Diatomaceous Earth Flea Control

Fire_Fox

cavework wrote: »

So why is this already used with no ill effects as far as I can find on Google by a whole host of people with varying types of animals?

Even the non food grade DE doesn't cause silicosis and/ lung cancer in all comers, it increases the risk. Furthermore it is unscientific to claim no ill effects from a layman's assessment of symptoms alone, that ignores 'signs' which are only found on examination or medical/ veterinary tests.

cavework

Think I will stick with Frontline Combo from the vets for now.
Thanks Fire Fox and everyone else for replying .
x

Crocswearer

I tried it for a while, but didn't like the way it made the cats' coats feel - kind of dry and not pleasant to stroke.

I haven't used it for household flea control though - I've had two sticky flea traps, one under our bed and one under the sofa, for many years and they work brilliantly. I would highly recommend them!

This sort of thing: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gotcha-STV020-Flea-Killer-Electric/dp/B001A2XCLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343509117&sr=8-1

I get packs of replacement pygmy lamps from Ebay and packs of replacement sticky discs from either Amazon or Ebay.

purple.sarah

Crocswearer wrote: »

I tried it for a while, but didn't like the way it made the cats' coats feel - kind of dry and not pleasant to stroke.

I haven't used it for household flea control though - I've had two sticky flea traps, one under our bed and one under the sofa, for many years and they work brilliantly. I would highly recommend them!

This sort of thing: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gotcha-STV020-Flea-Killer-Electric/dp/B001A2XCLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343509117&sr=8-1

I get packs of replacement pygmy lamps from Ebay and packs of replacement sticky discs from either Amazon or Ebay.

Just wanted to say, please don't use gotcha flea killers anywhere near your pets! I bought one as I wanted a safer alternative to anti flea chemicals for my home. The packaging showing a baby and a puppy playing near the device further represented that it was safe. I followed the instructions which advised "place trap on floor...usually where your pet spends a considerable amount of time." and "leave your flea trap on 24 hours a day"

But my cat was injured when he managed to put his head into the device, he was stuck on the sticky pad and the bulb burned his face! There was fur stuck to the pad and he had a burn by his eye!

If a product is designed and sold to be used around pets it should be safety tested, the gap should not be big enough for a cat to get their head into and the bulb supposedly only uses "gentle" heat to mimic body temperature to attract fleas so should not get hot enough to burn skin! I just wanted to make other owners aware of this risk.

Crocswearer

purple.sarah - how awful! Thanks for the warning.

I've used 2 traps for about 15 years, through all cat life-stages including tiny kitten, and this hasn't happened. The worst thing was one cat was wearing the sticky disc on his hip one morning after laying too close to it during the night.

murphy306

Where can you buy this Diatomaceous Earth (Food Grade) locally? I mean do supermarkets have it or what kind of stores?

paddypaws101

http://diatomx.co.uk/Diatom-X-Pest-2kg-PURE-WHITE

libra10

There are a few sellers on Ebay. Last year we bought quite a large quantity cheaply.

onetomany

i use it for my hens

ButtonBreeder

Of course vets will not recommend Diatomacious Earth as there is no profit in it for them nor for pharmaceutical companies. Flea, tick and worming chemicals are a major source of revenue for them. Just as doctors would rather prescribe pills than have you eat the fruit, plant or whatever has the active ingredients in them! No money in it! I have 6 dogs and all of them are treated with DE. No worms, no ticks, no fleas - and most importantly, no carcinogenic chemicals! Libra10 -you do know the link between creosote and cancer don't you? And Firefox - I suspect that you must be in the veterinarian profession to say only vets and veterinarian nurses know what they are talking about. Look at the research. FrontLine and Drontal are becoming less and less effective against parasites as the latter become immune to the effects of the chemicals. My animals have not been bothered by ticks and fleas when most people around me using expensive prescription chemicals have. If something tells me to avoid getting it on my skin and to keep it away from children - I'm certainly not going to put it on my dogs! It is true that DE makes fur feel a bit different - as it would if you used talc! In my opinion a small price to pay! Just one warning - only use food-grade DE and it is perfectly safe for human consumption.