Diatomaceous earth--- Really that harmless?????

[centrarchid]

Yep...any bug that is hygienic can be killed by DE and that includes the honey bees and other great pollinators and beneficial insects.  

Where are you getting this information with respect to honey bees and insects in general?

 

[Beekissed]

A simple search can yield thousands of hits on it..and these are just a few of the sites that are huge promoters of using DE for an insecticide, but also include a disclaimer about using it around bees and other beneficial insects. Oddly enough I didn't find one hit that said DE was good for bees and even when using it for hive beetles it was to be used only in the bottom of the hive~below the bottom screen~ and with great caution.


http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/organic-farming-for-bees-xerces-society.pdf

Try page 12 on that link.....I think the heading on that chart is labeled "highly toxic".

http://www.ehow.com/how_7735264_kill-bees-diatomaceous-earth.html

Quote:
http://www.safesolutionsinc.com/Diatomaceous_Earth.htm
Quote:
http://www.norganics.com/products/pestcontrol/diatomaceous-earth.html
Quote:

 

[centrarchid]

I did a simple search. My criteria for credible sources make so further investigation is needed. There is a great noteable lack of agreement among sources and the page 12 example above indicates that as well. Actual assays for toxicity are what is needed which are likely out there but and they should be used to back up your assertions.

 

[Beekissed]

No one is making any assertions, merely comments. This is not a scientific case study or even a board of doctors deciding on an issue...it's merely common, every day people having a discussion about DE. As usual...it's a chicken forum. Not a think tank comprised of geniuses with degrees out the ying yang and yards of data to wipe that ying yang upon.

Again, if you'd like to provide information of the kind you so desire, please feel free to do so, but in the absence of that information being readily available to the masses we all have to make our own judgement call from the information we find. You are free to throw large quantities of the DE around your chicken coop and gardens, while dancing under the "harmless" shower of it and singing "Dancin' in the Rain" if you so desire, no one's twisting your arm to stop using it. It's your right to make that judgement call on your own.

And I will glean what information is available and avoid using it for all and sundry things, as is per my privilege to do so....that is, if you don't mind?

 

[eggsellentfarms]

Chewing tobacco is also completely organic and besides powered chewing tobacco aka snuff is a powerful pesticide as well as a proven cariogenic. The jury however is still out on DE's effectiveness as a pesticide but its value as a cariogenic is proven beyond a doubt.

Besides lung cancer Diatomaceous Earth causes silicosis and other lung illnesses. A more accurate name for Diatomaceous Earth is "Silicone Dioxide." But that name hides some of the health risks of Silicone Dioxide by implying that it is just dirt, as harmless as mothers' milk. Nothing is further from the truth.

Here is a research paper from the Center for Disease Control dealing with the cancer risks for workers in the Silicone Dioxide mining industry. It appears that you may use Silicone Dioxide (DE) in a careless manner for up to 10 years before your lung cancer risks rise by 50% or more.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/awards/hamilton/pdfs/crystal-silica.pdf

This risk is in addition to the risk of falling ill from silicosis that Silicone Dioxide imposes on men and women involved in the open pit mining of Diatomaceous Earth.

I will go out on a limb here and predict that in the future you will see TV ads from law firms urging you (or your love ones) to apply for benefits due because of fatal lung cancer and silicosis induced illness, just like the ads you currently see targeting the families for asbestos induced mesothelioma victims.
Thanks for your informative post. I hope people will take it seriously, I've seen so many posts with quotes like, "I've been using for 4 years without any problems." But just because something is "natural", or "organic", or "food grade" doesn't mean it is inherently safe.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I see you all saying you use DE in their dust baths but does anyone actually use it to dust the chickens with?

Also, can you use to much? I use it dust my chickens and it seems to fill the coop. I do it at night and them in the morning when I let them out the coop is filled with DE?? That's bad right

?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... I use it dust my chickens and it seems to fill the coop. I do it at night and them in the morning when I let them out the coop is filled with DE?? That's bad right

?

The lungs or air sacks of chickens and birds are some of the most fragile internal organs of any animal. If it were not so coal miners would have carried live beavers or small oxen into the coal mines to gauge whether the air was deadly. Instead these intrepid miners carried a small bird, the proverbial "Canary in the coal mine" simply because birds are more susceptible to lung damage from tiny amounts of methane or other air pollutants that are un-detectable to humans or other animals. Remember all the Dr. Oz' types in the world were lying to you when they said that lard and butter was bad for you and Sunflower, sesame, corn, and canola oil would save you from a fate worst than death. They did this simply to sell the unwary snake oil remedies in the form of: books, CDs, paten medicines, and TV ads to lure the unwary into attending their seminars.

Caveat Emptor or maybe.... ​

coicio coicere cojeci cojectus is a better idiom.

 

[bevis]

Here is the product ingredient description from manna pro DE


Synonyms for Active Ingredient: Silicon dioxide
Chemical Name
Amorphous silicon dioxide
Celite
Diatomaceous earth


it would appear that the manna pro brand is NOT food grade.

its my understanding that food grade DE is NOT Silicon Dioxide


Anyone to verify this ? ? ? ?

 

[reann34]

I use DE on my tomato plants and it kills the tomato worm. All that is left is the skeleton. I also mix it with wood shavings for the hens. So far they don't seem affected.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm wondering if your pollinators are affected.