Nope. No real evidence to support either way I suppose. We use DE and have never had them. I will tell you that my vet saw me using it on my cows and asked what the heck I was doing. I fogged their coats and put it in their food for a few weeks. Mostly for worms and flies. The flies literally disappear when you put it on their coats, and don't return for quite a while. We missed a couple and you can see the difference, and they tested negative for worms after their treatment.
We used it on the garden for grasshoppers this year, they were really bad. Their population was significantly reduced as well.
We also sprinkle it in the coop as a drying agent and odor absorption.
Not scientific by any means, but a 50 lb bag is 30 bucks. We use maybe 2 a year. Not a huge investment for all the benefits we get from it. One bottle of Ivermectin costs about the same and is pretty toxic, and it does not have the other benefits that DE does. I personally don't like how it affects the cows, it makes them dull for quite a few days and can't be good for the calf inside them or nursing from them.
Seems like a good practice to me.
Did your cows test for worms before the DE treatment? Everything I`ve seen on it says that it is innefective for anything if it gets wet and it stands to reason that the inside of a cow is wet. Also read that it doesn`t affect critters with exoskelletons, which must be the reason it doesn`t work on lice/mites. I just hear all the praise for a product that has done nothing for me. I`ve been using Sevin dust for 53 years and it has done everything I`ve asked it to do and even proven safe for broodies with chicks. I would like to hear some others that have used DE successfully, though..........Pop
Yes cows have worms every year after a wet spring, one of the problems with raising them on fenced pastures and not being able to roam on 5 gazilion square miles of land like they were designed. I have read just the opposite as you. On two points. 1. It's main use is as an insecticide is for insects with exoskeletons, it scratches the wax coating off the exoskeletons of the insect and this causes them to dehydrate. 2. DE is not soluble in water and therefor getting it wet has no ill affect, I actually put it in a spray bottle to apply it to nest boxes, helps it get into the cracks and crevices. DE is also an EPA approved insecticide. Not all bags have the label, but if requested you can have it labeled. Many farmers use DE in silos and elevators to reduce insect loss. In barley used for beer, it is becoming ever more popular as the insects can not develop an immunity as with chemical insecticides and it is SIGNIFICANLTY more effective than chemical control, is cheaper, and safer for the end user (me and you). DE is a mechanical insecticide, and therefore must be used through several life cycles. In the event of a major outbreak, it may not be effective, I dunno I have never had one. It does not do anything to eggs that is vey true, thus the requirement to kill the adults through several generations. My mother uses Sevin as well and has been very happy with it for years also.
Internally they are really not sure of the mechanics behind the killing of parasites, the most recent thinking is that the DE has an opposite charge to that of the internal parasite and it literally drains the energy out of them. Some believe that it has a similar affect to exoskeletal insects outside the environment. I don't know either way, I just know that it works. I have seen it. Yes it does take a while, but you can eat it, that right there makes it my first weapon of choice.
LOL, almost like politics, ain`t it. Guess we`ll all do what we want and decide what`s best for us.........Pop
In God We Trust
Siyah Rampuri Asil, White Chinese, Emden, and African Geese, Guineas, a Rottweiler (Bella), and a Yellow Lab (Booger). Fifty five years with chickens and still learning.
In God We Trust
Siyah Rampuri Asil, White Chinese, Emden, and African Geese, Guineas, a Rottweiler (Bella), and a Yellow Lab (Booger). Fifty five years with chickens and still learning.
