I just had some chick on my raw food coop pretty much attack me for using Diatomaceous Earth, Food Grade in my house for the fleas I have been worried about. Apparently it can cause serious damage to lungs - But, this is food grade and ALL the sources I have research state that it is no more unsafe than dust.

Help me out here guys, now I feel like I have hurt all of the animals.

Well I sure hope not, cause I just spent all day vacuuming it up in my parent's house! I breathed in a lot even though I tried not to. The lady where I bought mine from said it was safe, just try not to cause a dust cloud. I think your two will be fine!

Exactly! I can see where FILTER GRADE would be a problem, but this stuff is just like dust. it's .5% silica and the chick will not listen to me. The dust in my house is probably filled with worse crap.

She may have them mixed up. My dad asked if I used the stuff he already had in the garage and I said I didn't even know he had it. I'm glad I didn't use it cause it was the kind for pools and I read that's chemically treated or something. I also bought a big bag of it a while back from the feed store only to realize it had ash mixed in with it, so I only use it outside. Don't want to turn everything grey in the house! lol. It works well outside for ants.

I tried that Sara, and she said:

no more harmful that dust? ITS just like silica sand...diamond sharp edges. Dries out ANYTHING and EVERYTHING it touches. Your lungs...are wet...dogs lungs are wet. You or they inhale and you have respiratory issues period. Please Megan , do your research and the reason its not used on my farm other than my poultry for dusting or waterfowl for preening.

and

its all over the net to learn about pro's and con's about DE. Do your research. Your opinion will be yours. Im not fighting here, but I will NOT allow a NEWBIE to use this cuz it was posted on the net. Just like I would not allow "THOSE" pe
ople on this list to get raw TRIM foods cheap, to supply to pups and elderly to harm their babies. It wont happen on my watch. EVERYONE will do as they see fit, and I can only advise from my time spent and knowledge...

The odd thing is - I can find NOTHING that states food grade is bad to inhale, but can find plenty that states otherwise. Honestly, I would believe the people on this forum long before someone else. And I am pretty sure val has recommended it before.

Well the holistic pet food store I go to recommends it and they didn't mention any customers or pets ever having a problem with it. If they did, I'm pretty darn sure they'd quit recommending it. They are very honest ladies.

Yep. It just irritates me because i was made otu to be an idiot endangering my pets - who have shown NO SIGN of discomfort.

Megan I would just ignore this lady as long as you are not seeing any side effects.

We use it on our yard the food grade. have not in the house.

You guys are awesome. I was freaking out about it - you all know I would never want to endanger the dogs.

Just play it safe keep the dogs outside and wear a dust mask when you vac it up. Does your vacuum have a HEPA filter?

It's a dyson and very good. I actually took rugs outside to shake them out and they were in separate rooms and did not inhale it.

I had always thought it was safe, never used it but know people who do. This was on their site:

Is Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth Safe?


You bet! This product is completely non-toxic and chemical free.
Remember to only buy food grade diatomaceous earth and steer clear of
the DE used in pool filters as it is processed DE and is toxic. Avoid
diatomaceous earth that has any kind of additive in it because they can
sometimes be toxic as well. Also because it is a very fine powder,
inhaling too much of it can irritate the lungs and cause coughing.
Diatomaceous Earth also may cause your skin to become dry if your skin
is exposed to large amounts of it, but the typical consumer will not
have to worry too much about that as you will rarely come in contact
with enough to make a difference. It is recommended that while working
with large amounts you use a mask and gloves as a precaution and use DE
in well ventilated areas.

Maybe the statement in the above at "can irritate the lungs and cause coughing" was what she was referring too, who knows though she shouldn't be nasty about it anyway!

And I did. I followed all the guidelines. Maybe I just pissed her off. But, if Val suggests it, I believe it.

That is all.

You shouldn't care if you pissed her off, that is her problem not yours

Balonsmom wrote:

You shouldn't care if you pissed her off, that is her problem not yours

She made me feel like a total ass - I'm thinking wll shit, did I hurt my animals. Anythign I had ever heard suggested putting it in their coats and such. So, I did. And I can't find fleas.


Anyone know how long the flea dirt will stay in the fur? I'm sure it will last a little bit, and i haven't brushed them, just searched for fleas. So, I'm assuming a brushing is in order.

mheath0429 wrote:

Balonsmom wrote:

You shouldn't care if you pissed her off, that is her problem not yours

She made me feel like a total ass - I'm thinking wll shit, did I hurt my animals. Anythign I had ever heard suggested putting it in their coats and such. So, I did. And I can't find fleas.


Anyone know how long the flea dirt will stay in the fur? I'm sure it will last a little bit, and i haven't brushed them, just searched for fleas. So, I'm assuming a brushing is in order.

I'm sure it did, I bet she was confusing DE with food grade, so she NEEDS to do her research!

I'm not sure about flea dirt, haven't had that problem yet. Again though, don't worry about that woman, she is the one who is looking stupid!

I don't know if it is the same with DE, but with chalk, like for making their legs look whiter for shows, it is recommended you don't leave it in their fur for very long. Like wash it out after the weekend of shows. Cause it acts like sandpaper or something and can damage their fur if left in for a long time. But again, that's chalk, not sure about DE.

I don't plan on leaving it, it's definitely drying to the coat, but I want to give it time to kill the fleas if there are any to hatch. Most of it has rubbed off or been shook off. and when they got it put on them - I covered their noses with a cloth well, Chris did - he held them and covered muzzles, I put it on.

Whoa! They put chalk on dogs to make them whiter? I knew about the dark dye! Interesting!

Megan - there will always be some busybody telling you what to do. As long as you are satisfied in how you're treating your dogs, you can ignore those people. You know you're a good doggie mommy!

Thanks Sam!

Anhy idea how long flea dirt sticks around? It's not much, I caught these bugger early! It sure helps to pay attention to your dogs!

Yeah, it's a white powder or whatever color you need it to be say brown, black, grey... I haven't heard too much about dyes. That would seem more unethical to me. Chalking up a dog's legs just makes them look cleaner while dying the coat can make the dog look like it has a different color or pattern. Doesn't matter too much with siberians, but some other breeds are supposed to have certain colors/patterns and dye is sort of cheating IMO.