diatomaceous earth

[ga_goat]

I have had chickens for over 30 years and never heard of this stuff until I found this forum ,,,still don't think it is all that necessary. And they mine/dig the stuff less than 50 miles from my house ,,.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Actually it is organic, it's made from crushed up fossils....

It was "organic" until it was fossilized, at which point it became INorganic rock

Fossil:

The term fossil describes a wide range of natural artifacts. Generally speaking, a fossil is any evidence of past plant or animal life that is preserved in the material of the Earth's crust. But when most people talk about fossils, they mean a specific subsection of this group -- fossils in which the shape of the animal or plant has been preserved, while the actual organic matter of its body is gone.

In some cases, percolating water carried minerals into the mold. These minerals hardened to make a natural cast of the form, just as an artist might make a sculpture cast by filling a mold with plaster. All the original organic material disappeared, but nature left a precise mineral reproduction of the plant or animal remains. In cases where minerals did not fill the mold, paleontologists may fill it themselves, creating an artificial cast.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/evolution/question609.htm

Labeling it"organic" is more a sales gimmick than it is an accurate descripton..

No matter what anyone calls it , it still ends up being powdered rock​

 

[wanttobefarmer]

Hello Um i've only had my chickens for 5 months, but as the heat increased i've noticed alot of flies around so put food grade DE ( wich my husband calls powder because it's a mouthfull and we talk about it alot) and the flies are down. It also helps with mites and other hard bodied pests. Also it doesn't bother my composting.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

the flies are down. It also helps with mites and other hard bodied pests

That, along with it's drying properties, are the only proven uses for it.​

 

[dchickenman]

What I'd really like to know (and I don't mean to hijack the thread) is- how should "diatomaceous" be pronounced?

I had been saying "die at uh MAY shus" when I first read about it and started asking for it at feed stores. No one had a clue what I was talking about (just saying "DE" also got me nowhere). When I asked about it at Agway, the guy looked at me like I was a madman for a few seconds, then produced a bag of real, honest-to- goodness DE, saying "This what you're lookin for?" After many thank-yous I asked him how HE says it. He then rattled off a word that sounded NOTHING like what I had been saying. In truth, I can't even remember now how he pronounced it.

So, how do YOU say it?

 

[Rammy]

What is it used for? I just use lyme in my pens for the smells and flies.

Rammy

 

[superhornet]

Drying properties--yes---I suspect some claims for it are just wishful thinking. I use the deep litter method and mix it in with the pine shavings..does seem to keep the flies away.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Quote:
I do not have the "success" with it that others do with their chickens however it works fantastic around the house for the ants and in the garden. The bugs were going to town in the garden so I sprinkled lightly the garden and we are back to no holes in leaves and produce already.
I sprinkle it around the horse stalls and see a huge decrease of flys within a day.

I use the Permaguard food grade and pay 24.50 for a 50# bag which lasts us a year.

 

[77horses]

Just make sure it says "Food Grade" and NOT "Pool Grade". I'm glad I learned this a while ago on BYC because when I first got DE I got the wrong kind, but went back and got the right kind after someone on here told me that I had got the wrong kind. The Pool Grade kind has silica in it, which is poisonous if ingested. So don't buy it!

 

[Dora'smom]

Mine says food codex grade on the side, and it is exactly as you describe, white, soft, powder. I use it everywhere in the coop and run, and I'm taking the hint I read here to use it in the garden. It may really help some of my veggies, thanks!