DE for tick control

[Lauri & The Gang]

I've read many places about using food grade Diatomacious Earth as a method of tick control. You sprinkle it on the dog and it "cuts the ticks and fleas to shreds" or dehydrates them.

Well, I've already pulled 4 ticks off the dogs and 3 off me so I decided to test this theory. I found an unattached tick on one of the dogs, picked it up (very gently) and placed it in a jar with a spoonful of DE (food grade). That was at 5:30 pm Friday.

It's now 10:30 pm Friday and the tick is going strong.

So far I am NOT impressed. 5 hours is PLENTY of time for a tick to craw through your dogs fur and attach itself. The DE does not repel them nor does it kill them fast enough to stop them from attaching.

I'm going to continue this experiment and see how long the tick lasts in the jar.

[LisaT]

I left ticks soaking in a jar of peroxide and they were still alive a year later. How the heck do they do that???

I don't think I remember anyone on the tick list touting DE for ticks????

[Lauri & The Gang]

I don't know if anyone here has suggested it but I have read it all over the net.

6:53 am and the tick is DEAD!!

Now, on to Phase 2 of the test. In Phase 1 I had the tick in a Shake-N-Bake level of DE - more than I would ever use on the dogs.

This next test will be more realistic. I will let the tick crawl through a light coating of DE and then put it in a jar and see what happens.

[boeselager]

If your worried about ticks on your property, then I would highly suggest using Nematodes. They are all natural, and you can some times find them at your local garden center, or order them on line. Just Google it and it will show up.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Actually, I think we'll be getting chickens again!! The DH was against it but even HE sees the good in it with all the ticks we've seen last year and this one.

[LisaT]

Lauri, in spite of the chickens, are you still moving on to phase 2 of the trial?

Do you know what kind of tick it was?

[Lin]

I was wondering about this, I use DE for fleas but didn't know if it had any effect on ticks. I'm going to be starting springtime bug off for that.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by LisaT

Lauri, in spite of the chickens, are you still moving on to phase 2 of the trial?

Do you know what kind of tick it was?

Pulled a tick off of Mauser this morning and started Phase 2! I am video taping my Tick Tormenting, too!

I'm pretty sure they are dog ticks but I'll have to double check when I do Phase 3.

[Lauri & The Gang]

So, Phase 2 was what I called the ShakeNBake phase. I put the tick in a small jar with about 1/4 tsp of DE, shook it up so it was completely covered and then pulled the tick out and put it in a clean jar.

That was 2:00 pm yesterday. The tick is still alive as of 10:00 am this morning.

I'm beginning to think that the amount of DE needed to kill a tick is going to be WAAAY more than we would want to put on our dogs. I will continue to monitor this tick and see what happens!

[Gib Laut]

[quote=Lauri & The Gang;1801747]P I am video taping my Tick Tormenting, too!quote]


I luv it!.....I thought I was the only one who conducted scientific experiments on little critters lol!!!!....good work Lauri I have wondered about this one....I am told it takes anywhere from 1-3 days though,it's not a very quick process.....I assume because it causes death by dehydration which would take some time.....waiting for your results!