My view is that it is part of integrated pest management. If see a specific pest I will not hesitate to use the appropriate insecticide or wormer while continuing to utilize food-grade DE. My situation was ideal- I had new ground for the hens, and by pre-treating the coop and run I was in a situation to prevent trouble. I use another preventive too- a dichlorovos-based no-pest strip high in the porch of the coop to catch any flying insects that might be headed for the hens.
Concerning worms- earthworms are annelids and structured differently from soil nematodes and the various worms found in the guts of chickens. Earthworms are quite complex by comparison.
It takes about 12 hours for food-grade DE to kill an external pest, and the pieces of diatoms are often shaped like cylinders or those Chex cereal bits. They act a lot like a cheese grater on the chiton (exterior wall) of insects and arachnids. So you're not getting an instant kill by any means, but if something has entered the coop or landed on a bird, it probably isn't going to survive to reproduce. I use 4 cups on the coop floor and bedding when setting up a 10x10 space from scratch, and about 2 cups when adding a new bale.
Most of the agricultural research concerning food-grade DE has been conducted on stored grains, and is comprehensive. I'd love to see results of research on poultry but frankly I wouldn't want to participate in anything that deliberately infests the birds.
It's like anything else- you believe or you don't. Heck some people are still arguing about the moon landing. This is a forum so we get to discuss our views without having to prove anything. Use it or don't use it. Of course most of us have been eating it in grain-based foods since the 1950's. Would you prefer to use malathion? Ahem.
These are worth reading
www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/research/ardi/projects/98-063.html
http://www.ublcorp.com/diatomaceousearth.html
and this is a bibliography of other noteworthy articles concerning food-grade DE-
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-54482460.html
(thanks, Opa!)
Concerning worms- earthworms are annelids and structured differently from soil nematodes and the various worms found in the guts of chickens. Earthworms are quite complex by comparison.
It takes about 12 hours for food-grade DE to kill an external pest, and the pieces of diatoms are often shaped like cylinders or those Chex cereal bits. They act a lot like a cheese grater on the chiton (exterior wall) of insects and arachnids. So you're not getting an instant kill by any means, but if something has entered the coop or landed on a bird, it probably isn't going to survive to reproduce. I use 4 cups on the coop floor and bedding when setting up a 10x10 space from scratch, and about 2 cups when adding a new bale.
Most of the agricultural research concerning food-grade DE has been conducted on stored grains, and is comprehensive. I'd love to see results of research on poultry but frankly I wouldn't want to participate in anything that deliberately infests the birds.
It's like anything else- you believe or you don't. Heck some people are still arguing about the moon landing. This is a forum so we get to discuss our views without having to prove anything. Use it or don't use it. Of course most of us have been eating it in grain-based foods since the 1950's. Would you prefer to use malathion? Ahem.
These are worth reading
www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/research/ardi/projects/98-063.html
http://www.ublcorp.com/diatomaceousearth.html
and this is a bibliography of other noteworthy articles concerning food-grade DE-
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-54482460.html
(thanks, Opa!)
Last edited:
