# DE for tick control



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I've read many places about using food grade Diatomacious Earth as a method of tick control. You sprinkle it on the dog and it "cuts the ticks and fleas to shreds" or dehydrates them.

Well, I've already pulled 4 ticks off the dogs and 3 off me so I decided to test this theory. I found an unattached tick on one of the dogs, picked it up (very gently) and placed it in a jar with a spoonful of DE (food grade). That was at 5:30 pm Friday.

It's now 10:30 pm Friday and the tick is going strong.

So far I am NOT impressed. 5 hours is PLENTY of time for a tick to craw through your dogs fur and attach itself. The DE does not repel them nor does it kill them fast enough to stop them from attaching.

I'm going to continue this experiment and see how long the tick lasts in the jar.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I left ticks soaking in a jar of peroxide and they were still alive a year later. How the heck do they do that???

I don't think I remember anyone on the tick list touting DE for ticks????


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I don't know if anyone here has suggested it but I have read it all over the net.

6:53 am and the tick is DEAD!!

Now, on to Phase 2 of the test. In Phase 1 I had the tick in a Shake-N-Bake level of DE - more than I would ever use on the dogs.

This next test will be more realistic. I will let the tick crawl through a light coating of DE and then put it in a jar and see what happens.


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## boeselager (Feb 26, 2008)

If your worried about ticks on your property, then I would highly suggest using Nematodes. They are all natural, and you can some times find them at your local garden center, or order them on line. Just Google it and it will show up.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Actually, I think we'll be getting chickens again!! The DH was against it but even HE sees the good in it with all the ticks we've seen last year and this one.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Lauri, in spite of the chickens, are you still moving on to phase 2 of the trial?

Do you know what kind of tick it was?


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

I was wondering about this, I use DE for fleas but didn't know if it had any effect on ticks. I'm going to be starting springtime bug off for that.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

LisaT said:


> Lauri, in spite of the chickens, are you still moving on to phase 2 of the trial?
> 
> Do you know what kind of tick it was?



Pulled a tick off of Mauser this morning and started Phase 2!  I am video taping my Tick Tormenting, too!

I'm pretty sure they are dog ticks but I'll have to double check when I do Phase 3.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

So, Phase 2 was what I called the ShakeNBake phase. I put the tick in a small jar with about 1/4 tsp of DE, shook it up so it was completely covered and then pulled the tick out and put it in a clean jar.

That was 2:00 pm yesterday. The tick is still alive as of 10:00 am this morning.

I'm beginning to think that the amount of DE needed to kill a tick is going to be WAAAY more than we would want to put on our dogs. I will continue to monitor this tick and see what happens!


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> P  I am video taping my Tick Tormenting, too!quote]
> :rofl:
> 
> I luv it!.....I thought I was the only one who conducted scientific experiments on little critters lol!!!!....good work Lauri I have wondered about this one....I am told it takes anywhere from 1-3 days though,it's not a very quick process.....I assume because it causes death by dehydration which would take some time.....waiting for your results!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Gib Laut said:


> :rofl:
> 
> I luv it!.....I thought I was the only one who conducted scientific experiments on little critters lol!!!!....good work Lauri I have wondered about this one....I am told it takes anywhere from 1-3 days though,it's not a very quick process.....I assume because it causes death by dehydration which would take some time.....waiting for your results!


My DH brought up a good point. If it does work by dehydration what happens when the tick attaches and starts drinking? If it takes 1-3 days for it to take effect the tick is, most likely, going to attach in that time. Does that RE-hydrate them and cancel the effects of the DE?

And no, I am NOT going to try THAT experiment! Not on the dogs OR me!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

LOL, love the videotaping :rofl:

Someone on the tick list just posted about another problem with using DE on dogs - it shakes off as they run around, so keeping it on the dog is a problem, even if it does work.


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> And no, I am NOT going to try THAT experiment! Not on the dogs OR me!


Oh come on.....what happened to all that scientific enthusiasm!!:laugh:


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## boeselager (Feb 26, 2008)

If the tick is dehydrating and goes to drink it should not be able to hold the moisture b/c the waxy substance has been taken off of it's shell. The reason I highly suggest the nematodes is b/c I live on 5 wooded acres, and when we first moved in we had ticks crawling all over us and our dog's. We were pulling ticks off left and right on us and our dog's. Then I got the nematodes. I noticed the difference with in about 2-3 weeks, and then no ticks within about 1 1/2-2 months. It is awesome and all natural. Haven't sprayed them down since May of "07".


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Lauri & The Gang on 4/11/10 said:


> So, Phase 2 was what I called the ShakeNBake phase. I put the tick in a small jar with about 1/4 tsp of DE, shook it up so it was completely covered and then pulled the tick out and put it in a clean jar.
> 
> That was 2:00 pm yesterday. The tick is still alive as of 10:00 am this morning.


Update:

It's 9:00 am on 4/14/10 - 67 hours into Phase 2 and the subject is still alive and doing well.

as a side note, my Bug-Off garlic powder arrived in the mail yesterday and I started the dogs today.


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

So what is Phase 3???? An Where is the video? lol


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

From what I've read it takes up to 72 hours for DE to dehydrate fleas, it may take even longer for ticks. I'm also starting my dogs on bug off to hopefully repel ticks!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

When are you going to test the ticks against the bug-off - - - - maybe grind the bug-off and see if the ticks hang out on the opposite side of the jar 

Sounds like the DE would be a bad strategy for tick repellent!


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