Diatomaceous Earth

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?THFRO 27 May 2007 Diatomaceous earth, This was purchased today at a Seed and Feed Supplier. Cost 13 dollars for 25 pounds.

This is a non toxic pesticide. http://eap.mcgill.ca/publications/eap4.htm Attribute URL
Probably the most effective naturally occurring protective powder is diatomaceous earth. This is a geological deposit made up of the fossilized skeletons and tests of siliceous marine and fresh water organisms, particularly diatoms and other algae. These skeletons are made of hydrated amorphous silica or opal. When crushed, they break up into tiny pieces of glass” (so tiny that the material feels like talcum powder). This is easily picked up by the hairy bodies of most Insects. whereupon it scratches through their protective wax layers; and they also absorb some of this material. the result being that the insects lose water rapidly . dry up and die Further protection is provided by the powder’s property of repelling many insects. A similar principle probably accounts for the fact that birds frequently take dust baths, presumably to rid themselves of parasites.

[Cassiepod]

Durgan please be careful when handling this, there are risks to your health if you inhale this into your lungs.... think how much softer than an insect they are.....

[Durgan]

Durgan please be careful when handling this, there are risks to your health if you inhale this into your lungs.... think how much softer than an insect they are.....

I wear a mask as a safeguard, when handling diatomaceous earth. Apparently this product is added to domestic animal feed, and used in storage of many grains. The diatomaceous earth is a very fine powder. One would probably have to study under an electron microscope to see the sharp edges of the particles, that give the insect killing effect.

I use soybeans, and before pressure cooking wash the dried beans thoroughly. There is a sort of soapy effect at the first one or two washings. I never knew what this was, but am now convinced that it is diatomaceous earth.
This acts like a drying agent and kills crawleys. My 10 kilo bag of soy beans are kept in a plastic container for about 4 months before the bag is empty, an there are never any bugs.

What I am implying is that probably people are ingesting some of this product far more often than they imagine.

[Ellendra]

Soybeans, and most other legumes, contain a naturally soapy substance. It's slightly bitter, which is why they're better if rinsed before cooking. Nothing to do with DE.

[Durgan]

Soybeans, and most other legumes, contain a naturally soapy substance. It's slightly bitter, which is why they're better if rinsed before cooking. Nothing to do with DE.

Thanks for the information. I use all other types of beans and never see the soapy appearance when washing, also I am reasonably certain that I detected the small participles in the bottom of the pot when rinsing. DE would be a natural substance for preserving dried produce like beans and grains from "grub" insects.

Here is one article on the practice of using DE.
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf68294384.tip.html

[Ellendra]

There may very well be DE in your soybeans. But, I have yet to find any reference to DE having the "soapy effect" you describe. Legumes, on the other hand, are known to contain saponins, which cause a soaplike foam when mixed with water: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15117556

Some legumes contain more saponins than others, and some companies remove the saponins as part of their cleaning process before packaging the beans to sell. The presence of foam is not an indicator of DE, therefore the two are not related.

[happyigloo]

How sustainable is this?
Just wondering how eco friendly this is. Does it have to be mined?

[JulieSherris]

I use Diatom in the hen houses, on the birds directly and also in their food, it's a one-stop treatment for me and I have to say that for the first year it was great - until I ran out and then couldn't find anyone around these parts that sold it! When I swapped to vermx, my birds all came down with gapeworm

So, I then had to source it at a reasonable cost over here in Ireland!!

I bought it first from a vendor at a poultry sale - 500mls for 18 euros. When I checked online, I found that the diatomx website was probably the best quality and with postage, it cost 42 euros inc postage for 5kg! The good thing is that my local hardware/woodyard/feed store place is going to get it in for me & in future, a 5kg bucket will cost me 32 euros... ahhhh

They do pet grade as well as human grade & the daughter & I were thinking about giving it a go ourselves, just to see if we noticed a difference - more about this when we've tried it!

Anyway, as for how 'eco-friendly' it is...
Quote from their site:
Known worldwide for its extremely pure quality, our "Food Grade" Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is an eco-friendly naturally organic material from the purest fresh water source. Diatomaceous Earth is the fossilized remains of microscopic shells created by one-celled plants called Diatoms. Not all deposits of diatomaceous earth or the diatoms present in those deposits are the same. The shape of the diatom must be tubular with holes on the walls. It is important to have a consistent shape diatom without any unwanted sediment and it must be fresh water because the diatoms form a harder shell and is less fragile than those in salt water. Salt-water deposits contain a mix of diatom species. These deposits shapes and sediments are inconsistent, making them unusable for our products.

All & full info here - http://diatomx.co.uk/epages/eshop439661 ... gories/FAQ

Hope that helps!