# Use food grade diatomaceous earth to kill ticks, spiders, ants...etc...



## jeb532 (Feb 16, 2011)

Food Grade DE cost ~$30 for a 50 lbs bag (and about $30 for shipping). It kills ticks etc, by cutting holes in their exoskeleton and they die from dehydration. It is harmless to mammals and in fact can be ingested (mix a 1/2 level teaspoon with water or juice). It provides orthosilicic acid for your body to produce elastogen and collegen....and if you have any intestinal parasites, it will kill those too.

Spread it on your pet's bedding to kill fleas and ticks, on your bedding to kill bed bugs, and on your yard for ticks and ants.

Keep it off your bees!

DO NOT USE SWIMMING POOL DE...it is both toxic and carcinogenic....only us FOOD GRADE DE. Several source on the web...here's one...

http://www.earthworkshealth.com/


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## PAHunter62 (Jan 26, 2011)

Best Price I found. Plan to dust the ground around my hives this year, and also Use as a garden dust.

http://diatomaceousearth.net/product/30lbs-diatomaceous-earth

Shipping only 10.xx for 30 lbs.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I tried it for ants last year, didn't do squat. Ants just walked all over it like nothing after a few hours. It might work for larger insects better though.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

I scattered DE around my bee hives last year to try to keep the ants off. It did not work on the ants. 
They know how to evade the powder. But my poor bees did not and got killed more than the ants. If you
use them around your hive better bee careful. Maybe they will kill your bees too.

There are better medicines without prescription for internal parasites.


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## BeeManiac (Feb 26, 2012)

Dont waste your money


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

jeb532 said:


> DO NOT USE SWIMMING POOL DE...it is both toxic and carcinogenic....only us FOOD GRADE DE.


I'm pretty certain that this is false information. BOTH forms of DE are dangerous if inhaled.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Why food grade, are you going to eat it?
If you're bees get in it it will harm them wether its food grade or not. 
Hardware store swimming pool department, same stuff very cheep.


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## beeman2009 (Aug 23, 2012)

KQ6AR said:


> Why food grade, are you going to eat it?
> If you're bees get in it it will harm them wether its food grade or not.
> Hardware store swimming pool department, same stuff very cheep.


Pool grade DE is processed differently. As to it not killing ants or anything else, it will NOT kill adult anything, except bees, it kills in the larvae stage. DE did not work for you because you may have incorrectly used the product. You must either apply it just before a rain or thoroughly wet the ground after dusting so it can soak in. And YES it does work quite well. I have been using it 2-3 times a year for the last 6 years and my SHB problem is nearly gone. I don't use anything else most years. I get mine at the local CO-OP for $40.00 for a 50lb bag. They call it feed grade.


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## beeman2009 (Aug 23, 2012)

deleted


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## Slow Modem (Oct 6, 2011)

tractor supply store


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

I use the hardware store stuff in my water cups under one hive as an experiment. It will keep the ants out of a hive.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

KQ6AR, do you mixed in the DE with the water in the cup?
And do the bees fly under to drink and get drown too? Or they go somewhere else for the
water?


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Just straight dry powder.


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## dingo983 (Feb 10, 2011)

It has to be food grade DE. The DE for pools is processed with heat rendering it useless, if I recall. I perfer chickens for pest control. I would not use it around my hive, for fear of wind blowing it up into the hives.


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