Use of diatomaceous earth in humans and pets.

[Bezbol21]

    There was a post here about a natural way to get rid of tapeworms and some folks were talking about DE.  The thread is locked so I had to start a new one.  I have been using food grade diatomaceous earth for the past 5 years with no ill effects on any person or pet.  I bought a 10 lb. bag from an internet vendor for about $30,and it looks like I won't live long enough to use it all.  For worms I mix it in with a  can of juicy cat food or tuna, maybe 3 spoonfuls per can, and the cat will gobble it up.  It makes it's way through the cat's digestive tract, killing every parasite it comes in contact with by a mechanical scratching/scraping/slicing action.  I've tested it for safety by eating it myself.  That's why it's called food grade-it's safe to put in food.  It's not the same stuff that you dump into your backyard pool.  That kind is not edible.  It also kills fleas on contact by the same scraping action.  You can put it in a pet's bedding or rub a generous amount in their fur, but I usually use Advantage II for fleas because it's more sure-fire.  If you get the Advantage for a  55+ lb. dog you can dose 5 cats from one little 4ml tube.  Get a syringe from a friendly vet and simply put .8ml on each cat that weighs over 4lb., or .4ml on cats under 4lb.

     This  deworming thing is no  b.s..  I've done it several times with infested, emaciated cats and it got them cleaned out within a day or two.  I  just  gave my daughter's kitten a dose a couple hours ago.  She found the little guy wandering in the woods last week and took him home.  I expect him to be better tomorrow.

[tri31]

Hi, glad to come across your post. I bought some diamaceous earth (foodgrade) a few months ago to deal with fleas naturally. Our dog seems to be immune to the topical treatments we have used in the past. Frontline ect.. I was hoping that you had some advice as to how to apply the DE. It is so fine, obviously everyone needs to be out of the house for a while. Any tips on how to do it? Or how not to? The vet had no knowledge of it, she seemed worried it may irritate Sequioa's skin. Same potential exists for the "treatments" she has prescribed, so we are ready to give it a shot. We are combing her out everyday, and vacuming.  She is on "vectra" this month..

[Bezbol21]

DE works on fleas only if the flea comes into physical contact with it, so it is a very slow process.  I used a flour sifter to spread it around the areas of my house where fleas were likely to congregate.  That would be the pet's bedding, around the baseboards, inside the furniture, and in the cold air vent for the heating system.  You have to rub it into the dog or cat also.  The heating/cooling system will blow the stuff around the house for a few days and you'll have some dusting to do.  I strongly suggest that you keep using a topical insecticide on your dog.  The stuff works, and the results are almost immediate.  The DE is much more effective on internal parasites simply because they have no way of avoiding it, whereas there's no guarantee that every flea in your world will bump into a piece of the DE.  The chemicals in products such as Vectra and Advantage are harmless to vertebrates but very effective against insects.  Your first line of defense against fleas should always be the removal of their food source.  That involves making the pet inedible to them, which is what the chemicals are for.  Good luck!