Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (Fossil Shell Flour) has many uses: in the household, with pets, on plants, around livestock, and for stored grain. It is totally organic and listed with OMRI. Read on for the most common uses or add Going Green Using Diatomaceous Earth, How-To-Tips to your personal library.
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, and many other unwelcome pests.
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 (DE). 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.
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. Use the hand held Pest Pistol Duster for easy pet dusting.
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 fed DE for 90 straight days, and then continue feeding every 3rd day.
Plants: Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth as a Natural Insecticide
Use Perma-Guard 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 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.
For young plants, as little as 2 lbs. of diatomaceous earth 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 a resistance against.
Watch a video showing Diatomaceous Earth being applied to potato plants.
Livestock: Eliminate Worms and Parasites with Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
All livestock—horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, and others—will benefit from Perma-Guard 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.
We recommend feeding the following amounts of diatomaceous earth for a minimum of 90 days without interruption, and then feed every 3rd day thereafter:
- Sheep, goats, and hogs ingest 1 oz. per day.
- Cows and horses ingest 2 oz. per day.
- For chickens and other livestock that you cannot hand-feed individually, weigh their feed, then add 2% of that weight in Diatomaceous Earth to their feed.
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 Perma-Guard 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!
Note: Though completely harmless when ingested, Diatomaceous Earth—just like any dust—should not be inhaled in large amounts by pets or people.
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.
For dry applications, we recommend using a garden duster.
Our Perma-Guard Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth contains less than .05% Crystalline Silica. We are glad to furnish an analysis upon request. We also have 50 pound bags of Diatomaceous Earth available.
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