Let’s go au-natural!
We have 3 dogs and 2 cats in our house. We’ve lived here for about 2 years now and the past 2-3 months are the first time we’ve ever noticed fleas. I think it’s because of the new lawn chemical company we use. They hadn’t been insect spraying during the winter, and since January was warm, I think the fleas came out a little early.
Anyways, our animals have some fleas now - well short of an infestation, but one flea is too many in my book. We use Frontline (or whatever it’s called), but it has been awful at controlling them, the fleas kept coming back. So I purchased some Diatomaceous Earth to try and kill them.
From what I read online, it works by dehydrating insects with a soft, waxy bodies. I guess it’s made of dead sea animals of some kind, and they absorb the water in the insect, killing them. Since it’s not a chemical, they cannot become immune to it - which makes me happy. And it’s environmentally friendly. You can use it on ant mounds as well - God knows nothing else gets rid of them, so I’ll be trying that during the summer.
So I buy this bag. Maybe 3-4 pounds or so (a $20 investment, maybe a little less).
First; what they don’t tell you. Diatomaceous Earth is a very fine powder. Think flour. You blow on it and it goes everywhere like a fine dust. So spreading it is very difficult. If you buy the stuff, buy a powder applicator so you can spray Diatomaceous Earth onto the target. Otherwise, you’ll just end up with a clumpy distribution. Also buy a mask for your face. The powder isn’t harmful, but it does irritate the eyes a little and I don’t think you wanna be breathing large quantities of it - better safe than sorry, right?
I had put some on the carpets last week, but tonight we tried it on the dogs. The dogs shook almost immediately afterwards and dust went everywhere! The cats went mental - but they do that no matter what. There is a nice haze in the house now. But, if we let the dogs out and they get wet, it defeats the whole purpose of dehydrating the insects.
But; not sure if it’d work or not, we decided to become mad scientists. I found a random flea on a dog and put it in a jar with the dust and shook it around for a bit. The flea immediately became coated with the Diatomaceous Earth and was jumping around like mad. The results? 15 minutes later, still jumping and walking around the jar. 30 minutes later, it was dead. No movement was noticed at all.
Pretty impressive; but we will see if it works on a wide scale experiment on the animals. I have hopes for total flea extermination within the next few days.
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cindi on August 25th, 2007
Is it possible that maybe the flea in the jar suffocated? I just bought some of this “DE” in hopes that it will kill all of the ticks on my Dog……………
lorien1973 on August 28th, 2007
Unlikely. A flea doesn’t consume enough air to be killed that quickly in a jar that size.
The stuff didn’t work very well on our dogs, in the end. It created more of a dust storm in the house than anything else.
It may work for some people, but we decided not to continue using it.
One of the flea treatments like advantage works a ton better and is quicker/easier.
Cindy on November 20th, 2007
Diatomaceous Earth worked perfectly for us and we have 2 large dogs. Advantage did nothing and the chemicals in it are outrageous - unsafe for children. I used a baby powder container to sprinkle the DE and let it sat overnight on the carpets. Finally found something to get rid of the fleas.
kayyyla :] on December 11th, 2007
umm this website doesnt tell me how to like kill the fleas or how they infect the like enviorment.
and i like love my mommyy katyy!!.
and my sister miranda and all my husbands and wifes!! :]].
Chris on March 13th, 2008
The DE needs to be where the fleas are. People with chickens hold the chicken upside down and dust the chicken to get it on the skin. The DE needs to be on the skin because that is where the fleas go. It also needs to be spread around where the dog sleeps. We put it under on our mattress pad just in case there is ever a creepy crawler.
We feed DE to our dog everyday. It takes 90 days to kill the toughest worms and I see my dog eat bunny berries every day so I know he is constantly reintroducing the worms to his system. I also eat DE just in case. People get worms to you know.
Morgan on April 18th, 2008
DE can be mixed with water and sprayed on the dog, when the water dries the DE is still just as effective as it is when it’s dry, and making a “spray” eliminates the possibility of inhaling the dust, and gets the DE closer to the skin. You can also use the spray to treat your bedding carpet and furniture, which does all have to be treated to effectively treat fleas for good. Treatments like Advantage, Frontline and so on contain chemicals that can be absorbed by the skin and over time can cause liver damage, so what’s worth it, you pet’s health or convenience to you?
You should however be careful to buy Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. Non food grade contains an additive called pyrethium? (i think that’s the name) as an extra dehydrating element, and is not good for you dog’s skin. And some Diatomaceous earth is for you swimming pool and that can actually be poison for your pets due to a heat and pressure treatment that changes the chemical make up. This stuff works when you use it correctly, and is better for your pet, the environment and you.
Brianne on July 15th, 2008
You can also feed DE to the animals. If it is food grade it is will not hurt any mammal if eaten. The DE will get in the dogs blood stream and when fleas or ticks bite them they will ingest it as well. It also works to get rid of worms.
Sharon on August 12th, 2008
I have used DE for about 20+ years. I put the DE in a white sock and lob it onto the dogs gently. In Texas, I was the only house on the block not plagued by webworms (the webs in trees full of catepillars). I would take the sock full of DE and beat it around the base of the tree, maybe a foot wide area. The catepillars that climb up the tree to make the webs would be pierced and die. I have not used it internally for my dogs, but since I do purchase organic DE, I will definately give this a try.
Sharon on August 12th, 2008
I have used DE for about 20+ years. I put the DE in a white sock and lob it onto the dogs gently. In Texas, I was the only house on the block not plagued by webworms (the webs in trees full of catepillars). I would take the sock full of DE and beat it around the base of the tree, maybe a foot wide area. The catepillars that climb up the tree to make the webs would be pierced and die. I have not used it internally for my dogs, but since I do purchase organic DE, I will definately give this a try.
Anyone know the ratio of food/DE to use?
Paula on August 13th, 2008
Just a comment, but DE does not get in the blood stream of anything, it goes through the digestive tract of animals and the sharp edges of the diatoms cut the parasites. On the skin it does that and also dessicates the exoskeleton.