Diatomaceous Earth

[speckledhen]

If a hardware store carries it, it is NOT food grade. Look at the ingredients. If it says 85% silicon, it is NOT to be used around your birds or in their feed. If it says 1% silicon and FOOD CHEMICAL CODEX GRADE, it is food grade DE.

 

[jnjross]

my mom worked for cargil making de the kind that hd and hardware stores have. she had to wear a tyvek suit with hood face shield bootie and chem proof elbow gloves. so it must be really dangerous

 

[WikkitGateFarm]

Quote:
Not really, as long as you don't inhale it. A bit like water that way. All that gear is to prevent skin irritation (the scratchy means it's working!) and keep dust out of the lungs.

DE is plankton shells, (diatoms, genus Bacillariophyceae, which is a really fun word to say). It's almost entirely silica (which is not silicon).

Problem is, DE gets processed for several different uses. It's an anti-caking agent in food, a pool filtration medium, a spill-cleanup powder, and a pesticide, among other things. Each of these uses gets processed a little differently, and sometimes the DE gets other additives. The spill cleanup powder is made to absorb liquid, and it often has some other things in there to help. The pesticide can have all sorts of other things with it. the food additive has 98% or more of some other granular or powdery stuff (baking soda, salt, sugar, flour, etc.)

How do you know which one to get? READ THE LABEL!. If it says use it on poultry or on poultry bedding, or in poultry food, great. Use it. Only where the label says to. If not, don't.

 

[duck_nutt]

some of the members who have been here a while help me out..Who was the lady who pretty much claimed DE would just about cure anything...said she used it in her house for roaches and such, and she ate some herself for certain things...i can't remember her name....

 

[jemagsy]

Thank you so much guys! Im going to call one of custom millings listed dealer stores/people tomorrow and see if they are still selling & send my husband by as he passes right by that town everyday.

We greatly appreciate all your knowledge and you helping to protect our babies!

 

[nccountrygirl]

Good Luck with Custom Milling Dealers. I have called everyone in NC and all they are dealers of is their feed. So I called them this morning and ordered 50#, it cost with shipping 45.56 but will last probably 6 months.

 

[priszilla]

my 2nd favorite feed store can get it for me $55/50 #.I am going to see if I can get it cheaper shipped
- plus I willl ask at another feed store that has a bigger selection

 

[speckledhen]

My local Custom Milling Dealer just asked them to put a couple bags on the next delivery truck for us. They may not usually have it, but they can get it, if they will.

 

[spatcher]

I will be selling DE in about a week or so. 5 and 10 pound amounts. If what you bought does not say "Codex - food grade only", stay away from it! The food grade that I will be selling is made by "Perma Guard" and is the best on the market. Handling and breathing the dust from anything other than the food grade can be hazardous to your health. The food grade can be handled as you would baking flour unless you are suseptible to any fine powder such as asthma, emphasema or any other type of lung or bronchial problems. If you are interested in the food grade, please PM me and I will let you know when I am up and running. Cost will be $18.20 for 5# and 26.45 for 10#. Will be shipped priority mail with 2 or 3 day delivery time. I understand the food grade can be hard to come by and I am not trying to make a killing here. Covering my cost and time expended to make sure anyone that needs it a good price can get it. Just let me know if you are interested.

 

[Half-a-dozen]

how often r u suppose to apply it???
Tx