Does Diatomaceous Earth Work When Wet?

[TorturedSoul]

Does diatomaceous earth work even when it's wet? I was once told that it only works on the surface of soil when it's dry. But I've read that people feed it to their pets and farm animals to kill parasites. And I assume it's wet in those animals' digestive systems. So... ?

 

[Stormblessed]

Hmmm that’s very interesting, I was also under the impression that it only works when dry because it gets caked up and sticks together when wet, but maybe it’s different when ingested, but that seems scary, like in the show OZ when they put glass dust in the guys food for a few weeks and it shreds up his inside lol

 

[SmokingWings]

Does diatomaceous earth work even when it's wet? I was once told that it only works on the surface of soil when it's dry. But I've read that people feed it to their pets and farm animals to kill parasites. And I assume it's wet in those animals' digestive systems. So... ?

Often wondered that myself. I figure that the surface of the DE starts to dry out and loosen up enough that when an insect walks across it they start to get the small cuts and eventually they loose so much moisture that they die.

The DE is so finely ground that it has no effect on the throat, stomach or intestine lining. It is finer than the glass dust that @Stormblessed mentions. Those linings in our bodies and the bodies of other animals and mammals are pretty tough. Maybe even tougher than our skin.

 

[Momma's Kitchen]

I use it dry but when I water it does get gummy. However, it seem to work. I figure it dries out in between, So I felt that it would still work. I would be very hesitant to give it to my for babies and I totally agree with the comment about the intestines being very strong I would just never forgive myself if they got sick.

 

[bobrown14]

Yes I've used it food grade added to water and dunked plants to get rid of mites. It gets on the plant and sticks to it. Mites crawl in it, sticks to mites and the mites die. I've watched this happen under microscope.

 

[SmokingWings]

Looked it up with a search. The DE does not work well while it is wet but it will dry out.

Two types of DE. One is food grade and one is for filters; swimming pool filters as an example but I used to have a DE aquarium filter a long time ago.

The food grade is what is supposed to be used when it is ingested or when it will be used on animals or for gardening. The food grade has a reduced amount of silica while the filter grade does not.

The major way it works for insect control is that when a bug walks or crawls across it, the tiny edges of the DE will scrape and cut the insect. It scrapes moisture and oils off the skin or the exoskeleton and causes the insect to dry out. If the exoskeleton gets cut by the DE it speeds up the process.

DE works while it is dry because there are pores in the diatoms that make up the DE. The pores will absorb the oils and moisture. If the DE is wet it will take a lot, lot longer to work. When the DE dries out it works again.

Mites have what is called a plated exoskeleton which is different than many other types of insects. I stopped following links at that point. Maybe other insects have something along the lines of one piece exoskeleton per body segment.

 

[skirk]

DE is only effective against arthropods when dry. Period. End of story. It has absolutely no effect on internal parasites
in animals much less humans. Old wives tale. Consult a medical professional.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Dr Yassom, a veterinarian in New Paltz, New York, said it would could be used in my pet’s food to help eliminate hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, pinworms and tapeworms. There does seem to be some debate about it, even among professionals. SweetSue gave me some of hers to try, I probably used way too much because I was mixing it into the cat's food and rubbing it into her coat. But I couldn't afford a trip to the vet, so I figured I'd give it a "double-barreled try."

IDK, though. Maybe one of the neighbors secretely kidnapped her and took her to the vet when I wasn't looking. I've heard that happens all the time. But most of my neighbors are poor, and half of them are assholes who hate cats. Whatever happened, I stopped seeing evidence - and she stopped being miserable. So it's all good, I guess.

 

[013]

I’ve used the food grade specifically as preventative dietary supplement for a couple of weeks on pups, they still developed parasites. Regular DE is tumbled to remove the sharp edges to make it food grade. I’ve used it but read that’s its ineffective when wet too, I thinks it’s best to lightly dust a fresh layer down and have taken to mixing DE and sulfur to dust with - sulfur is a preventative for mites & rust so I figure the combo is better. Yes it cakes when wet I dust over top