DO I HAVE to use DE?

[LynneP]

Keep in mind that food-grade diatomaceous earth is NOT an insecticide. It's a mineral made from microscopic sea creatures that have sharp edges. These sharp edges cut into the chiton of insects, mites and ticks and other things with 6 or 8 legs. So it's a physical agent, not a chemical one.

You've certainly eaten it if you have ever eaten bread, crackers or other things containing flour.


Some of us use food-grade DE in conjunction with insecticides like Dri-Kill (rotenone) and Sevin. Others add no-pest strips to keep the air saturated with materials like dichlorovos to control flies, mosquitoes, lice and ticks. BUt DE is not like these things. Used intelligently around perimeters, in cracks and crevices, in nest boxes, bedding, litter, on roosts and in conjunction with insecticides, it's an invaluable tool. It can be combined with insecticides though, if you check with experienced owners, and this has been discussed at length in many threads.

No, you don't have to use it. Some probably can't obtain it. I wouldn't be without it now, and I'm lucky to get poultry feed with DE as one of the additives. Our local feed mill has the district poultry feedmaster and he doesn't sell anything without DE in it.

 

[NYREDS]

I am approahing my 50th year of raising poultry & I have never & will never use DE in the manner promoted on this board. If you research the subject for information from people who are NOT trying to sell the stuff you'll find little support for some of the wild claims made about it.
As to wheather or not you have to use it, of course you don't. It's your choioce. I don't & my birds are healthy enough to compete successfully in poultry shows at the national level. I also very rarely lose a bird from anything other than old age. Can the DE boosters honestly say that?

 

[blueskylen]

Hi all, I have been using the DE since last April - bought a 50lb bag, and still have about a quarter to a third left. I use it sparingly, but still have no lice or mites on the chickens, and when the coop starts to smell a bit, clean it, and sprinkle it around. i use it sparingly in the sand run, and also add some stall dry there, and it really keeps the dampness and smell down.
I think if you can keep the coop and run relatively dry - that really helps with the bugs and smell.

when we have cornish x - i mostly use stall dry in their deep litter, as they don't scratch at it like my egg girls do.

I know it is a bit pricey, but you really don't have to use much of it to see and smell a difference.

 

[spookyevilone]

Quote:
I agree with NYREDS. DE is scary. It's microscopic and sharp on all edges, and kills bugs by cutting into them. If you breathe it in, it will do the same thing to the soft tissue of your lungs and create scarring and permanent lung damage. Gods help you if you get it in your eyes. It will even irritate skin. I read a page about someone who drank it to deworm themselves - it ended with the person still feeling weak and having upset bowels and I have to wonder if that ever resolved.

I'm glad people here aren't having those effects, but it personally scares the jeebers out of me and I won't go near it. I wouldn't put it in my cages because I have quail that dust bathe and kick up clouds of just regular pine dust. Wouldn't want scary sharp microscopic razor blades floating in the air for me to breathe.

This is my opinion and not a judgment of anyone that does use it.
-Spooky

 

[needmorechickens!]

I use it in the coop regularly and really like it. I sprinkle it in the shavings and their nest boxes and food.

I sprinkle it on my dog food and my horse food.

I don't use any commercial insecticides and none of my animals have worms or mites or fleas.

My mother sprinkles it on her yogurt and has done this for some time with no ill effect.

I am careful not to inhale it, but you should be careful not to inhale any small particles.

~Rebecca

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I used DE - and I will NEVER use it again.

well, I might use it in my garden soil, but certainly NOT on my chickens.

meri

 

[redhen]

i know for a fact it dosent kill ants....i sprinkled ALOT over my whole yard..and directly into the ant holes...it never worked...there were just as many ants as before..IMO it did nothing...

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

I use it in my chicken and rabbit pen and food..I also use it for my ownself..no I don't inhale it..try not to inhale the smoke that people smoke either..I use it on my yogurt also and I like the effects of it all way around. my rabbit poo/pee area don't stink although still clean it but everything stays dry..I personally see no harm in it I am not dead yet and no problems..

 

[crzychicken]

How do not inhale it if you use it? Will it stay heavy when it absorbers moisture? and isn't food grade safe if it's in food that is a powder like flour

 

[monarc23]

I use Stall Dry which has DE in it....I LOVE IT!

It keeps smell down. I use it for my birds AND my cats litter. Wonderful stuff