# diatomaceous earth



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Anyone try this as an alternative to mite paper? Sprinkled on a paper towel with the cultures kept on it.


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## savagesage (Sep 13, 2012)

I use it on paper plates with my cultures in the center. no mites get in, no flys get out


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## radiata (Jul 24, 2010)

I'm not inclined to try it. I believe gardeners use it to lacerate the underbellies of slugs & snails and thus kill them, but I'm not inclined to believe it would have any effect on a mite. I'd prefer not to have it anywhere near my frogs. Do you have any references to the contrary?


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93151


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Thanks Jake!


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## daswooten (May 5, 2010)

I have recently started using it under all of my feeders (on a cheap cookie sheet) as I had a bad experience with some baby centipedes getting into a couple of isopod cultures (I'm still not entirely sure how). I wasn't sure if it would help with mites in the FF cultures, but I figured it couldn't hurt (I still use a mite paper square under each culture - I know that I'm paranoid).

My only concern with using it is what may happen if I ever have a pet escape.


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## zachxbass (Apr 21, 2008)

daswooten said:


> ).
> 
> My only concern with using it is what may happen if I ever have a pet escape.



My very very limited understanding, is that your pets would be ok. People actually eat DE. But it is very bad to breath in. I am basing this off of stuff I read online years ago, so don't quote me, but I think physical contact is ok unless you have an exoskeleton. Probably not good to get in your eyes though. Definitely bad to inhale
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## TheCoop (Oct 24, 2012)

I have used and do not like the mite paper.. The best thing I have found is Bird mite spray at Petco.. Grab as many paper towels as you need and mist them, place cultures on top and your good to go..


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

JUst curius, why do you not like the mite paper? I have heard that the bird mite spray DOES work, but has a limited viability duration. How long have you dound it to be effective.



TheCoop said:


> I have used and do not like the mite paper.. The best thing I have found is Bird mite spray at Petco.. Grab as many paper towels as you need and mist them, place cultures on top and your good to go..


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

Be careful, DE is a known carcinogen. 


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

There are two types of diatomaceous earth; one is amorphous diatomaceous earth, and one is Diatomite DE. Amorphous stuff is the better of the two types, and is the only one suggested for use around human crops & livestock from what I understand. (Amorphous types, from what I've read, _are not_ a known carcinogen.) Only one type, and an especially high grade is used for ingestion in certain livestock. There's some good info on this site on the differences between the two. Wiki has some good info, and this MSDS has good info on the amorphous type.

(No, I haven't tried it w/fly cultures... Mild mite solution works well enough for now.) 

Edit: I would not suggest this stuff for use around frogs or any reptiles/amphibians, just in case that wasn't clear... I just wanted to help clear up the differences between grades of DE.


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

Rusty_Shackleford said:


> Be careful, DE is a known carcinogen.


"Pool-grade" diatomaceous earth has been chemically processed and is carcinogenic, but the food-grade version is certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) and is considered safe by the FDA for use indoors and out.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

use this stuff in pools all the time, sticks to everything since its so fine.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

regardless of which type is used...a mask is really, really important...the animal quality DE is entirely different in many respects from the DE used around pool filters, and around hostas...but neither should be inhaled...the dust is extremely fine and does a lot of damage to lungs while sprinkling it out...read the label ...


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## dort (Jul 10, 2009)

As long as you're being careful about not getting it in the frog tanks it seems like it'd be fine. I imagine it'd be like going to the beach for the frogs, mostly annoying but potentially an issue if it gets into the eye.

I'm not careful enough to use it, I'd definitely drag a ff cup through it, tap some into my feeding cup and then put it directly in my viv. 

It's sold as a frog deterrent on a website, and disclaimers for pest control say "safe for pets not including reptiles and amphibians."


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

the fine dust generated from working with food grade DE is probably not much worse for you than that generated from, say, bentonite clay-which has a similar MSDS as it often contains silica oxide as an impurity, .


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## Sea-Agg09 (Feb 2, 2013)

I use DE powder all the time at work. The stuff gets everywhere, which is why it's great for controlling insects. I use it at home to kill fleas in the yard (wife's a big organo-nazi). It clogs the stoma's (breathing holes) of all sorts of tiny critters with exoskeletons.


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