How do you use DE?

[Lollipop]

Have any of you that use DE ever had lice/mites? Ya know not everyone has experienced a problem with the little vampires. I`ve had many, over the years and have never seen a case where DE has accomplished anything, other than costing a great deal of money and giving folks a false since of security. I`d be willing to bet that folks that reccommend DE have learned what they "know" from other posts and have never had a lice/mite infestation. My humble opinion, it`s a waste of money.......Pop

 

[wyododge]

Nope. No real evidence to support either way I suppose. We use DE and have never had them. I will tell you that my vet saw me using it on my cows and asked what the heck I was doing. I fogged their coats and put it in their food for a few weeks. Mostly for worms and flies. The flies literally disappear when you put it on their coats, and don't return for quite a while. We missed a couple and you can see the difference, and they tested negative for worms after their treatment.

We used it on the garden for grasshoppers this year, they were really bad. Their population was significantly reduced as well.

We also sprinkle it in the coop as a drying agent and odor absorption.

Not scientific by any means, but a 50 lb bag is 30 bucks. We use maybe 2 a year. Not a huge investment for all the benefits we get from it. One bottle of Ivermectin costs about the same and is pretty toxic, and it does not have the other benefits that DE does. I personally don't like how it affects the cows, it makes them dull for quite a few days and can't be good for the calf inside them or nursing from them.

Seems like a good practice to me.

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Did your cows test for worms before the DE treatment? Everything I`ve seen on it says that it is innefective for anything if it gets wet and it stands to reason that the inside of a cow is wet. Also read that it doesn`t affect critters with exoskelletons, which must be the reason it doesn`t work on lice/mites. I just hear all the praise for a product that has done nothing for me. I`ve been using Sevin dust for 53 years and it has done everything I`ve asked it to do and even proven safe for broodies with chicks. I would like to hear some others that have used DE successfully, though..........Pop

 

[wyododge]

Quote:
Did your cows test for worms before the DE treatment? Everything I`ve seen on it says that it is innefective for anything if it gets wet and it stands to reason that the inside of a cow is wet. Also read that it doesn`t affect critters with exoskelletons, which must be the reason it doesn`t work on lice/mites. I just hear all the praise for a product that has done nothing for me. I`ve been using Sevin dust for 53 years and it has done everything I`ve asked it to do and even proven safe for broodies with chicks. I would like to hear some others that have used DE successfully, though..........Pop

Yes cows have worms every year after a wet spring, one of the problems with raising them on fenced pastures and not being able to roam on 5 gazilion square miles of land like they were designed. I have read just the opposite as you. On two points. 1. It's main use is as an insecticide is for insects with exoskeletons, it scratches the wax coating off the exoskeletons of the insect and this causes them to dehydrate. 2. DE is not soluble in water and therefor getting it wet has no ill affect, I actually put it in a spray bottle to apply it to nest boxes, helps it get into the cracks and crevices. DE is also an EPA approved insecticide. Not all bags have the label, but if requested you can have it labeled. Many farmers use DE in silos and elevators to reduce insect loss. In barley used for beer, it is becoming ever more popular as the insects can not develop an immunity as with chemical insecticides and it is SIGNIFICANLTY more effective than chemical control, is cheaper, and safer for the end user (me and you). DE is a mechanical insecticide, and therefore must be used through several life cycles. In the event of a major outbreak, it may not be effective, I dunno I have never had one. It does not do anything to eggs that is vey true, thus the requirement to kill the adults through several generations. My mother uses Sevin as well and has been very happy with it for years also.

Internally they are really not sure of the mechanics behind the killing of parasites, the most recent thinking is that the DE has an opposite charge to that of the internal parasite and it literally drains the energy out of them. Some believe that it has a similar affect to exoskeletal insects outside the environment. I don't know either way, I just know that it works. I have seen it. Yes it does take a while, but you can eat it, that right there makes it my first weapon of choice.

 

[Duker17]

I use DE with my dogs, cats and horses as a dewormer.

I had a horse, that despite all attempts to get some weight on her, was still too skinny for my tastes. I started feeding a tablespoon or so with some grain and within a month she was back to a much healthier weight. I assume that the DE is what helped, but I suppose it could have been some other factor I wasn't considering.

It has also gotten rid of worms in one of my cats and dog.

I've never used it with my chickens or turkeys, so I have no experience with it there, but I have also used it as a fly "dust" for my horses like wyododge did for their cows. We also noticed a decrease in the amount of flies this summer.

So, given that I can pay $30 for a 50 lb bag that lasts forever versus paying for dewormer (approx $10 per animal) plus fly spray ($15-20 per bottle), I will obviously take the cheaper route.

 

[Hunter0704]

LOLLYPOP...I would like to hear more about using Sevin...I have ducklings and chicks 9 weeks old and keep seeing everywhere, it seems, people are using DE and I'm beginning to think I should be using it too until I saw your post about Sevin. In what form do you buy it, liquid or dust? How do you apply it? I have pea gravel in my run, so do I put it there too and how much, it is 12 x 6 feet. Should it be added to nests also? I have Equine Pellets on the floor of the coop so it is never wet...always dry, especially since I moved the ducklings under the coop with their own nests, in a 6'x4' area with three sides protected from very windy weather we get here on the hill we live on. Would like to hear your comments.

I had chickens for about a year before and never wormed them, never used DT, or any chemicals for them...didn't know I was supposed to....they were healthy as heck and layed lots of eggs daily...they were RIR.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Internally they are really not sure of the mechanics behind the killing of parasites, the most recent thinking is that the DE has an opposite charge to that of the internal parasite and it literally drains the energy out of them.

Some believe that it has a similar affect to exoskeletal insects outside the environment. I don't know either way, I just know that it works. I have seen it. Yes it does take a while, but you can eat it, that right there makes it my first weapon of choice.

Every scientific study has shown they ARE SURE it will not kill internal parasites.

Drains the energy out of them?

It must be magic, huh?​

 

[smalltownchicks]

If I lived down the road from Meyer Hatchery (that's where I ordered my girls from), I'd be down there all of the time and I know I'd have way more than 7....such restraint!!

 

[dawg53]

Here's a thread that proves DE and other organics dont kill worms in chickens:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=576036

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
You have an email......Pop