Diatomaceous earth

[Lori T]

http://www.de36.com/

Anyone use this product? The vet dermatologist I work for has been wanting me to feed some diatomaceous earth. I used to feed bug check which contained it. I came across this on another site and was wondering if anyone has had good luck with it.

[JWB]

Make sure you get the feed-grade DE. It is much finer than the industrial grade stuff.

I'm not sure why anyone still feeds it when ivermectin does the job for less money. We regularly use it in our yard to kill fleas and ticks as a non-chemical pesticide and I know it can be fed but I can't think of a good reason to in horses. Lots of cattle people swear by it for parasite control in a herd situation though.

What reason did your vet give for using the DE specifically? I'm open to anything if there is a good reason behind it and I'm genuinely curious.

On a side note, it is extremely drying to skin so try not to handle it too frequently.

[Lori T]

This is feed quality. I have a very allergic draftx. Feeding it is supposed to help with controlling the fly population.

[ksojerio]

I have fed it to my horses (3) for several years. I have not noticed any reduction in the number of flies.

[twofatponies]

I have fed it to my horses (3) for several years. I have not noticed any reduction in the number of flies.

What is it fed for???

[Androcles]

There's no connection between controlling the fly population and feeding diatomaceous earth. It is supposed to function as a wormer, internally, by harming the parasites inside the intestines.

[deltawave]

Some chicken farmers use it for controlling parasites. As the larval stage of a fly is a very similar critter to a worm in many ways, and the DE is present in the manure, it's theoretically possible that DE could do damage to both worms and larvae. However please note that the recommended feed rate for chickens is as around 8-15% of their diet. That's roughly one 1-2 ounces per pound of chicken feed, and that may not sound like much, but can you imagine feeding a proportional amount to a horse? :eek:

Mostly the entire topic of using DE for parasite control swarms (pardon the pun) with folklore, local custom and precious little in the way of evidence. Probably harmless, uncertain if it's helpful, like so many other things.

[twofatponies]

I've used it for control of insects...but not internally! Didn't occur to me. It works on ants and so on in the home. I thought maybe in animals it was used as a mineral supplement or something. Interesting. So it doesn't get digested then? Does it not wear the teeth? I thought the reason it killed insects was the same as boric acid - very tiny jagged sharp particles stick the the insects and cut them up. I could be wrong. I could google it. But I'm supposed to be working. ;p

[ksojerio]

I've used it for control of insects...but not internally! Didn't occur to me. It works on ants and so on in the home. I thought maybe in animals it was used as a mineral supplement or something. Interesting. So it doesn't get digested then? Does it not wear the teeth? I thought the reason it killed insects was the same as boric acid - very tiny jagged sharp particles stick the the insects and cut them up. I could be wrong. I could google it. But I'm supposed to be working. ;p

Yes, that's how it works--like a feed thru wormer. But you must always use food grade DE. Other types of DE are used for pool/aquarium filters and would probably be very harmful to horses.

[JWB]

Just get fly predators if you want to control the insect population or use a feed-through fly control.

I haven't heard of using DE to reduce the flies. I've used it to control insects on the ground, or as internal parasite control.

[draftdriver]

There have been threads on this topic before.

Don't waste your money on DE as a feed through fly control or dewormer.

[Tiempo]

I thought DE was inactivated by moisture?

If that is the case, then I would think feeding it would be useless.

I use it externally in the chicken coop to control mites and lice.

[Carol O]

I have had good results with fly parasites. I also got a Horse
Pal fly trap. The trap works well with the early season larger biting flys here. The parasites have really made a differnce too, but that did not happen at once. I have purchased them for several years. This year I have far fewer flys than my neighbors. I am a bit afraid of the DE.

[JingleBell]

However please note that the recommended feed rate for chickens is as around 8-15% of their diet. That's roughly one 1-2 ounces per pound of chicken feed, and that may not sound like much, but can you imagine feeding a proportional amount to a horse? :eek:


I'm looking into DE for a flea problem (dog and house) and most sites say to feed 1/2 - 1 cup daily to horses.

[Hampton Bay]

Lori, are you sure your boy is having issues with flies? My boy, whose issues sound similar, is bothered by gnats mainly, but also mosquitos. The flies really don't irritate him too much. If this is the case for your horse, then DE really isn't going to help if fed.

I have been meaning to get some for in the chicken pen and in the run-in where they poop though, as well as for fleas in the dog yard.