I have quite a lot of pillbugs and crickets in my garden, and I've read that diatomaceous earth works well as a deterrent for both of them - but every comment or article says to use food grade. Anyone know if there's a real difference in food grade vs. non-food grade in the garden? Does it have to do with particle size? I'm getting ready to buy some and food grade is so much more expensive...thanks!

I think the food grade is a different grind and it's probably sterilized. Not sure. If humans or dogs ingest it, it's not such a problem as the pool grade. If you use the pool grade, be sure you wash your garden vegetables really well, multiple washings as will get entrapped in things like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks. Well, you get the idea. If you're just talking flower gardens, well, so long as your kids and dogs don't eat them, you're just fine. I use pool grade on my yard for pill bugs and fleas when we first moved in and my small dog has had no issues whatsoever. She's never been inclined to mess with plants over the years. Be sure to apply on a wind-free day but still wear a dust mask when applying as it's not so good to inhale this stuff.

Thanks - I didn't even know the non-food grade was used in pools (filters?). Eons ago I used to buy DE for my garden - it was slugs back then - and I bought it from a local organic garden supply place that's out of business now. I don't have a dog but I do have chickens so I guess I'll play it safe and get food grade. You never know what chickens can get into! lol

Yes, my first exposure to DE was our pool filter back in Texas City years ago used that kind of filtering medium. Yes, the food grade might be wise if you raise free-roaming chickens.

Yes DE will resolve problems with offending pests. But remember, once you incorporate something into your soil, there it will be, in some cases - forever. So....having said that....what else does DE eliminate? Like maybe earthworms?
I like to investigate solutions, like you are doing, Cindy, to see what the far-reaching affects could be, before deciding.
Best of luck.

It's great for killing fleas. Treated my yard 4 years ago when we bought the place 4 years ago and haven't seen a flea on the dog since!! And man, was this yard ever infested with them when we purchased. They were even biting ME every time I walked in the back yard. Nary a one since, truly. I've not had to re-treat.

Kill the big outdoor cockroaches, too. They're not bad in our neighborhood, but almost every single day I will find one of the outdoor type on my hardwood floors "belly up", still wiggling his legs, yet nobody swatted it. Don't know how they get inside, but I don't have to lift a finger to kill them, other than pick them up with a tissue and throw them in the trashcan. Guess bits of the DE are still on the soil and roaches lick their legs in a post-eating/groom process. Of course, they may be walking through my neighbor's yard first. They spend a small fortune treating their yard once a month with chemicals (though not sure what bug for), even though I told her how effective DE was on bugs some 4 years ago. Each to their own.

Basically, DE kills any insect with an exoskeleton, as the sharp bits of crustacean shell cuts the exoskeleton. Quickly then the bug dehydrates and dies. As long as flying bugs with exoskeletons stay in the air and high up on plants and flowers (like bees) they won't be bothered. But if they walk down on the soil where the DE lies,.......well, it would likely kill them as well. DE doesn't discriminate. It will scratch/cut all exoskeletons. But luckily I have not had to re-treat in 4 years, fleas are gone, and I assume most of the DE is washed down into the soil so that it is likely to not be a problem for bees anymore, if it ever was.

I have a ton of those solitary bees... Dig a hole in the sand, drag in huge insects and spiders to feed their children...
I also have those legendary "cow killer" wingless hornets.

Killing those giant flying cockroaches (palmetto bugs) would be terrific.... But not at the expense of all my desirable insects...

Wonder what would happen if it were spread just inside the door of my house? Any desirables crawling in under the door?

Oh dear, these are things I hadn't considered. I thought I'd be preemptive but I haven't seen any insect damage yet from the crickets or pillbugs, I wouldn't want to risk the beneficial critters so I'll forego the DE. Thank you!

stone said:Killing those giant flying cockroaches (palmetto bugs) would be terrific.... But not at the expense of all my desirable insects...Wonder what would happen if it were spread just inside the door of my house? Any desirables crawling in under the door?

stone said:Killing those giant flying cockroaches (palmetto bugs) would be terrific.... But not at the expense of all my desirable insects...Wonder what would happen if it were spread just inside the door of my house? Any desirables crawling in under the door?

