Diatomaceous Earth - Natural Pest Control

Diatomaceous Earth (I will call it DE) is a crazy natural mineral. I'm going to keep my explanation simple. It's fossilized diatoms (that's one cell organism that is food for marine organisms). The diatoms (hence diatomaceous) become fossilized in a rock. That rock grinds down to a powder. That powder is DE.

 I bought that big bag at a local health food store (The Cupboard) for about $11.

If you have animals or kids or anyone else that licks the floor, get the food grade (don't get the pool grade, it's not safe if your pets or kids ingest it!).

That powder is pretty magical. A lot of people take it as a supplement internally as a detox. I have never done that and don't know a lot about it. But it's something to look into if you want a new detox. It's used a lot in animal feed for the same reason. I am using it as pest control.

We are renting a house that was vacant for quite awhile before we moved in. There were some pest issues when we moved in. It's really tamed down a lot on it's own (I think mostly because I clean with vinegar, a lot of creatures don't like it). But I still occasionally see a roach or a water bug near pipes (sinks, tub, etc). So I wanted to give this a try.

The powder is very abrasive. It apparently can break down the waxy outer layer of the pest (ants, roaches, etc.), get under the skin, and then the powder absorbs the moisture from the pest and dehydrates it. That's how they die, thirsty. For some of the pests, it does a lot of damage on the guts because it so abrasive. It's a slow process, so the critters go back home with the DE and share it with their friends and family.

This works for roaches, ants, silverfish, fleas, ticks, and bedbugs.

Directions: Apply DE dust in areas that are frequented by bugs.These include windowsills, bed frames, under furniture, in garages, cracks, holes where wires and plumbing enter the house, patios, and crawl spaces. 

I poured some around the house (inside & out) where there is water because that's where we have problems.

 Bathtub

 Behind the toilet

 Under the sink (it's a rental, don't judge the nastiness)

Behind the washing machine

 Door from the laundry room to the garage.

 Window to our bathroom. The bathroom is where we have the most problems. This is the outside ledge of a window above the tub.

 This is outside under the window to the bathroom.

The door from the kitchen to the back patio.

I'll will update in 2-3 weeks and let you know how this is working.

 

UPDATE:

It worked! Well....kinda. It killed ant beds amazingly. And I found a couple dead roaches in the garage, so it got those, too. BUT, and this is a big but, it did not work in the bathtub, which is where I wanted it to work. The DE does not work when it gets wet. The abrasive quality that kills the pests is compromised when it gets wet. So I poured DE down my tub drain for a couple weeks for nothing. But that's ok, it was a good learning experiment. So the little black bugs living in my drain weren't bothered by the DE. Once I figured out it wasn't going to work for the tub, I had those stupid bugs in my drain for a few weeks. So I was done with it & didn't have the patience to test something else. I sprayed some non-eco friendly stuff down my drain. Toxic gross poison. But they are dead!

So bottom line. DE works for pests everywhere except in your bathtub.