A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 Diatomaceous Earth

Has anyone used this to control insects? I am going to give it a try. Had to order it off the internet as i could find no store in my area that sells the product. Do not use the pool kind as that is treated for pool use and will not work for bugs. Read up on it on a search engine. It sure sounds like a good killer for ants. Ordering off the net took some searching for the cheapest shipping price, but eventually i found a decent cost.

Erak,
I can't remember if anyone's used it,
I do know if you type in the words,
Diatomaceous Earth on the FORUM SEARCH
it'll bring up a few of our conversations
about it, lots in the "slug" catagories....

Make sure you SEARCH ALL OPEN FORUMS.

Weezie

Hi there!

i was turned on to DE by Howard Garrett, a local organic specialist. here is the link:

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/index.php

You can go to the information center or any area really an do a search.
a few of the things I found there, follow:

"Most ants in the garden are either beneficial or just a nuisance. The three most troublesome in north Texas are odorous ants, fire ants and various carpenter ants. Fire ants are best controlled with mound drenches of citrus-based products. Garden-Ville Auntie Fuego and GreenSense Soil Drench are the commercial products but the formula for a homemade version is on my web site http://www.dirtdoctor.com/. Beneficial nematodes and going totally organic is the rest of the fire ant program that really works. Odorous ants, similar to carpenter ants, are best controlled with Abemectin baits. Sugar ants and other house ants can be controlled in the house with baking soda, cinnamon dust, tansy leaves, citrus oil sprays or baits made from sugar with a little bit of boric acid. My most recent tip is black pepper also seems to work. If you have ants and other troublesome insects in the attic ? dust with a mix of cinnamon and natural diatomaceous earth. Hot pepper dusts or liquid sprays also work.

Natural diatomaceous earth or DE is the remains of microscopic one-celled plants called diatoms and contains silica, aluminum, iron, sodium, and many trace minerals. Uses for this natural material include the following: controlling certain garden insects and insects in the house such as roaches and silverfish. It is one of the three ingredients, along with manure compost and soft rock phosphate, in the tree Trunk Goop formula. It?s a trace mineral soil amendment, an insect control for stored grain and an animal feed supplement. Natural diatomaceous earth?s best use is in pet and livestock feed at 2% of the volume. It?s in the Muenster Natural Dog food at that rate. Again ? never use the swimming pool DE for these uses. Also, do not use DE that is mixed with pyrethrum, PBO, or any other pesticides."

just hadta throw this in:

"After feeding 100 dairy cows on DE for approximately one year, the following results were noted: warbles became non-existent; fly nuisance almost completely disappeared; odors were almost completely gone cows have better hair and coat condition and have no desire to lick soil as in the past; vet bills have been significantly reduced; butterfat content has risen from 503 lbs. per cow to 513 lbs.per cow."

~de ni

cool link deni, but i have a hard time reading it (the colors get these old tired eyes... ) so could you post the link directly to the citrus mix? thanks,

I met Howard Garrett for the first time a few months ago at a Dallas organic tradeshow. It was interesting... I would just say some of the ideas do not have scientific data to back them up.

And I have purchased DE at home depot before.. the non pool kind.

What pests are you trying to control?

Hi,

I just moved out to a rural area and I've just got our vegetable garden in ... fenced all around for critters, etc. I am also going to try DE mixed with an insecticidal soap (have also been reading up on homemade insect soaps and ordered a bottle of pure (liquid) castile soap.)

My question to those of you with experience in this area is in regard to butterflies. Before I use the DE, I'd like to find out more about the effects on it in regard to butterflies and bees. These are two types of insects I don't wish to harm and since we have lots of wildflowers that are attracting butterflies, I don't want to kill them in they venture into the garden.

Thanks for any tips, advice, or opinions!

I use DE to control slugs around my hostas. Just sprinkle it around and scratch it into the soil in early spring. No more holey hostas.

Fresh Water Diatomaceous Earth (Diatoms) IMO is one of God's lesson of life. That there is value in everything no matter the time-line--which give this old man hope~~!LOL!

Like everything else there are different grades of DE. The one you want to use is Amorphous Diatomaceous Earth (ADE.) Generally you can get this from Feed stores or Gardening supply houses. Make sure the DE you use meets World Health Organization (WHO) safety standards. WHO cautions that DE with a crystalline silica content over three percent (3%) is dangerous for ingestion by humans or animals. Swimming pool DE ranges from 60% to 70% free silica!

As far as butterflies goes I don't no if it would hurt them. I do know my worms can eat it and it has no effect on them except it helps them digest their foods.


How does this work? How is it insects cannot build up an immunity to it. Take a look at the pictures below. At a micro level all of those edges are razor sharp. In simple terms the insects get sliced, diced and whopper chopped!

FYI most Diatoms average 80 micron around the middle. (25,000 microns standing side by side = 1 inch.)