I think that would work for any exoskeleton bug that crawled through it. Certainly worth a try. You might sprinkle some on any pipe/plumbing entry points around your house, too.

You can safely give food grade DE to your dog too (not sure on cats) for internal parasites too, such as tapeworm (which come from fleas).

Peggy8b said:

I think that would work for any exoskeleton bug that crawled through it. Certainly worth a try. You might sprinkle some on any pipe/plumbing entry points around your house, too.

Not sure that you understood that keeping desirable insects was more important to me than killing specific pests...

I have a really thick flyswatter and a flashlight... Leave a piece of squash or tater on the floor... Come hunting with flyswatter and flashlight every commercial break... The fire ants clean up the carcasses...

Was reading a thread on another forum about using de for fleas:
https://www.survivalistboards....

Wonder whether it would harm the kitties?

I clearly understood what you said, that you don't want to use it outdoors and why. But you went on to ask about using it inside your doorway. I was answering that specific question. What "desirable" insects would be crawling through your door into your house? Just curious. I personally don't like any insects inside my house. In answer to your last question about kitties, if you use food grade, it is said not to hurt animals, that's why it's called "food" grade. It's even used as a food supplement for pets.

Peggy8b said: What "desirable" insects would be crawling through your door into your house?

That is the question...
In the winter wasps crawl inside my walls to hibernate... Valuable garden help, those wasps... Lady bugs also like to winter over inside the house...

At my previous house, the anoles used to come in... I'd have to be careful stepping through the door, because there would usually be a lizard or two sunning itself right there...

A few weeks ago, I had one of those green tree frogs jump on me, inside the house... It jumped away when I moved...

I carried a huge spider outside last week... I usually leave the cute jumping spiders be... Those guys are positively welcome to run around... I always need to be careful when swatting flies, though...

Wouldn't want to swat a jumping spider...

I had a southern house spider take up residence behind a painting... The only time I ever saw it was the time she caught a roach...

So... I really was serious in my concern regarding harming desirables...
I'm not trying to completely separate myself from the natural world...

And... In the link I posted... There was discussion about the DE causing damage to our lungs... Say we spread DE on the floor, and then swept the floor without wearing a dust mask... Getting all that DE up in the air inside the house... It might take hours to settle.... That could be as bad as vaping is turning out to be.

Hopefully we can agree to disagree on this one. I won't go to that extent. Insects, anoles and frogs deserve a safe world to live in, but outside my home. Only my yard will I share. If that makes me a bad person, I can wear that hat.

stone said:

That is the question...
In the winter wasps crawl inside my walls to hibernate... Valuable garden help, those wasps... Lady bugs also like to winter over inside the house...

At my previous house, the anoles used to come in... I'd have to be careful stepping through the door, because there would usually be a lizard or two sunning itself right there...

A few weeks ago, I had one of those green tree frogs jump on me, inside the house... It jumped away when I moved...

I carried a huge spider outside last week... I usually leave the cute jumping spiders be... Those guys are positively welcome to run around... I always need to be careful when swatting flies, though...

Wouldn't want to swat a jumping spider...

I had a southern house spider take up residence behind a painting... The only time I ever saw it was the time she caught a roach...

So... I really was serious in my concern regarding harming desirables...
I'm not trying to completely separate myself from the natural world...

And... In the link I posted... There was discussion about the DE causing damage to our lungs... Say we spread DE on the floor, and then swept the floor without wearing a dust mask... Getting all that DE up in the air inside the house... It might take hours to settle.... That could be as bad as vaping is turning out to be.

An interesting point; lots of people use DE in their chicken coops to kill mites - but tons of research indicates DE can cause serious respiratory issues for the chickens. But it's apparently an old-timey thing and folks don't see a need to stop using it in their coops. I don't have mites (fingers crossed I never do) so I have never used it in my coop.