# Diatomaceous Earth



## Harry and Lola

Does any one use food grade Diatomaceous Earth on their dogs for protection against fleas and ticks?

Also, does any one feed this to their dogs to contain worms?


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## Glacier

I've fed it to my cats and I do have to say it's very effective at curbing the worms. I've also used it for pest control in the home and garden, it works wonderfully. I plan on giving it to my pup as well when he arrives.


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## Harry and Lola

That's good to hear, I have heard about it but have never used it and am considering using it internally for control of worms and externally for control of fleas and ticks.

Although I don't think it controls heartworm?


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## Chip18

Harry and Lola said:


> That's good to hear, I have heard about it but have never used it and am considering using it internally for control of worms and externally for control of fleas and ticks.
> 
> Although I don't think it controls heartworm?


 Here's a site someone posted on it.
I though I had hear seen it mentioned in conjunction with heart worm also?

Diatomaceous Earth - Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth Health Benefits


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## llombardo

I do know that you can feed it to them and put it on them. I have two small containers and had no idea what it was until I read about it hear. I think I'm buying the bigger bag and spreading it around the fence and in the yard, I just don't know how long it lasts outside? A week, until it gets wet?


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## Chip18

llombardo said:


> until it gets wet?


That... you can spread it dry or mix it with water and spread, don't know the ratio. But you can do that if you can't deal with the dust.It becomes effective again when it drys. So yeah if it rains it's gone.


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## Harry and Lola

I emailed the Aussie retailer and they replied saying it won't treat or control heartworms, but will do all other intestinal worms


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## llombardo

Chip18 said:


> That... you can spread it dry or mix it with water and spread, don't know the ratio. But you can do that if you can't deal with the dust.It becomes effective again when it drys. So yeah if it rains it's gone.


I wonder how to treat for flies and Mosquitos? Since they fly what do you do? I'd live to have a BBQ without them


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## NancyJ

If the dog gets in a kiddie pool or swims a lot it is not so great. Plus it is messy and dusty so I went with the Springtime garlic. Plus for ticks I would rather them not bite at all. (Be repelled) than bite, transmit disease, then shrivel up.


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## llombardo

jocoyn said:


> If the dog gets in a kiddie pool or swims a lot it is not so great. Plus it is messy and dusty so I went with the Springtime garlic. Plus for ticks I would rather them not bite at all. (Be repelled) than bite, transmit disease, then shrivel up.


How much of the garlic do you use for one dog from March until November?


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## Chip18

Harry and Lola said:


> I emailed the Aussie retailer and they replied saying it won't treat or control heartworms, but will do all other intestinal worms


Thanks for the info!


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## Chip18

llombardo said:


> I wonder how to treat for flies and Mosquitos? Since they fly what do you do? I'd live to have a BBQ without them


I just use pest strips or fly traps. We get files out here but no mosquitos.


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## llombardo

Chip18 said:


> I just use pest strips or fly traps. We get files out here but no mosquitos.


I have tons of flies. I used the bag you fill up with water that holds like 20000 flies, it was full within a month.


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## rickaz80

Diatomaceous Earth is a dirt cheap way to control external and internal parasites in your dog.
Diatomaceous Earth is a non-toxic, safe substance made up from crushed fossils of freshwater organisms and marine life. Crushed to a fine powder and observed through a microscope, the particles resemble bits of broken glass. Diatomacous Earth is deadly to any insect yet completely harmless to animals.
Diatomaceous Earth’s mode of action for insect and parasite control is strictly mechanical. The microscopically sharp edges contact the insect or parasite, and pierce their protective coating, so they soon dehydrate and die. The larvae is affected in the same way.https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/benefits-diatomaceous-earth/


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## TAR HEEL MOM

What is the recommended way to dose it for a large dog? And how often?


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## Harry and Lola

I wanted to buy Bug Off Garlic but I can't get it here is Australia and it was going to cost me $70 in shipping from the US!!!

So thought I'd use natural garlic instead, plus diatomaceous earth


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## Jax08

Harry and Lola said:


> I emailed the Aussie retailer and they replied saying it won't treat or control heartworms, but will do all other intestinal worms


Yes it does. I had a foster puppy that was loaded with round worms. After 7 days of Safeguard I bought some DE. In two days it took care of all the adult worms and his fecal was clear. It literally chopped the worms up in pieces instead of expelling them live like a dewormer does.


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## Harry and Lola

Will kill all intestinal worms like hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms and whipworms but not heartworms. I'll have to use Heartguard for this, unfortunately.


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## Saphire

Shortly before we brought Gus home, my daughter had a stray cat in the house for one night as our neighbours 5 cats had it surrounded on our back deck. We found the owner the next day and returned the cat to them.

My daughter began complaining about bug bites over the next two weeks. We brought Gus home and after about a week I noticed fleas on him. I immediately realized the stray cat had left some friends for us. 

Not wanting to use chemicals, Carmen gave me DE. I didn't feed it to Gus but I did sprinkle it throughout my house. Covered the hardwood floors and all the carpeted bedrooms. Gave Gus a bath (only bath he has had to date) and within two weeks the fleas were gone. Haven't had an issue since. 

I swear by the stuff, safe and non-toxic.


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## NancyJ

Read the articles on natural garlic that are on the Springtime site. Drying it does help reduce the negative effects. Because of the reported effect on red blood cells I do look closely at my annual panels (and have not seen negative effects). 

Springtime has a scoop. Before that I did some research and used garlic granules from the store to come up with a dose but I don't have that off the top of my head.

The DE is great around the home. I occasionally feed some to the dog but not all the time. I just gave up with the dog because I keep a kiddie pool outside pretty much year round and he likes to jump in it and lay down.


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## rickaz80

*For Giardia*



TAR HEEL MOM said:


> What is the recommended way to dose it for a large dog? And how often?


For the treatment of giardia our vet had us use one tablespoon per meal. We feed the girls two times a day.


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## llombardo

I just bought a 50 pound bag. I will be using it around the yard, in the house, on the dogs, in the dog/cat food.


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## blackshep

Harry and Lola said:


> I emailed the Aussie retailer and they replied saying it won't treat or control heartworms, but will do all other intestinal worms


DE does not work internally. It **must** be dry to work. I can see if working for fleas/ticks, however caution must be used, as it causes eye/throat/lung irritation and there have been links to it causing lung cancer.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/chemical-dewormers-are-best/ This article is for horses, but it's the same premise for dogs.


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## NancyJ

I had started this thread about putting it in food.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...practices/299258-diatomaceous-earth-feed.html

I decided, maybe not such a good idea. Yes the FDA has it approved for feeds but nobody is concerned about the longevity and overall health of livestock, just rapid weight gain for slaughter.


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## Harry and Lola

I have decided to stop giving to them internally, there seems to be real concern about hazards and its ability to produce severe immune system issues, so having a GSD girl with thyroid and a GSD boy with EPI, I do not want to give them something that may impact their immunity.

I still sprinkle it onto their coats and brush in - haven't seen a flea yet.

Also, it worked wonders on aphids in my garden - killed them all.


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