DO I HAVE to use DE?

[Mrs MIA]

I'm not exactly sure why it would keep the smell down... it's inert.

But, it does help keep small critters to a minimum. I think that the best part is that because it is a physical agent it works whether it's wet or dry. I've used it to dust for lice on my chickens, but when you have a lot of birds it is a lot of work, and you can't avoid inhaling it without a mask. There are other natural powders out there that work as insecticides, and the Stall-Dri does work to keep the moisture down, though I've not had very good luck with it this year. I have also used the lime in my dropping pits to keep the ammonia down, since it was enclosed and the birds couldn't step in it. Now I have a dropping board under the roosts covered with vinyl... I just scrape off the droppings each day and it keeps the coop drier and cleaner. Well, it does when all 30 of them aren't locked up inside because of the cold...

 

[monarc23]

dunno it keeps the smell down for me, im sold i'll never use store cat litter again is all i can say lol i still have to clean my indoor quail home everyday (litter scoup out the poo) but still its awesome IMO.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
i DO use stall dry and sweet PDZ in my coop ...and goat barn....and it does help with smell and moisture....BUT..i dont think its its the DE in it...because i have also used straight DE in my coop..and it did nothing...so..its the other ingredients in the stall dry that work..IMO...

 

[amamaofmany]

I know the stores sell talcum powder in foot powder & body powder and that shouldn't be breathed either. But if you do choose to use it, you will breathe some of it in.

I've not used food grade DE on chickens as I have yet to get any, but I have used it in the house.

When we bought this house, it was FULL of both silverfish and those creepy, crawly centapedes that look like moving Groucho Marx Moustaches (which like to eat silverfish). Those moving moustaches bite and leave welts. And they were in the attic and in the basement and in the pantry and it was GROSS. And there were ants that got into the pantry through cracks in the the concrete walls. There were little fleas in the areas where the dogs slept.

Well, we have a lot of kids and pets and I don't want to use pesticides in the house if I don't have to.

I got DE and sprinkled it in the basement in the corners, esp in the little cracks in the cement where the insects seemed to run when they discerned an oncoming shoe. I put it in the pantry along the walls under the food and storage shelves and in the attic. We also found that a room under the garage (that is against the basement walls) has dirt floors and it was full of wood. We're putting wood- board floors down there because of the dust - and the silver fish and moustaches were all over that room, too. After the dirt floor was leveled in each section, DE was spread on top of the dirt and under the boards and along the cracks of the walls to prevent the critters from living under the new flooring. It also went in the carpeting under the blankets and pillows the dogs sleep on.

We don't see any silver fish or moustaches in the house now and not an ant in the pantry, few fleas in the house. One happy, mostly insect free family, no pesticides.

DE will kill ants, but you have to kill the queen if you want to take out a whole ant colony or she just keeps laying more eggs (the tramp!) and eventually the DE is worked into the soil enough that none of the insects make contact with it. There is a baited DE, which (supposedly) entices insects to eat it, but I haven't seen ants taking it in. I do know they won't walk over it if its in their way, just as they won't walk over talcum powder. I wish they made a DE baited for ants, because my brother has fire ants all over his yard in North Carolina, and it would be nice if he had some stealthy way to kill them so they didn't think they were being poisoned and move their colony.

I think its nice to have a product that kills bugs but isn't poisonous, but like anything, you have to have sense about it and be careful how you use it and where. My little guys couldn't get into the DE, where I put it, because I didn't want them eating it or playing in it so its in cracks and behind furniture and appliances, but I also didn't want one of the moustaches biting them, so it is also under the carpet at the perimeter of the bedrooms, again where they can't see it and don't walk on it to kick it up. They could get to the DE if they lifted the carpet, or moved a book case, but the thought of little guys having one of those crawly things running across his face at night outweighed the problem of them getting into the nonpoisonous DE.

Its not necessary, but its an option you have if you think you have a need for it.

 

[Dawn419]

Quote:
No, you don't have to use Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth, it is purely a personal preference, as several members have stated.

I choose to use it as I spent alot of time reading about it before I got back into chickens in 2007, and to me, it is less harmful as opposed to other things that I could be using.

I've been using it around our 2 acres only where and when it is needed and in moderation. I wish that those that are so against it would provide a link/links for the information that they've read that has turned them against it, as I've provided links in my BYC Food Grade DE page (linked above in light blue) as to why I am for it. I am not a sales person for it but I'm not shy of about posting why I use it if someone asks about it, either

I add 1 cup of food grade DE to every 50 pound bag of feed that we buy to keep the feed free of bugs.

I dust it atleast once a week or bi-weekly, weather depending, in our coops, runs and under the rabbit hutches to keep the smell down, poo dried up and flies at bay.

We have major ant problems, indoors and outdoors. I dust it strategically inside and out (I do walk the yard and heavily dust any anthills that I find close to our home, they can have the rest of the yard)...and the ant problem isn't anywhere near what it used to be in or around our trailer.

My chickens have never been plagued with mites, lice, fleas or worms since I've been using food grade DE but our landlady can't get rid of any of these problems (turned her on to food grade DE, she's in her late 80's and would rather stick with her "old school" methods.).

DE is basically small, "diatoms/algae". Aquatic alga is kind of like lawn grass or field grass (for those not into aqariums). I can't count the number of times I've been cut by grass blades, either green or dried. It's the same with diatoms/alga that food grade DE is made of.

I have done DE in water for a whitewash in our coops on the roosts and when the water evaporates, you are left with DE behind just like there was never water added in the first place. I can post pictures of this experiment but is it really evidence? To me, yes, to others, probably not. (Will post those experiment pix later today, haven't found them yet but I know I've got them).

Not done with this post yet but it's late and my eyes and hands are tired.


To be continued....


Dawn

 

[()relics]

...mix it with your kitty litter and never worry about Fluffy bringing in any unwanted hitchhikers...without pouring some horrible chemical all over her....

 

[jhc]

Been using it for 2 yrs. Good stuff. Opinions vary as you can see.

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

I drink the stuff, where I got it from I had sent them an email asking how much I should take as I wanted to get the benefits from it too. and they told me first few days teaspoon and after a few days 1 tablespoon..has silica in too and that is good for a lot of things.. people that has had cancer has used it and there cancer is gone now..so many things person can use for besides the animals..it is not a chemical not unless buy for your swimming pool and that is..I use the food grade meaning it can be taken internally and will not harm chicks or people..I love the effects from it...can't be anyworse than the cigarette smoke people inhale from smoking not smoking enough of it and it has poisons in it..

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

www.earthworkshealth.com this is where I get mine from and anyone can go there and read the testimonials of the product and read about it also. No one has to use it if they don't want to..

Shucks some of the stuff I use to soak clothes Oxi Clean in washer I have to hold back from as that stuff just chokes me bad

 

[Dawn419]

A continuation from my above post...

The Wet/Dry Experiment (forgot to take measurements/ratios of DE to water so will be doing this one again. Doh!):

Dry food grade DE:



Water added to food grade DE (roughly half DE, half water):



Several days of natural water evaporation from the DE:



Several months after all of the water had evaporated, I was left with what I added to ths saucer to begin with, food grade DE:





I add a teaspoonful to 8 ounces of yogurt and do my best to eat this everyday. Since I've been following this regime, I've noticed a lack of monthly cramps and my "plumbing" has been much more regular than before I began taking food grade DE internally. Food grade DE contains 15 trace minerals(scroll about half way down the page to Mineralization) and I was told by a foot reflexologist that the monthly cramps are usually caused by a mineral deficiency.

Hope this is some help!


Dawn