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Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is a substance made up of the fossilzed remains of plankton; it looks like an off-white talc powder. It can kill any bug with an exoskeleton easily, but is safe for any mammal to eat. It is a popular way to kill bugs without using insecticide. P
Permaculture web site Rich Soil explains how DE works:P
Diatomaceous Earth is almost pure silica (with some beneficial trace minerals); under a microscope, it looks like shards of glass (glass is made from silica). On any beetle-type insect that has a carapace, like fleas and cockroaches, the DE works under the shell and punctures the body, which then dehydrates and the insect dies. DE is totally nontoxic. There is no buildup of tolerance like there is to poisons because the method of killing is PHYSICAL, not chemical.P
Since DE is nontoxic to humans, you'll often find it in grain-based foods, as DE is mixed in with commodity grain to keep it safe from bugs. I used it last year to kill a few mounds of fire ants in my backyard. It took a few days to fully kill all the ants, but it worked well. Keep in mind that you need to keep DE dry before using as water will make it ineffective. Also make sure you buy food grade DE instead of pool grade DE as the latter contains up to 70% crystalline silica, a substance known to be carcinogenic with sustained use.P
I've used it on my cats once or twice and never got fleas again. They all stay outside unless its terribly cold. but I am concerned that if they lick it it could hurt them any comments here?
I've used it on my cats once or twice and never got fleas again. They all stay outside unless its terribly cold. but I am concerned that if they lick it it could hurt them any comments here?
It shouldn't hurt the cat so long as you get FOOD Grade DE. The pool grade has other chemicals in it. Food grade is used in shipping dried foods since it keeps away the moisture and should there be a trace left its not bad.
I get mine off Amazon, but if you go to a supply place, make sure the package says 'food grade'.
You can also mix it with some food for deworming and it won't hurt them. I read about a farm family where once a month mom mixed a little in something tasty for the family since they were also exposed to the same critters as the animals, and nobody ever suffered.
This message is to those people who eat it or feed it to their pets.
Stop it. You are being dumb. I don't know what possessed you to believe that would work, but it won't. It won't ever touch the fleas. It will remain in your digestive system and come out in your excrement, while the fleas ride on your back and laugh.
The goal is to get this diatomaceous earth, which is actually nothing more than micro-fine chopped glass, onto the body of the insect. You need to sprinkle it with this broken "glass." It will not hurt you because the pieces are so small it does not interfere with humans or pets like cats and dogs. If you or they eat it, it just goes right through the digestive tract and comes out in your poop. That's what happens when you feed it to your pets, too, it just goes in one end and out the other, and never gets to Tue fleas.
It does not melt, break down, or travel through your body to come out on your skin. The only way to kill insects with diatomaceous earth is to get it onto their exoskeletons, their shells. It is impossible to accomplish that by ingesting it. So STOP DOING THAT.
The diatomaceous earth needs to touch them where their shell is thin, and cut their shell. Think of broken glass cutting an astronaut's space suit, and causing the air in the suit to leak out. The astronaut will die. On the insect, it will make small cuts, like at bendy places like their legs, and like the astronaut's air escaping, the water in their body liquids will evaporate through these little cuts.
That is the mechanism by which this very fine sharp chopped glass works.
The lo.G name for the white powder comes from the little shelled animals called diatoms. When they died, millions of years ago, their little glassy sea-shells remained, and in some parts of the sea floor back then, they piled up so much that it became a thick vein of white earth, which was dug out, dried, filtered and put in bags.
These aren't even fossils, they are essentially a thick pile of microscopic sea shells, all broken and sharp, and something hazardous to the moisture-tight integrity of any insect's body armor. The flexing areas at their joints are the most vulnerable places, because that is where their shells, their exoskeletons, are the thinnest.
And don't tell me about its efficacy for killing certain insects, because I know all about it. We use it here to control stink bugs, and it's very effective because they're dried to a crisp. Apparently, though, people here aren't aware that it's a skin irritant on contact, and also irritates nasal passages and lungs, if inhaled. Both DH and I use gloves and a mask when carefully applying this stuff. And, oh yeah, we make sure our pets don't have contact with it.
My cat's bedding is my bedding. I'm going to be moving, and my new place won't have any carpeting, so I shouldn't have the problem that I have now. Raid spray in the purple can also works wonders.
Please ! do NOT use any type of bug killer, a la RAID spray, or other brands on the interior of your house, room, carpets... nothing.
READ the danged instructions, or you will have a very sick kitty or a dead kitty.
Would you spray it on your dining table !
Taffee has fleas and I treated her with Revolution and also bought diatomaceous earth at the hardware store.
I don't see "food grade" on the container, so is this too dangerous to put on my cat and sprinkle around the house? The brand is Safer and called "Ant & Crawling Insect Killer".
It says to wear a mask when using this product. That makes me suspect it's not safe to put on my cat as she will not be wearing a mask and will be licking her fur.
Taffee has fleas and I treated her with Revolution and also bought diatomaceous earth at the hardware store.
I don't see "food grade" on the container, so is this too dangerous to put on my cat and sprinkle around the house? The brand is Safer and called "Ant & Crawling Insect Killer".
It says to wear a mask when using this product. That makes me suspect it's not safe to put on my cat as she will not be wearing a mask and will be licking her fur.
Absolutely … do NOT put that diatomaceous earth on your kitty -- or anywhere she can get at it ! matter of fact, throw it out. It might say Ant & Crawling Insect Killer, but it might as well say 'Cat Killer' or 'Pet Killer'. It will also make YOU very sick.
This entire thread has talked about food grade diamotaceous earth. I can see how some people would get confused, and this is what is totally dangerous about using it.
Puhleeeez …. do not have it anywhere near your kitty or your food. There are better ways to get rid of insects.
Absolutely … do NOT put that diatomaceous earth on your kitty -- or anywhere she can get at it ! matter of fact, throw it out. It might say Ant & Crawling Insect Killer, but it might as well say 'Cat Killer' or 'Pet Killer'. It will also make YOU very sick.
This entire thread has talked about food grade diamotaceous earth. I can see how some people would get confused, and this is what is totally dangerous about using it.
Puhleeeez …. do not have it anywhere near your kitty or your food. There are better ways to get rid of insects.
Have I made my case totally clear ?
Ok, thanks. I felt suspicious that stuff was okay for my cat, so I hesitated on using it. Good thing!
Please ! do NOT use any type of bug killer, a la RAID spray, or other brands on the interior of your house, room, carpets... nothing.
READ the danged instructions, or you will have a very sick kitty or a dead kitty.
Would you spray it on your dining table !
That flea problem was taken care of by the method that I used in 2013. The Raid spray in the purple can worked wonders on the carpet, and killed every flea and egg there was.
It is now five years later, and I've never had another flea problem.
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Don't eat it or feed it to your pets.
