Pesticide (Safe, Organic)

Diatomaceous (die-uh-toe-may-shus) Earth, isn't dirt or earth, not even colored like it. It consists of the broken up shells of tiny critters, called diatoms, that lived long ago and died in groups so massive that they can, today, be mined and bull-dozed. Food-Grade DE is amorphous silica, which is silica in it's natural occurring state. It is a trace mineral every mammal on the planet needs to live. 

Food grade diatomaceous earth is great for internal and external parasite control. The mineral and silica content seems to be great for internal worming purposes for humans and animals. Also, it helps detox heavy metals. Overly toxic persons might experience a "healing crisis", as their system is detoxing too quickly, so it is suggested to start with a small dose and work up to the heaping tablespoon over a period of a few days or weeks, to help avoid this situation.  

When D.E. is sprinkled on the ground, on an ant mound, or mixed with grains, legumes, etc., it slices and dices the insects that walk through it. If you're planning to can or bucketize your own food, mixing in a cup of Food Grade, Fresh Water Diatomaceous Earth will help keep it pest-free. And it won't hurt YOU when you ingest it, 'cause the 'sharp pieces' are too small to cut you, you lucky guy.

Home: Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth as an Organic Pesticide

Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is used around the house as an organic pesticide for the control of ants, cockroaches, silverfish, bedbugs, fleas, box elder bugs, scorpions, crickets, ticks slugs and many other unwelcome pests. Insects die within 48 hours of contact.

Natural ant control is one of the biggest reasons for the usage of Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth in and around the home. For complete ant control, simply sprinkle the area of concern with fossil shell flour. When the ants or other pests come in contact with the powder, it is like stepping on broken glass, they will be killed or abandon the area.

Diatomaceous Earth may be used as a barrier to control adult flea beetles, sawfly, coddling moth, twig borer, thrips, mites,  cockroach, slugs, snails earwigs, millipedes, centipedes  and many other insects such as:

Aphids, thrips, earwigs, silverfish, and ants. Can be used for bedbugs, cabbage root flies,   carrot root flies, fleas, sow or pill bugs, ticks  and is helpful in dealing with fungus gnats.

Indoor/Outdoor Application: Sprinkle a light layer of DE in areas where pests frequent, including under stoves, cabinets, sinks, garbage cans, window and door frames and sills,
entrance ways, sewer pipes, drains, in cracks and crevices. Repeat treatment as needed.

Carpet Beetles: Thoroughly dust along baseboards, carpet edges, under furniture, carpet, and rugs, and in closets and shelving.

Bedbugs: Take apart bed and dust joints and channels. Dust any hollow tubing and the interior framework as well as the mattress and all cracks in the room.

Fleas: Thoroughly dust carpets and pet's bedding and sleeping areas, as well as cracks and baseboards. It also can be rubbed into your pet's fur.

Flies: Thoroughly dust areas where flies frequent (walls, straw bedding, livestock pens).  It also can be applied to livestock coat as an insect repellent/contact insecticide.

Pets: Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth for Flea, Tick, and Lice Control

Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is an effective, organic pesticide against fleas, ticks, lice, and other pests that bother our pets.

Getting rid of ticks and fleas on your pets with fossil shell flour can be done several different ways. Take the diatomaceous earth and rub a handful into their coats. For natural tick and flea control, simply sprinkle it on their bedding, in the yard, or add it to the carpets.

Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is also used internally to remove parasites and worms from your pets, without the use of chemicals. Feed large dogs 1 teaspoon, cats and small dogs 0.5 teaspoon per day. It has been suggested that infected pets should be feed for 90 straight days, and then continue feeding every 3rd day.

Use DE in your poultry's dust or bird bath to eliminate fleas and mites. Add 2% to their feed (or to any animal's feed) to reduce or eliminate internal parasites and worms.

Plants: Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth as a Natural Insecticide

Use Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth as a natural insecticide for the non-chemical control of aphids, whiteflies, beetles, loppers, mites, leafhoppers, and other insects. Sprinkle it inside your greenhouse, or outdoors on fruits, vegetable plants, flowers, grains, and grass—up to and including the day of harvest.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) controls insects by using physical, not chemical, action: It punctures an insect’s exoskeleton and absorbs its body fluids—thus posing no harm to warm-blooded life. Moreover, on any surface, this natural pesticide has a remarkable repellency factor. As long as Diatomaceous Earth is present, insects tend to stay away, making a serious infestation unlikely. The more it is used, the more an environment is created which makes insects feel unwelcome.

If you want to use it on plants as an insecticide, DON'T get any on the flowers. It'll slice up them up. For young plants, as little as 2 lbs. per acre may be adequate. For larger plants, 5 lbs. per acre is probably sufficient. It applies best when there is dew or after a light rain. It is a long-lasting, natural, effective powder, impossible for insects to build up resistance against.

