Talk:Diatomaceous earth

Confusion regarding safety for humans.
On the webpage selling "Garden Safe Diatomaceous Earth 4-lb Insect Killer" you see in caps OUTDOOR:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Safe-Garden-Safe-Brand-Crawling-Insect-Killer-Containing-Diatomaceous-Earth-4-Pounds/5005382579

but then you see in the Overview:

Use INDOORS and OUTDOORS: Apply a thin layer of dust to areas where crawling insects live and hide

But in an answer to a question: Can use this product in the same room as my cat?

The answer is: This product is not for indoor use as this is for outdoor use only.

But under features:

For Use in Kitchens/Bathrooms - YES

Maybe they were talking about outhouses and barbecue pits?

And this is only the beginning of the problem. This confusion is over the definitions of: SiO2/silicon dioxide/silica, DE, crystalline silica, amorphous, colloidal, garden grade, food grade, feed grade, impurities, salt vs fresh water, toxic levels, Primary Active Ingredient, silica gel and so on.

But the primary problem is the warning "Do Not Inhale". Given the massive use of DE in and around the home, the question is simple, is it safe? If it is so destructive to insects, then what does it do to my lungs? The mixed message on this webpage is like watching two idiots on Fox News say, "If you want to wear a mask, that's cool. If you don't want to wear a mask, that's cool."

So, please, somebody do the research of popular DE products being sold to homes and find out what is safe, if any.

Thanks. Fair Use 36 (talk) 21:27, 11 September 2023 (UTC)


 * This appears to primarily be a complaint about the Lowes.com website, not a suggestion for improvements to this article, specifically. Wikipedia isn't a 'how to' or 'guide' for use of commercial products. It would not be within scope to present a listing of commercial diatomacaceous earth products declaring which are safe or unsafe. cheers. anastrophe, an editor he is. 22:09, 11 September 2023 (UTC)

I've used a great lot of DE over my 81 years, and in response to the comments and questions above by Fair Use 36 here: There is really no such thing as indoor rather than outdoor DE. Aside from the difference between DE from different areas around the world there are only two grades: Food grade, and all other. The difference between Food grade is nothing more than it's being clean, and ground a little finer than the "all others." I have used both grades internally and externally with approximately the same results, none of which resulted in any problem.

As far as use goes, I have used DE both on my many animals, my wife and children, and no less than several neighbors quite successfully, internally, to kill various parasites, probably 95% being tape worms. I can't speak to the lungs question past that we all have been conscious of the possible risk, and therefore careful not to breath in any more than necessary, though some is inevitable.

For both internal and external use on animals, fleas, ticks, lice, and etc. do fall prey to DE, but nothing like as easily as many online sites like to claim. I am always careful not to overdose, using body weight for the only criteria, and yet dose quantity seems to be of far less importance than keeping the dosing regular in timing of no more than once per day, and no less that once per three days, for no less than three doses and no more than for 12 doses in a row. The reason for this regimen is that I've experienced tape worms dying out in one single dose, given to a very young kitten that likely would have died otherwise, yet the majority of tape worm cures, regardless of the patient's size, took at least the middle dosage time and quantity of once every third day until a minimum of 9 doses was given. The hardest ones are cats and dogs, simply because they lick their anus, and therefore constantly resupply the intestines with both the fresh live segment worms and the semi-dried encapsulated segments. Of course you must kill the adult(s) first, which is the hardest part, but then you must also keep on dosing past the very last intake of both the tape worm segments, and the fleas that carry them. Thus you must kill the external parasites, AND the internal ones, or success may not come at all.

Outside, as in kennel and garden use, DE does work, yes, but the difficulties of wind and weather are Legion, due to the virtual impossibility of getting and keeping a sufficient quantity in place. Keep in mind that DE is useless unless the victim acquires a quantity that causes it to bleed out faster than it washes off, or its body systems plus it's cleanliness habits can remove it. That said, DE in conjunction with methods such as spraying soapy water have allowed me and mine to be totally poison free for more than 4 decades, while at the same time raising an impressive percentage of all our vegetable and animal needs.

Robert Leslie @ this IP address: 174.251.240.123 (talk) 10:06, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Usage - household products
Shouldn't we include a section of how DE is being used more and more in home products because of how it can be made into a solid slab-like material that rapidly wicks away moisture? In particular bath mats and kitchen scooping spoons EdwinAmi (talk) 06:40, 4 March 2024 (UTC)


 * OK, I've added a section for that. Do I need a reference for proof? Like, these are products that exist out there, and like I just know about them. How would you cite for the fact that a kind of product just exists out there in the world made by various different manufacturers? EdwinAmi (talk) 04:49, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
 * How? Google it, try "diatomaceaous earth bath mat" and so on. (And fix a bit of language.) Ponken (talk) 07:15, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
 * like... a link to the google search, with all the results? Is that an appropriate reference according to wikipedia rules? EdwinAmi (talk) 04:22, 11 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Of course not. You search to find sources. The "like I just know about them", that is not a source. And the search I suggested turns up a good source (reputable newspaper). Ponken (talk) 10:03, 11 June 2024 (UTC)