Diatomaceous Earth

I know you are wondering what is diatomaceous earth and why am I talking about it on my blog?  First of all it is an organic form of pest control.  It also has other great uses around the house.  This is some interesting stuff so be sure to read on if you have a pet (dog, cat, livestock, birds) and are using chemical flea treatments or wormer.  We all have unwanted pests/bugs in or around our house that we want to get rid of and this is a way to do it naturally that is both safe for pets and people.

Diatomaceous Earth or DE comes in two forms.  One is used in pool filters and that is usually where people hear the name. That is the chemical version and you do not want that.   The one that I am speaking about in this posting is the food grade diatomaceous earth which is very difficult to find in the store.  If you are going to use DE in your home for yourself or your animals you must be sure to get the "food grade" DE.

Food Grade DE is the fossilized remains of microscopic shells created by one celled plants called diatoms.  DE works by just getting onto the insect and physically scratching the exoskeleton of the bug.  It is a natural way to kill fleas and other insects without harmful chemicals.  It kills physically by causing tiny lacerations on the insects body and obsorbing its moisture causing it to dehydrate and die.  It is therefore impossible for fleas and other insects to become immune to DE.

I purchased some DE via the internet from www.diatomaceousearth.net which is the site for Pure Earth D.  I had researched the benefits and effectiveness of DE for fleas.  We have a small dog and are always battling fleas. The chemical flea products are expensive and seem to not work very well.   I do not like to use chemicals around my house with my daughter and grandchildren therefore this seemed like a natural alternative for me. DE is great for killing fleas, roaches, ants, silverfish, bedbugs, lice, aphids, mites, snails, slugs, scorpions. 

DE is entirely safe for pets, livestock, and people.  It is safe for use indoors, in greenhouses, outdoors, on plants, fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains,  and grass.  People eat food grade DE for health benefits and feed it to their pets for parasite/worm control.  You can read more about the health benefits on the web via many sites such as www.earthworkshealth.com.

I can report that after using it on my dog we have no more fleas.  I am glad that I purchased it and gave it a try.  It is very inexpensive and a little goes along way.  I purchased a 2 lb. bag for $9.95 plus $4.95 shipping.  It is a very fine powder very similar to baby powder.  It can be dangerous if you breath it in just as baby powder dust would be.  You need to be careful when using it inside the house so that you don't create to much dust.  I also suggest wearing gloves for it really dries out your skin.

When my DE arrived I opened the bag and filled a shaker can with the powder.  I actually used a grated cheese container that I had washed and saved.  I filled the container with the powder and applied it to my dog outside.  Be sure to wear gloves as I mentioned it does dry out your skin.  I applied it again on my dog a week later.  I also lightly dusted my living room carpet and my dogs bed.  I read where you should place the dust around your house where you have seen fleas and leave it there for a while or overnight before vacuuming.  This stuff really works for I have not seen a flea since.  I am  going to continue using it on my dog every month to keep the fleas away.  The next thing I am going to try is giving it to my dog as a wormer.  DE is a mineral and will never get old or expire.  I am storing the extra DE in a coffee can. 

I researched where people have found various uses for DE to including adding it to juice or liquid for health benefits.  Some other uses include, using DE for refrigerator/freezer odors, foot odor, carpet stains, garbage can odor/pests, metal polish, inexpensive soft scrub for sinks etc., teeth cleaner, face mask/cleanser.  You can read more about these uses on www.earthworkshealth.com.

If you have pets and are spending money on chemicals for fleas and ticks try a natural way and give DE a try.

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