Living Diatoms--sure are neat looking are they not? Another reason to be careful about what we dump into our waters.

I have tried it yet, but understand it is good aid to controlling cockroaches from trying to enter one's home. We're in an older house, with many trees, and a pool, and it's our first year in Texas. The cockroaches were a surprise and a nuisance, but I'm glad to hear it can help with snails, and ants. I have lots of carpenter ants (I think) running up and down my crape myrtles. Hope this isn't a potential problem............

If ants are running up and down your crape myrtle I would check you tree for aphids or white flies. The ants are probably farming the other insects and you will need to treat the insects to control the ants.

Also once DE gets wet its not very effective...

I've never used DE myself and I don't know how valid this is, but I know that Home Depot trains its associates to tell customers that DE MUST be applied while wearing respiratory protection. That was a turnoff for me when I was considering fixing the Grub Ranch I lovingly refer to as my "lawn."

Also, DE doesn't discriminate; it's effective against both insect pests AND beneficial bugs.

Hmmm Nick,now I'm gonna have look some stuff up.

I've been using de a long time for the yucky,slimy slugs.

uh oh,sorry for my post here.

i didn't have time to finish.

my lil sick queen is calling again...grrr

If I'm wrong, please let me know. I can handle the truth!

BTW, if DE is bad for insects and slugs, I can't imagine it is particularly good for earthworms that aerate the soil. Is that a correct assumption? I'm just guessing...like I said, I've never used DE.

Hey Nick sorry it took me so long to get back.

No way would I use something to harm my worms.
Not only do they aerate the soil,they leave behind in their castings(poopie}just about the best darn fertilizer you can get.

Here is a link for more info.
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_org_research.php?id=41

And I agree,you should have a mask on to handle the dust from d e.
I never use it on a windy day.And because I have a small child,it is always in a locked cabinet.

Happy Gardening

BTW, thanks for the link. Great stuff!

There is also a product called Diatech V that for use with Organic growers. It is DE with Pyrethrins, do you do not have to use as much product as DE alone.

I have used de for years to control roaches and fire ants. I buy the food grade and mix it in my dogs food and rub it on them to control fleas. Pyrethin is not acceptable read Howard Garrett on his site he does not like it. De will not hurt worms I sprinkle it on my garden as well as my pot plants also on my Hibiscus seem to have more worms now then before. I am not an expert just thought would relate my experience and what I have learned

"Pyrethin is not acceptable read Howard Garrett on his site he does not like it"

not acceptable for what? some of the Pyrethin products are listed for use under the USDA organic standards. Don't get them confused with synthetic Pyrethrums.

I put food grade De I get at Calloways on all my plants on fire ant dens around base boards to control roaches ( I now have none) alo sprinkle it on my dogs wet food. I feed them an all organic dry food made in Muenster Texas has De in it. I have never used a mask and never had any problem also have plenty of earth worms in my pepper garden.Just make sure it is FOOD GRADE not POOL GRADE. :p :pyrethians can be just as bad as chemicals from what I hear they are trying to get manufatures to stop using it. You might check out www:dirt.doctor.com for more info.

DE is a desicant, meaning in effect that it dries things out. It does this primarily by the action of making micro slices in tissue, allowing moisture to wick out. My understanding is that it works best on insects with exoskeletons, getting in between the hard shell parts and piercing the skin. I'm not sure why it is reputed to work so well on slugs, soft-boddied critters, and yet not on earthworms, but I would imagine it is because the slugs crawl directly through the dry powder, while the worms contact it in moist soil, thus a buffering effect. Go easy with it where you know beneficials will contact it.
As for the mask...again, it is a desicant, and has no direct toxic action. As with any dust, it can irritate the lungs when inhaled, thus caution is in order. It most certainly can cause micro-abrasions in the lungs,and lead to respiratoy irritation. Don't get down wind of the dust, but don't be afraid of the stuff, either. And keep in mind that it will do the same thing to your skin as your pests...dry it out. If you don't wan't chapped skin, don't get it on you, and wash after use.

NEWS FLASH - AUGUST 17, 2003: Dirt Doctor abandons Diatomaceous Earth


"On his radio pragram of Sunday, August 17, 2003, the "Dirt Doctor" backed off of what he has been claiming for several years when he told his listeners, "I’m just not much of a fan of using diatomaceous earth for insects anymore because it just doesn’t work very well. I do recommend using it as a food supplement." Then a few minutes later he declared, "If it’s a humid day, that stuff (DE) doesn’t kill anything."

research has showed it does not work in soils because of moisture, the DE clumps up and becomes ineffective. This work was done at the university of Illinois.

I have heard all kinds of stuff from radio show people on gardening and find myself talking back to my radio about the things being said. I think sometimes they need stuff to fill airtime and just starting saying things.