Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth

In addition to be an excellent tool for preventing and killing bedbugs,food-grade diatomaceous earth has many uses in and around the home. Food grade diatomaceous earth makes a very effective natural insecticide.

Food-grade diatomaceous earth is EPA approved to be mixed with animal feed to control mealworms and other pests and has been exempted from tolerance requirements as an inert,inactive ingredient in chemical pesticides. The insecticidal quality of diatomaceous earth is due to the microscopic razor sharp edges of the diatom fossils – under a microscope,diatomaceous earth looks like sharp honeycombs. Food grade diatomaceous earth works in a purely physical manner –not chemically –and thus has no chemical toxicity. Parasites and insects don’t build up a tolerance to its chemical reaction.

Ditatomaceous earth comes from diatomite,a naturally occuring sedimentary rock that is easily ground into the fine white powder known as diatomaceous earth. In North America,there are deposits of diatomite in Colorado and Nevada that are several hundred meters in some places. The deposits in these areas are the result of fresh-water fosilized diatom skelitons that have fossilized into diatomite over millions of years. Fresh-water diatomaceous earth is the best diatomaceous earth to use inside the home for bedbug treatment and prevention.

Food-grade fresh water diatomaceous earth can also be consumed by humans and animals:

For pets and humans,use of diatomaceous earth can help eliminate worms and reduce toxins in the digestive tract. One study showed that:  In clinical observations of feeding dogs over 35 lbs. 1 tbsp./day and under 35 lbs. 1 tsp./day of DE,within seven days all ova disappeared from stools. DE controlled Ascardis (Toxacara canids),Hookworms (Anclyostoma caninum),and Whipworms (Trichuris vulipis).  (CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS OF FEEDING CODEX FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH TO DOGS,O.C. Collins,DVM,Midland Animal Clinic And Hospital,Midland,TX)

Daily recommended feeding amounts for Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth are generally listed in amounts similar to the below quantities:
Kittens –1/2 teaspoon
Cats –1 teaspoon
Puppies –1/2 to 1 tsp.
Dogs under 35 lbs. –1 teaspoon
Dogs over 35 lbs. –1 tablespoon
Dogs over 100 lbs. –2 tablespoons
Cattle,Dairy Cows and Hogs –2% of dry feed ration
Chickens –5% in feed
Goats,Sheep,Alpacas,and Llamas –2%
in grain Horses –1/2 to 1 cup in daily ration
Humans –1 heaping tablespoon daily

Other bugs that are affected by diatomaceous earth are ants,caterpillars,cut worms,army worms,fleas,ticks,cockroaches,snails,spiders,termites,scorpions,silverfish,lice,mites,centipedes,earwigs,slugs,aphids,Japanese beetles (grub stage),corn earworm,cucumber beetles,corn borer,sting bugs,squash vine borers,thrips,loopers,and many more.