Actually it can cause lung cancer if too much is breathed in, but with the Fossil Shell, that risk is reduced because it contains less silica than the other types. Still it is recommended to wear a face mask when spritzing it in the house and to keep the pets in another room till the "dust" settles.Originally Posted by Yosemite
Diatomaceous Earth! I just sprinkled some across my door sills and the sliding door last night. Hubby saw some of the little beggers. It is not actually "earth" - it is very finely ground diatoms which are a miniscule crustacean. It feels like a fine talc to us humans but is like shards of sharp glass to insects, cuts their exoskeleton and they die.
DE can be purchased usually at garden centres or feed stores. You must, however, ensure you get the food/human grade DE. It is perfectly safe for you and your animals. They do recommend, however, that you avoid inhaling it while applying it so just keep the kitties out of the room while you are spritzing it around and cover your own nose/mouth area with a cloth. It won't kill you or hurt you, it is just uncomfortable if you get some in your lungs and will irritate your lungs.
Your local hardware store is not apparently knowledgeable about DE. If you use the human grade it is perfectly safe, in fact many farmers mix some with the food they give their animals to protect them from internal parasites. Trust me, your cats are not going to be going around sniffing the DE to be breathing it in.Originally Posted by tdonline
I opted not to use DE because I'm not 100% sure that breathing it in for the cats is safe. They are also prone to sneezing. I spoke to a couple of people at the local hardware store and one of them was adamant about not using it with pets around.
If it is breathed in while putting it around the most it will do is be uncomfortable to your breathing, it won't hurt you thus why they do recommend you avoid breathing it in. To my knowledge it does not contain silica but then I'm not a chemist. My understanding is that is is simply finely ground diatoms. As for cancer, if you live in a city and are breathing in smog your chances of lung cancer are much higher than the little bit of DE you would be breathing in. A couple years ago they were saying bacon caused cancer too. If I believe everything "they" said caused cancer or harmed me, I would live in a bubble and have an extremely restrictive diet.Originally Posted by Shanynne
Actually it can cause lung cancer if too much is breathed in, but with the Fossil Shell, that risk is reduced because it contains less silica than the other types. Still it is recommended to wear a face mask when spritzing it in the house and to keep the pets in another room till the "dust" settles.
I've never found food grade DE in a hardware store. If you look at the ingredients of DE products, some do contain silica and other harmful ingredients that I would never use around my pets. That's why those who recommend it always emphasize the FOOD GRADE part of the product.Originally Posted by 7_Angel
I ordered food grade DE online... (could not find it at any hardware store - they have a DE combo - but it is not 100% DE and it is combined with other things that make it unsafe to use around animals).
One more reason I won't buy online from most sites. e-bay isn't exactly a place I'd trust for them telling me the truth about a product. I personally would recommend you buy from a reliable source that you can believe when they say food grade.Originally Posted by 7_Angel
I got my DE on ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260291035947
However, it says it has silica in it, but it is food grade... other posters said that silica is harmful...
So, now I'm confused. However, my cats have been around it and they are fine.
The best place to buy DE is from directly Perma-Guard themselves. That way you can be sure of what you are getting. http://www.perma-guard.comOriginally Posted by 7_Angel
I got my DE on ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260291035947
However, it says it has silica in it, but it is food grade... other posters said that silica is harmful...
So, now I'm confused. However, my cats have been around it and they are fine.