Diatomaceous Earth – Natural Insect Killer, No Chemicals
Filed Under: Organic Gardening, Susatainable Living on August 9, 2009
When I first started thinking about environmental issues, my concerns were mainly centered on how to re-use some of the things I was throwing away and thus have a cheaper lifestyle.
Many of you have gotten to know me through this blog and other venues. You’ve probably noticed that my life has two major focuses: knowledge gathering and politics that center on government leaving me alone.
Knowledge gathering and living more frugally meant learning to become green, in my own way. Recycling, re-purposing, and otherwise reducing my garbage output and overall impact have become how I live (and on a lot lower budget than most Americans).
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is one of those things that you’ll find out is not only extremely effective, but it’s much cheaper than the normal alternatives for pest control. Plus, like most great things, diatomaceous earth has multiple uses.
Some of those uses include things like organic garden pest control, snail and slug borders, internal parasite control for your pets, grain storage and a lot more. It’s also used as the “gritty” ingredient in toothpaste, as a screen for swimming pool filters, as an absorbent for chemical spills.
So what is DE?
DE, which is an abbreviation for diatomaceous earth, is also called diatom powder, Fossil Shell Flour, as well as several other names. It’s made up of the fossilized shells of diatoms. Diatoms are tiny single-celled plants that make up a large portion of the phytoplankton (plankton—whale food) in the oceans. Diatoms are the basis for much of earth’s aquatic life.
When they die, the outer shells of their cells tend to collect and bind together, often becoming fossilized. When exposed, these “rocks” of DE (called diatomite) can be ground to a flour and used for many things. The Chinese used DE as many as 2,000 years ago.
The purest of this DE is considered “food grade” and allowed by the FDA to be used without restriction in food processing. A new labeling allows it to be sold for human consumption as a health supplement.
DE is also mixed with pyrethrum (a flower extract and natural insecticide) for use as a pest killer. This isn’t necessary, though, as you’ll see. DE is a perfectly good insect killer on its own.
How Does DE Work?
For killing insects and many pests, DE is hard to beat. It’s not a chemical, so it doesn’t pollute, and the bugs can’t build up an immunity to it. It doesn’t harm most animals, including mammals (humans, dogs, cats, etc.), large birds, etc. It doesn’t contaminate ground water, streams, lakes, oceans, or cause any other environmental hazards. It’s naturally in the environment, in fact.
DE works by causing a “physical kill” of just about any insect, arachnid, and most worms. When looked at through a low powered microscope, powdered DE (flour) looks like razor sharp stones. These physically pierce the exoskeleton of insects and then, because DE can absorb up to 10x its volume in liquids, it quickly dehydrates them. This kills them relatively quickly.
Because it’s a physical kill and not a chemical one, the bugs can’t build up a resistance to it like they can with chemical insecticides. The DE has the same piercing action on our own cells, but because of our physical makeup and speed of healing, it does us no harm at all.
In fact, one of the only ways humans (and most animals) can be harmed by DE is by inhaling large quantities of the powder. This can cause breathing problems, but if the inhalation isn’t long term and is properly treated, the lungs will heal completely in a short amount of time.
Food Grade DE can be safely sprinkled on foods, ingested, used as an anti-caking agent and insect killer in stored grains, and a lot more. It’s also great as a light abrasive for polishing tooth enamel, household items, and many other things. Because of its absorbent qualities and its ability to “cake” closely together without completely clogging, it’s also a popular water filter to clean debris from swimming pools, fountains, etc.
There are literally hundreds of uses for DE. Over time, we’ll be looking at some of those uses on this blog.
My long-time friend Fran Tully, owner of Freshwater Organics here in Wyoming, sells the purest and (in my opinion) best diatomaceous earth available. His prices are extremely reasonable and, for the record, I get no money for sending you to his site. I’m linking to it purely because I believe in it.
I’ve used DE for years (still do) and even sold it on eBay for a while. As time goes on, I will be doing more in-depth DIY stuff involving DE so you can see how it’s applied in various uses.
