diatomaceous earth - did I buy right kind?

[GoodEgg]

FINALLY! Hehe, I got the info from Custom Milling this morning.

It IS food grade DE, 50 pounds is 21.95 plus $18.27 shipping to this area. I know the shipping almost doubles the price, but it's still cheaper than the one we can get in Crestview, and nobody has to drive.

Do you two still want to split it with me? If I have at least one other person, I can place the order. She said if I order before noon it can go out same day, so hopefully (whether today or tomorrow) we can have it soon.

(I'm hoping so, the chickens are fine, but the cat is starting to get fleas on US so I'd like to take care of it asap, although I am gonna bath him in eucalyptus soap and see if that helps ... it's what my boss uses on her cat and she says it works.)

Let me know, and I will place the order. Thanks everyone!

trish

 

[GoodEgg]

Quote:
Hi Kybukaba,

Thanks, sorry I thought I had replied to this.

I did check dirtworks, but because I was having problems with fleas, ants, AND wanting to have something ready in case of mites (not to mention wanting to treat the coop floor in general) I was hoping to buy a larger amount.

I hadn't realized chickens could have fleas! I've had a lot of parrot species before, and I guess they preen so much they don't have a problem, so it never occurred to me that chickens could have.

The Frontline is too expensive for me, and I try to do things as naturally as possible whenever I can, as well as the kitten has been too young for most treatments until recently, so I was very interested to hear that DE might be able to take care of the fleas.

OT: Oh, and btw, about eBay ... it really can be a good shopping source. (I have an eBay business, but not chicken-related) ... just check the sellers' feedback and be careful of anyone TOO new. Paying by PalPal offers extra protection. Also certain categories are riskier than others ... I have not had good luck overall with movie or video game sellers there (though some are good), but I've only very rarely had problems with such items as books, worship music, homeschool items, scrapbook supplies, plants, or clothes.

Thanks for the info, and good luck if you venture onto eBay.

trish

 

[Cracker]

What, you haven't ordered yet? I'm ready for it to be here! Doesn't matter to me if we split it two, three, or four ways. Do it! Let me know something, ants are after my chickens.

 

[GoodEgg]

Quote:
Sorry, Cracker, I called last week and they said the person I needed to talk to wouldn't be back till this morning.

I did go ahead and order. They said it should be here in 2 business days, so I hope that means Wednesday.

I'll let you know!

trish

 

[Cracker]

Thank you, GoodEgg.

 

[imloulou]

Quote:
I'm in!!!
Sorry I did not see this yesterday.
Lisa

 

[GoodEgg]

No problem, Lisa. I was waiting to hear from you too.

I'm hoping it will be here tomorrow. If not, then I'm guessing Thursday.

I sure hope so ... the fleas were bad enough, but now I need it for these crazy ants too. I don't like to use exterminators, but they were so bad in the house that my landlady had one come last week. It didn't do any good really (he didn't spray the yard because of the chickens and ducks, thankfully) but today they are EVERYWHERE ... I tried to put on my shoes to go out and let the chickens into the run and feed them this morning, and I realized they were full of ants. OUCH!

And they are ALL OVER the kitchen too. I had to clean out all my food cupboards last week, but they are still searching for I don't know what.

At least that part makes sense. I still can't understand why they are in the closets, walking around all over my clean clothes.

And I guess I'm not the only one. I've had a lot of people at my work telling me that ants are invading their houses too, and not for food.

I hate ants. I'm about ready to move the chickens back into the house to take care of them.

trish

 

[Dawn419]

Quote:
We're having the ant attack here in Middle TN here too due to lack of rain. That's the only thing I can blame it on as we've been in the same place for 6 years, have never seen it this dry here in that time or had ants inside this bad and they are EVERYWHERE! right now. We use food grade Diatomaceous Earth against them and if I don't sprinkle/spread it daily, them we are overrun with them.

 

[RoyalHillsLLC]

Ants start coming indoors in hot weather looking for water. It is getting very dry outside. I would recommend one of two products for spraying inside your house, around your doors, windows, etc.
I use avery old, well tested chemistry called bifenthrin.
It is sold under a variety of brands at the big bixes, but the cheapest versions are usually at the local feed store. I buy Bifen I/T http://www.rrsi.com/index.php?act=products.view&pid=120
Another excellent product I switch too occasionally (it is good to change up so the insects don't develop any tolerances) is Viper, also known as Cypermethrin.
http://www.rrsi.com/index.php?act=products.view&pid=398

For your pets like cats and dogs, it is hard to beat the national brands of control products. I look for a chemistry called Fipronil in the flea and tick products like Frontline. It is the same active ingredient as in Over and Out Fire Ant killer.
It is the most used chemistry now by professionals because it works.
If you use something like DE on a pet this time of year, you must be very careful because it will dry out their skin. remember that it only kills by scratching and drying out insects. It will do that to anything it contacts until it gets wet.

 

[GoodEgg]

Funny, my boss said that she thought they were coming in to ESCAPE the water.

We've had a few bad storms and gotten a lot of rain, but honestly, the ground soaks it up pretty quick. They probably are coming inside looking for water.

I know I wet the ground in the run for the chicks about 4x a day some days, just to get them to come out of the coop.

Wish the stupid ants would just get in the duck pool and leave us alone.

I just don't get why they are in the closet, and stayed there for 2 weeks. I finally put baits in there, and I don't think it did anything. I think they died from lack of water. THEN the exterminator came. No ants there. Two days later, they were back.

Death to ants ...

trish