Can I use DE in the coop if I am organic?

[revelu]

so the difference between food-grade and non-food-grade is the size of the particles? or the food-grade has no silica at all?

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
just to add to that, pool grade DE is treated with both heat and chemicals and has a much greater concentration of free silica, making it a much nastier creature. my understanding is that food grade DE has something like 3% free silica, while pool DE has a whopping 70%!

 

[revelu]

ok, that makes sense, so do the packages state how much is free silica?

 

[setter4]

I just went to Lowe's and got the only DE they had and it's garden type but is also marked organic.
I needed something TODAY and that's the only olace open. I seem to have gotten some straw with STRAW ITCH MITES in it and YUCK!!! I have been washing everything in the house in Clorox and needed to do something in the coop and since it's Sunday my options were limited. I hope the garden DE doesn't hurt the hens but I couldn't wait ! I put it in the coop, in the run and in their dust bath.
If you have ever had these yucky mites you will understand why I was in a RUSH!!

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
that i do not know. it should, particularly since it's food grade. one would think that rating would be regulated by the FDA and require labeling.

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
Sevin dust would kill the mites.

 

[MissPrissy]

I only use PermaGuard. 99.0 - 99.5% pure DE Codex Grade.

 

[revelu]

when you use Sevin dust, are you applying it to the chickens or just to the bedding and run areas?

 

[MissPrissy]

I powder up the chickens and dust the bedding.

 

[spatcher]

The important thing you need to know is the crystalline silica content of the DE - There is a bit of confusion with the different kinds on the market. Pool grade DE has between 65-75% crystalline silica in it and it can and will destroy your lungs if you breathe it. PermaGuard Food Grade (also called fossil shell flour) has less than one half of one percent crystalline silica in it and is safe when a common sense approach is taken. If you have asthma, emphsema or any other lung ailments then use it cautiously. Not because of the crystalline silica in it but because in these conditions, you wouldnt want to be breathing any kind of dust. On the other hand, some other brands actually start out with food grade DE but then add other substances to it such as red clay or perethrin (insecticide) so you have to be careful there. Also, if thats not confusing enough, PermaGuard Food Grade is also listed as D-10 on their website. They also sell D-20 which is food grade mixed with perethrins! And, to boot, there are salespeople in the grain stores that do not know the difference!!!