With great respect, I can find a study or a report or an expert to support my own theories. So I never put much store in links to studies that folks send out. Any of us can Google or Bing, find what we already think “verified” and share that. As a newspaper columnist, I’ve had to learn to Google minimally, to select links that disagree with what my preconceived ideas are, and then make my own determination.
All I can go with is my personal experience. When I have a bandana over my mouth and nose because the bag told me to, but I’m expecting my chickens to live in it, that’s an issue. So I choose not to risk it. If others want to use it, they are certainly welcome to. It is relatively effective UNTIL there’s a full blown infestation. Then it takes a lot more than DE to get that stopped. DE can be a preventative, but it Just isn’t a cure.
What I’ve found is that using stuff likes hat gives chicken owners a false sense of security. It happened to me. “Oh, my chickens will never get mites because I use DE.” So I wasn’t vigilant. I assumed the bag was in charge. So I never thought to check my chickens for mites. That was solely on me and my belief in all the hype I’d read that said it was the best preventative ever. It ain’t. It took weeks of treatment to get them under control. Part of the treatment involved removing the old litter.....the litter that was full of both DE and mites. That’s MY personal experience. As they say, “your results may vary”.
All I can go with is my personal experience. When I have a bandana over my mouth and nose because the bag told me to, but I’m expecting my chickens to live in it, that’s an issue. So I choose not to risk it. If others want to use it, they are certainly welcome to. It is relatively effective UNTIL there’s a full blown infestation. Then it takes a lot more than DE to get that stopped. DE can be a preventative, but it Just isn’t a cure.
What I’ve found is that using stuff likes hat gives chicken owners a false sense of security. It happened to me. “Oh, my chickens will never get mites because I use DE.” So I wasn’t vigilant. I assumed the bag was in charge. So I never thought to check my chickens for mites. That was solely on me and my belief in all the hype I’d read that said it was the best preventative ever. It ain’t. It took weeks of treatment to get them under control. Part of the treatment involved removing the old litter.....the litter that was full of both DE and mites. That’s MY personal experience. As they say, “your results may vary”.
