Diatomaceous Earth

[jermoatc]

Has anyone used food grade DE as a wormer for your birds? If so is it effective and how much do you give them? Im assuming you just sprinkle it on their food.

 

[CMV]

Double post.

Ineffective as soon as it becomes wet. The inside of a chicken is wet, so it is useless as a wormer.

Sorry. Would that it were so easy.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

DE does not kill internal parasites

 

[angusshangus]

It does make a terrific drying agent in your coop though! Keeps the smell down and makes cleaning easier.

 

[cgmccary]

No use as a de-wormer. I use food grade DE on the Fire Ant beds, and it is pretty effective for that - I dump a lot on a hill & it eventually kills them. I put it in the chicken dust holes, but it is no more effective at de-lousing/ mites than good dirt & quartz sand.

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
I use DE in my coop and in my duck feed. It dries out the poop and keeps the duck feed dry. What would make someone think it is ineffective when wet. It still has the same properties that it did when dry. Yeah sure it isn't drying things out once wet. Some believe it is a good preventive for worms others don't to each their own. I use it and have never had worms

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

What would make someone think it is ineffective when wet.

Because it kills by DEHYDRATING insects.
It can't dehydrate anything if it's already wet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Pest control

Diatomite is used as an insecticide, due to its physico-sorptive properties. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate.[9]

Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion. This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low.

Some believe it is a good preventive for worms others don't to each their own.

"Beliefs" have nothing to do with science, and science says it doesn't kill internal parasites

I use it and have never had worms

I don't use it , and haven't had worms either.​

 

[Ariel301]

Agreed, it does not work internally. If you want to go a "natural" route with your deworming, (if you even need to deworm) there are plenty of herbal options that are effective.

Quote:
I've never seen an elephant in my spinach garden, so spinach must repel them...

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
I've never seen an elephant in my spinach garden, so spinach must repel them...

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I've never seen an elephant in my spinach garden, so spinach must repel them

They're fooling you by hiding behind the leaves