Pet Health Community

Yeah, companies seem to like to treat each other as being too greedy. I've personally recommended diatomaceous earth to clients for their backyard when they ask for other things to do to prevent fleas from popping in (if you already have a terrible infestation, spraying the yard should be first then the earth to keep them at bay/kill the ones that survive). But no one's ever come back and said it really worked so I'm not sure on its effectiveness and very few nearby places sold it and were usually sold out. It's always worth a try and if it does work, great!

However, since you are using Triflexis, you would need to switch to another heartworm medication if you wanted to stop your current one. Diatomaceous earth wouldn't seem to be effective against mosquitoes since they fly. Your best bet would be either Heartgard/generics or Revolution since Interceptor is still off the market due to maintenance.

I just bought a 50 pound bag of diatomaceous earth online, got the delivery today so I haven't used it yet (delivery only took 3 days from Greensense - it's an Amazon.com seller). My cat's been bringing in lots of fleas lately because he's outside with all the stray/feral cats that I also help feed. I'm hoping the DE would help keep my house, cat, and the outside (yard,etc.) flea free since nothing else is working. I was using Frontline Plus on my cat, switched to Advantage yesterday, hoping that, along with DE will help.

If you want to read up on the benefits of DE (suppose to help rid fleas and worms too), there are tons of user reviews online. Go to Amazon.com and search for DE, you'll find reviews and suggestions on how and whether it's worked for people. I wish I could share my experience, but I'm new to this too so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it will work.

First make sure you have Food Grade DE then use a mask over your nose & mouth. Food Grade DE is very safe I used it last year and this year.DE is good for Fleas,Ticks,Roaches & Ants any bug that has a Exoskeleton the DE cuts the Exoskeleton so then the bug dehydrates and dies. If you look at DE under a powerful microscope it looks like a barrel so the reason you need the mask is so the DE does not get in your lungs. You can mix DE in water and drink it gets rid of internal worms, does not protect against Heart worms since pets get that from flying mosquitoes but would get rid of tape worms, round worms,whip worms, intestinal worms. I sprinkle it heaviest down the fence lines I do not think my neighbors do any thing to get rid of fleas,then sprinkle round the base of the house, if fleas are really bad sprinkle it in the house leave it down a couple of days then vacuum it up. I have sprayed the house with Flea & Tick spray that is suppose to knock them dead and keep them out for 7 months think it is Vet Kim its a black spray can.This year just using the DE no fleas or ticks but i have two dogs a Dobe & a Doxie think it would be harder to deal with Fleas on cats if they go roaming around outside.Good Luck.

Hi,
I have always known about Diatomaceous Earth since I was 11 years old ( I am now 44), when I won second place in my local science fair and my topic of choice: Diatoms.
I have taken DE off and on for over 30 years and it has worked well for me as I have been told I have the skin and body of a woman in her late 20's early 30's. Recently, my two cats experienced an infestation of fleas ( had not given them DE since I adopted them) and I used DE to treat them and my household with great results. I love this stuff and no, I do not work for any of the companies that sell it-- I just know it is a great product as I am living proof!

Hi,

This is an update to my experience using the DE from my review 4 months ago (yes, it's the organic food-grade DE). I sprinkled the DE liberally in every room of my house and left it there for 3 days. Couldn't leave it longer since my parents came home on the weekends. It seems to have worked. I also sprinkle it on my cat's fur occasionally and I mix it with his food to kill any of the worms that papbouv mentioned. The DE, along with the monthly Advantage II drops seems to really have killed the fleas on my cat. I comb him for fleas everyday and he's been clean this whole month! Pretty amazing given that the ferals come into my yard a lot. I have also sprinkled a lot of DE also around the perimeter of the house and some of the lawn and plants, which I think also helps. Also, I mix it in with the foods I feed the ferals so they can also be free of those worms.

Now, I did find a flea or two about 3-4 weeks after my DE treatment inside the house, but I haven't seen any since.

The only thing with the DE is, it is really dusty and hard to clean up. I did initially wear a mask and even goggles when applying it but it got stuffy wearing them so I ended up taking them off...so I think I inhaled a lot of the powder myself. Just some coughing and hopefully not harmful beyond that.

I also recently had some bad heartburn and didn't have any of my Zantac on hand, so I took a tablespoon of DE mixed in with some juice. Did that for a few days, seems to have worked. Tastes really chalky but it's okay with juice.

I read that treatment needs to be repeated occasionally so that will be messy but it's worth it to get rid of the buggers naturally.