04/02/2025
Let's talk Diatomaceous Earth
What is Diatomaceous Earth?
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is actually the fossilised remains of a tiny marine organism called a diatom. They are collected from river and ocean sediment and then purified into a white dust that looks a lot like talcum powder.
When you look at DE under a microscope you can see that it has microscopic razor sharp edges - it sort of looks like a ninja star. These sharp edges are bad news for parasites and insects, but are completely harmless to you and your dog.
External use: natural insecticide
Diatomaceous Earth can be used to eradicate pests like fleas, cockroaches, beetles and bedbugs. The sharp edges pierce the exoskeleton of these pests, humanely killing them on contact. Because this is a physical intervention, it doesn’t involve any chemicals or environmental toxins. For this reason it’s often used in the rearing of organic animals.
To use: liberally sprinkle DE powder over your dogs coat and gently rub it in. Repeat over several weeks if necessary, and try not to get any in you or your dogs eyes or nose as it can cause irritation.
What to buy
There are a few grades of DE that you can purchase for home use. Avoid the pool and non-calcined grades (which are toxic), and only use human grade DE.
Purchasing DE is easy, and it is considerably cheaper to buy in bulk on the internet. A quick google search will come up with lots of good options. Don’t worry about buying Organic DE, it’s more expensive and exactly the same as the regular human grade DE.
Remember that like any infestation, it’s essential to completely remove all the offending pests from the home. Sprinkle it on carpet, dog bedding and couches, and leave for an hour before vacuuming it up. Make sure to keep your dogs away while you do this.
Internal use: anti-parasitic
DE can also be used to eliminate harmful parasites and worms from the digestive tract. And even better, adding DE to your dogs diet can improve both their digestion and immunity.
Here’s how it works. As DE moves through the stomach and digestive tract, only a tiny amount is actually absorbed into the body. The rest is flushed out of the body, taking bad bacteria, fungi, heavy metals, and other toxins with it. Any larger parasites that come into contact with the DE are killed on contact and passed through the urine
