your dog and their bedding and it will not harm them

I always hated putting the Frontline on my dogs and now have ordered and recieved. It also kills other bugs.

I live in Florida and we have lots of critters. I ordered it on Amazon and it was pretty cheap compared to Frontline.

Please research it and you will really be suprised at all it does. I am going to sprinkle it around the kitchen cupboards too, it kills roaches, which can be a problem down south.

 

Geri  

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

what if you don't inhale?  It worked for Bill Clinton.  :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

: )

[Pat and Traveler]

I got some food grade DE a couple of years ago, when we had a horrible flea infestation.  I was trying everything short of bombs, which I hate.  I just remember sprinkling it around the house, which was like sprinkling flour around your house.  It might have helped, but since I hadn't put it absolutely everywhere, it didn't cure.  What finally worked was Comfortis for Trav plus a premise spray for the house, something I got from the vet--after once again washing and vacuuming and cleaning everything.  We might have had fleas, but by golly they were clean fleas!  lol.  Hope never to go through anything like that again!!. 

[Geri]

Lynne, thanks for the information on your experiences.

I have read the Frontline precautions, and they are scary. I will not put poison on my dogs. Plus read the precautions for humans and having a child around a just treated pup.

I'd rather have flour around the house than bug spray.

A lot of years ago we had three dogs and a major flea infestation.  They were every where. A friend told us about a flea stuff sold at a local pet shop, we sprinkled in the carpets, it killed the fleas and eggs and within a few weeks they were gone. I wonder if it was the DE. It wasn't poisonous and lasted 6 months even with vacuuming. I have never had a flea in the house since.   

[Ginny Nightingale]

This stuff is in toothpaste--the silica shells from the diatoms (which are microscopic critters that build elaborate shells around their bodies) act as a polish--so most of us are ingesting it every day! I do have a friend who puts it on the dog food every day, but as a food supplement, not for flea prevention--I don't know that it could possibly work for that--you would have to really coat the dog with it.

[nate]

There's an all-natural organic anti-flea "treatment" that goes on like frontline. it's made of citrus and spice oils. we use that in sping/fall - but rely on frontline in the summer.

diatomaceous earth is good for killing bugs in physical spaces, where they walk over/on it. i don't think you're going to have effective results by dusting your dogs.

[Jen and Annie]

I have used DE, and the reason why you are not supposed to inhale or get it in your eyes, is that it is a drying agent.  So, if you get it into your eyes, they will dry out and be sore - lungs are also supposed to stay nice and moist, and it would be similar to inhaling cement dust. 

Now, the DE will work - BUT the critters have to actually make contact with it, AND it takes a few days before they will die from being in contact with it.  As Karen said, it cuts their exoskeleton, but that is not what kills them - it's the dehydration from having their exoskeletons cut.  Because it is has drying properties, if you rub it into the dogs fur, the coat and skin will really dry out - for some dogs this can be uncomfortable.  If the fleas or ticks don't come in contact with the DE, of course they will live.  I was very hopeful that it would be a good solution, but it really was not.  Especially when you consider the egg cycle of fleas, etc.  It can't hurt to sprinkle around your yard, but I would also use an 'addition'. 

I too am not a huge fan of flea preventatives, so have also used cedar spray, but I mix with rose geranium and neem oils with almond oil as a carrier when we come to Florida, because yes - Florida should be renamed FLEA-RIDA.  Neem oil stinks to the high heavens, but bugs don't like it either.  There have been studies on neem oil, I will see if I can find them.

 

http://www.neemfoundation.org/neem-articles/neem-updates/vol-1v-no1... 

This is not just about dogs or fleas, but the section about fleas says:

"Neem for Flea Control in Dogs: In a recent trial the action of neem on Ctenocephalidus felis in dogs and cats was studied. Groups of greyhounds and cats infested with C.felis were sprayed once with neem seed extract with or without diethyltoluomide and / or citronella. Methanolic extract with 200, 1000 or 2400 ppm Azadirachtin fleas in a dose dependant manner. Compared with fleas counted on treated dogs, just before treatment and untreated infested dogs, 1000 to 2400 ppm Aza reduced fleas 93 – 53% for 19 days. However, combined with 500 ppm deet and 33% v/w citronella only 500ppm Aza reduced fleas 95 –62% for 19 days on cats inoculated with 50 fleas 2 days before treatment. The combination reduced fleas and eggs 100% up to day 6 and 83 – 51% from days 7 to 9. The results show that Azadirachtin reduced fleas in a dose dependant manner. In cats, the combination killed most fleas within 24 hours, providing effective flea control for 7 days. (12)"

[F, Calla & Luca]

How can something that cuts exoskeletons of insects not be deleterious to your corneas and the delicate lining of your alveoli. I suspect it will do great harm in these situations far beyond just drying the tissues out I will look into this but I suspect an inflammatory response would be the least of the consequences.

[nate]

It doesn't really "cut".  It scratches the waxy coating off the exoskeletons, allowing them to dehydrate.  It also gets stuck in between the joints, so regular movement creates a stabbing effect.

It's pretty much everywhere.  It's used as a food-safe pest control in agriculture + grain storage -- so your kitchen is probably full of trace amounts.  It's also very popular as a filtering agent for wine (instead of charcoal filters).

I wouldn't want to breathe it or rub it in my eyes though.

[Kyoko]

I bought the stuff sometime ago.  I bought it only because my daughter worked at amusement park in Ohio that summer,and  was put up in the dorm setting with everyone who worked there for the summer. She was not very happy with the condition of the dorm, and felt that there were some sort of bug problems there. I read things about it, and thought I can sprinkle on Charlie for the flea prevention as well. It was only sold in large scale like 15 lb or something, which ended up being the whole lot of DE, because the stuff if pretty light weight.  I bought 4 cereal size rubbermaid containers to contain all of the DE, took some of it to Ohio to sprinkle around her dorm room. I dont know if it did anything to the bug problem at her dorm, but she never said anything about it. But after sprinkling in her dorm and learn how fluffy and messy it can be, I chose NOT to sprinkle on Charlie, plus I did not want to pet a dusty dog, nor have her continuously sprinkle DE around the house off her body.  So, the end of the story is, I still have 4 cereal size container of DE in the kitchen, and don't know what to do with it!!! LOL.                 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are all kinds of people selling it in ads anywhere you sell anything on-line. Put it on Craig's List, lol,  I'll bet you get all kinds of responses.

[Kyoko]

Oh, yeah!! That is a great idea!! I am going to do that!! Hahaha. They can take it containers and all!!!