Diatomaceous Earth (DE) Questions and Comments

[patandchickens]

"Feed grade" is virtually-certainly food grade i.e. the stuff you want. It's commonly added to feed grains/pellets for animals as a drying and bug-discouraging agent.

Pat

 

[ivan3]

Follow the the links from post#33 in this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=123057&p=4

 

[dawnjoennikki98]

That's where I order mine from Wolfcreekranch.com . Most of the time, what you find at feed stores is the safe kind.
The Non food grade stuff is sold in pool supply stores, for pool chemicals, and that stuff is NOT safe for consumption lol.
The food grade, you just have to be careful you don't breath it in. use a mask over your mouth and nose while handling. I use it every day in my duck pen, especially now that we have tons of snow, and they can't come out of their coop too much

...

I have a dilemma actually with my DE. previously I had only ordered the prefilled shake jars of it. But to save money, i decided to just order a big bag.... so now I make a huge mess every time i fill up a shake jar!! Any advice from anyone on a better way to do it? the bag is so heavy i can't lift it or anything to transfer it into a bin

sorry to hyjack the thread!!

Dawn

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

the company said there is over 500 differnt combo around.

There are only 2 types of DE

The word "combo" means they have added other ingredients to the mix.

Unless you want to kill some hard shelled insects, or absorb some moisture, DE probably won't do what you think it will anyway, since those are the only two things it's been proven to accomplish​

 

[jason_mazzy]

Napa auto parts sells a pure 100% DE under part number:8822

I use this in my Bonsai applications.

"it lead me to contact a mineral mine in Nevada and I found out that NAPA auto parts sells their freshwater diatomaceous earth as an oil absorber.
It is 100% Diatomaceous earth and is sold under the NAPA store brand name and comes in a 25 lb bags. it is around 6$ per bag and works awesome!! Make sure to get the 25 lb bag and double check the back of the bag and make sure it says diatomaceous earth in the small print. NAPA Auto Parts stores are all over the US and anyone should be relatively close to one."

You can also use it by rinsing the small size rocks and making a spray with a water bottle. "the murky water that is left after one initially rinses the diatomaceous earth for the first time is actually a mechanical pesticide. I spray the liquid on my trees if they get aphids and the aphids are gone the next day. The sharp microscopic edges of the Diatoms cut through the exoskeleton of the insect causing them to dry out and die."

Now this is in small crushed form, not pulverized and powdered.

hope this helps.

 

[dawnjoennikki98]

Quote:
There are only 2 types of DE

The word "combo" means they have added other ingredients to the mix.

Unless you want to kill some hard shelled insects, or absorb some moisture, DE probably won't do what you think it will anyway, since those are the only two things it's been proven to accomplish

I use it to absorb moisture (i have ducks ) and to prevent bugs.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Chad, it sounds like you have found the right type of DE.