What do you guys know about Diatomaceous Earth?

[wavector]

I was thinking about purchasing some food grade powder to rid my area of the apartments of insects including flies, slugs, roaches, ants, spiders and fleas.

 

[richtee]

Have heard of that...it's microscopically "spiky" Right? Runs the bugs thru? And non toxic of course. I know they used to make dynamite with it too, soaking it with nitroglycerine. I don't recommend you use it THAT way to get rid of the bugs, tho.

 

[fatback joe]

As far as I know, and I am not expert (did not even stay at a Holiday Inn last night), the only real hazard to people is for inhalation.

 

[navionjim]

I use it all the time in my swimming pool filter, it is the skeletal remains of thousands of years of plankton mined from areas that used to be sea bottom. It is snow white in color and available in different grades for filtration purposes. The cheapest place to get it is a pool supply store. As Joe said it is an inhalation hazard, and yes it is also the solid material Nobel originally mixed with nitro to make dynamite.

 

[jocosa]

It's also used as a filtering/refining agent in brewing. It's a key ingredient in Sparkaloid, a fining agent used often in meads and wines.

 

[ajthepoolman]

Damn, navionjim beat me too it. They call me "pool man" for a reason! 10 years selling, building and servicing those things.

DE is good for bugs because the small particles litterally suffocate the bugs. Since many of them breath through their exoskeleton, it basically covers them and they can't breath.

It is also good for swimming pools if you ever have that problem!

Wear a mask while putting it down though. It can get into your lungs and get quite irritating.

 

[navionjim]

Damn, navionjim beat me too it. They call me "pool man" for a reason! 10 years selling, building and servicing those things.

Sorry AJ, but just the same, "Naner-Naner-Naner"!
Jimbo

Guess I should have left that one for you.......

 

[seaham358]

I use it in a diatom filter for my reef tanks.. It cleans the water like nothing else.. never heard of using it for bugs.. I may have to try that on the ants I get sometimes..

 

[ajthepoolman]

Hey! Not very becoming of a OTBS member!!

That is what I get for working! I should of been browsing the SMF instead!

 

[navionjim]

OK! Ya burned me back, I should have been working.....

 

[goat]

I have used that for years. I have put it on dogs that itch, I have sprinkled it under goat sheds to control flies, I mix it in with the minerals that are kept out for the goats to control internal parasites, I have also used it to cure several skin disorders on my goats that the vets cannot cure. If I had some creepy crawlers on me, I would not hesitate to give myself a good dusting with it. It is a homeopathic cure for a lot of things.