You can dust it around the outside of your house to form an insect barrier and keep insects out. You'll have to repeat the dusting after a rainstorm. When building a house, sprinkling Freshwater DE generously on the bottom plate between the studs (before installing insulation) will give you a permanent "interior" insect barrier that will GREATLY reduce the number of insects that will make it into your home.

Diatomaceous Earth will not harm warm-blooded animals or earthworms
Earthworm farmers use it to treat their worm beds for parasites, fungus, gnat larva. Earth worms are structurally different from insects in that they can actually digest particles of DE. The particles are then eliminated in their castings.

Livestock: Eliminate Worms and Parasites with Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is a drying agent, and reduces odor and moisture in barns and stalls. Fed to animals daily, food grade diatomaceous earth keeps fly larvae from developing in manure, noticeably reducing the fly population. In fact, many farmers deliberately mix DE with animal feed to kill internal parasites in farm animals. The D.E. in the animal feces even kills the fly maggots that invariably appear in the patties. Powder the landing places that flies use for fly control.

All livestock—horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, and others—will benefit from Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. Some of its benefits include stimulating basic metabolism; converting feed better; reducing odor and moisture in barns and stalls; improving coat and hoof condition; keeping fly larvae from developing in manure, noticeably reducing the fly population; lowering annual vet bills; killing worms and internal parasites without chemicals; promoting healthier egg production and stronger eggs; and reducing overall animal stress.

Recommend daily feeding amounts:

Fossil Shell Flour can also be used to effectively eliminate worms and parasites in your livestock, it is recommended to feed your animals for a minimum of 90 days without interruption, and then feed every 3rd day thereafter.  As an additional benefit, Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth contains over 14 trace minerals which improves animal health.

Stored Grain: Pest Protection with Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth

Just add 7–10 lbs. of Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth to each ton of grain as it is conveyed into storage. When added to grain, Diatomaceous Earth kills any bugs that are present. It also protects the grain from further invasion. And bugs cannot become immune!

For dry applications of Diatomaceous Earth, we recommend using a garden duster.

WARNING: Though completely harmless when ingested, Diatomaceous Earth—just like any dust—should not be inhaled in large amounts by pets or people. You do need to be cautious with your use of DE. It can cause lung problems. (It's a very fine, powdery dust.) Even whole wheat flour dust can cause lung irritation if you breathe enough of in.

So, you need to take steps to keep it out of your lungs and eyes. When applying DE, use a paint or hardware store filter mask and a pair of goggles. This will do the job. It's a good idea to do the actual mixing outside in a slight breeze, otherwise you'll get DE all over everything. 

Origins of Diatomaceous Earth

With more than 600 deposits of diatomite west of the Mississippi—and only four (to our knowledge) that can be considered food grade—it is very important that people know what they are using. The vast majority of diatomite deposits are impure.

When diatomite is formed, water currents bring in foreign material that mixes with the microscopic diatom shells. This type of diatomite is absolutely without value for practical purposes, but many people tend to think that if it is “Diatomaceous Earth,” then it has the same value as other, purer deposits. There are many places where diatomite deposits can be loaded up “for free,” but generally this substance has no value. If this impure diatomite is sold for practical usage, the customer may end up with an unpleasant surprise.

Fresh water deposits like ours have a consistent diatom presence. Their fossilized shells have maintained their tubular shape. This shape and strength of the fossil shell is critical to it's effectiveness. Our deposit has 89 - 95 percent amorphous silica content. This deposit is also more consistent in it's purity of other elements that have settled in it. A fresh water deposit is confined to the run off water of it's surrounding environment.

A fresh water deposit in the mountains, such as ours, formed when snow was pure and it's run off provided the water source these diatoms lived in. Salt water deposits contain a mix of types of diatoms of different shapes. Their fossilized shells are fragile and break easily. This renders them ineffective for our purposes. The salt water deposits are less predictable in their sediments.

When amorphous silica DE is exposed to extreme heat through volcanic activity or commercial manufacturing, it becomes crystalline. This type of diatomaceous earth is used in swimming pools, and other, filtration systems. Crystalline silica is extremely dangerous when inhaled or ingested. It is not biodegradable.

Our Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth contains less than .05% crystalline.

WARNING: In an article on DE in COMMON SENSE PEST CONTROL QUARTERLY, published by BIRC, Volume III, Number 1, Winter 1987, the matter of safety is explored. 

“Both swimming pool grade and natural diatomaceous earth come from the same fossil sources but they are processed differently. The natural grades are mined, dried, ground, sled and bagged. The pool grade is chemically treated and partially melted and consequently contains crystalline silica which can be a respiratory hazard. Thus, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT ONLY NATURAL DIATOMACEOUS EARTH BE USED FOR INSECT CONTROL. This non-crystalline silica is not a hazard as the human body apparently can dissolve it. “

WARNING: DE sold for swimming pool filters is dangerous to human health, your pets and livestock.  It has been chemically treated and heated to change it's composition. It will kill fleas, but might kill you, too.