# DE Yea or nay?



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

This is one thing that confuses me. You have a very vocal (seemingly) majority that says "yes, yes, yes. It is magic and will cure every ailment as a matter of fact you need to eat it every day, give it to your chickens and they will never have mites fleas or any parasites period, sprinkle it in your coop and run and it will never smell" then you have the naysayers that say "it will cut your insides up and kill you, your birds will die a slow and painful death". I know that logically probably neither extreme is exactly true. What are your views?


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

Food grade DE is marketed as a pelleting and anti-caking agent.
As far as adding it to their feed to rid internal parasites , no manufacturer makes that claim.Once it gets wet it would be ineffective.
I use some in my feed buckets with hope that it will help ward off grain mite and weevils.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

In human food it is labeled as silicon dioxide and is added solely as an anti-caking agent.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Waste of money. I actually know someone that attempted to go the all natural route and failed. She did the pumpkin and whatever to prevent internal parasites, didn't work and she had to go to a chemical wormer.

She used the DE for mites, sprinkled on the birds and in the coop, didn't work. 

For mites DE works very much like much cheaper sand for mites. Birds dust bathe in it and they're removed but if you think about it, dirt helps a ton too. 

Many of those that are so gung ho for it happen to live in areas where parasites are not all that much of a problem. Get in to the hot humid SE and all bets are off. Since moving here I've had a heck of time with them where I didn't have as much of an issue where I used to live. I had no issues at all with mites when my birds were on sand.

And there is absolutely no scientific evidence that it is anything more than filter material for pools and aquariums. The only thing you see is published by the company pushing it for sales.


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## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

So I plan on using PDZ in the coop, on a poop tray under the roosts and sprinkled around the run etc. (deep litter in the rest of the coop) But was wondering about mite/flea control etc.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

PDZ won't do anything for mite control.
PDZ (zeolite) absorbs ammonia .


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You can use the PDZ in the litter too, very effective for keeping odors down.

CharlieEcho sold me on using Sevin in the litter. I don't like Sevin, never quite trusted it because of the warnings about inhaling. But raked in to the bedding it is not a threat even if the birds dust bathe in the shavings. So far, it seems to be doing the trick.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

If you're using deep litter don't use DE.


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## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

Nm156 said:


> If you're using deep litter don't use DE.


I gave up on the idea of using DE, was just curious what the thought was here because I see so much about it. I trust y'all's opinion way more lol. I know the PDZ was just to remove moisture and in that way helps control odors. I am planning on making dustbaths with sand, is there additional benefits to adding wood ash to the sand? I keep hearing about that too.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I've never explored the wood ash. My feeling is that the chemical composition of wood ash is very unpleasant to the bugs. When was the last time you saw bug inhabiting an ash pile?


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

I use sevin as well. But then I have used it for more than 25 years as a good way to kill the freaking bugs in the house. My wife would tell you. I see a single roach. I go into nuke mode. Moving from the north east to south east. Bugs down here grow on steroid here. I do not play. Out in the coop I use Sevin as a means to keep coop as bug free as I can.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

My issue with using the Sevin on birds is the lung thing but on Silkies it feels absolutely awful. I don't notice it as much on the hard feathered birds but the Silkie? Ick.


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

I use it in the place where the birds can not get to.. My coop is a shed that I am still in the process of converting to a coop. I use the Sevin Dust in a few places. The small tool locker being one. It has not harmed any of my flock. Though this years mosquitoes did finally show up. Generally, I have my marigolds out. Have a few pots hanging high up inside the coop itself. Thanks to the heat. My marigolds did not grow so well this year. So, yep, I have mosquitoes.. I can not wait for the first frost to kill the little.. insects.. off.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Mosquitos are not as much of an issue for me since I have a fan on the birds all during the hot weather and during the times when they're most likely to be out. I actually prefer hanging with them when outside since the flippin' gnats can't get at me.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I agree with Robin. Sevin is a necessary evil to me. 

Jabberwocky, I moved from NY to Florida and my dad taught me first day- use Ortho Home Defense. No bug for a year.. Well maybe a dead one. Best stuff I ever used.


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

I have yet to find any lice or mites. I'm sure it'll eventually happen. My coop and run have several options for dust bathing. I do use wood ashes in the sand box and areas they roll around in to dust. I'm not opposed to sevin exactly. My concern is that my deep litter is working perfectly. I love it! If I use sevin in my coop and run won't it kill off the good bugs that make the DL work? I wouldn't mind using it preventatively (is that even a word?) but I don't want to screw up a good thing.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Just watch, PM. I didn't have any issues the first two years when my birds were on sand. It was only after I moved them to a solid floor coop with no sand.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I use wood ash for dust piles... Mostly in the winter, simply because I produce a tonne of it, and I need to toss it somewhere.

Other people in this frozen wasteland have disease and parasite issues... I haven't had any..... But I think due to dumb luck, not wood ash.


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

I put wood ash in my coop and in the sand box. I wonder if I should put some in the nest boxes.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

DE is a waste of money, been there done that a long time ago. I recently dealt with a case of lice/mites (first time in many years) and was shocked to find one louse and one tropical fowl mite crawling around in a grocery bag which contained sevin dust. I had dusted my birds the day before, one at a time in a grocery bag, "shake and bake." I was using the leftover sevin dust from the bag in the coop, and when I dumped it out on the floor of the coop, there they were! I had already cleaned the coops out too! I've never had this problem with sevin dust in my life and have recommended it to many chicken owners. I couldnt believe it!
I then drove to Ace Hardware and bought permethrin dust and dusted both coops. Instead of redusting the chickens, I gave each chicken a drop of Advantage Plus on the back of the neck. 
Here's a tip: Once you dispose of bedding and nesting material; I use a wet/dry vac to suck up debris in preparation for spraying inside the coop. I use bleachwater to spray inside the coops and nest boxes. Bleachwater not only kills lice/mites, but also larva and eggs. It gets in every crack, crevice and corner... AND it's cheaper to use. Bleachwater does NOT have effective staying power, its only drawback. I then put a fan inside the coop to help it dry quicker, then added bedding, then added permethrin dust on top of the new bedding and nesting material. I "pat" it down to get it mixed well into the bedding and floor of the coop. Wear a mask at all times.
This is not to say that sevin dust is ineffective against lice/mites. I've had great success with it in the past, but not this time probably due to resistance. Luckily there's many other products that can be used.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Dawg, poultry dust (permethrin) works great. I've always used Sevin and only once I had to do a hen 3 times to get them all. I think the major thing is eating it when they eat dead skin. Maybe it just wasn't appetizing in the bag. But permethrin works on contact I think.

Bleach is one of my top chemicals. Nothing like bleach for cleaning.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I like the fact that bleach is so strong and yet has no lingering toxic anything.


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## pinkmartin (Aug 11, 2015)

Me too. I use it for everything.


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## rooless (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm having a problem with mosquitoes. I have 10 hens and I'm getting hardly any eggs this year. We have been getting a lot of rain so the mosquitoes are terrible and the heat too. What can I use to control the mosquitoes? Would spraying with pyrethrum help? Also will it hurt my girls?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

A fan might be your best bet. Mosquitoes are poor fliers... Even a little breeze and they are gone.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Oh, the lack of eggs probably has more to do with the heat... Or molting.

All of mine are currently molting, and the molt GREATLY reduces egg production.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

You can put screen on the vents and entrance to the coop. Once the screen is installed at the entrance, use scissors to cut it vertically so that your birds can enter/exit the coop. The screen will deter mosquitos, flies and gnats. See pic:


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Brilliant idea dawg!


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