Using Diatomaceous Earth In the Garden - What Is It & How to Use It
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2016
- Diatomaceous earth (D.E.) is a great organic method of pest control in
the garden. We don't apply many products and rarely treat pest problems
unless they are really becoming an issue. This method is a good one and
will help to fight pesky beetles, fleas, ants, aphids, and japanese
beetles!
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What I like about your garden channel is how many topics you address. Much appreciated
Everytime I need a video explaining something in my garden, you have a video. Thank you for all your help
I am watching this 5 yrs later, and boy! did I learn a LOT! Thank you!
Just wanted to leave a comment here letting people know that there is a safer method for applying DE. That method is through a sprayer. Use about a cup of DE mixed in with a gallon of water in a sprayer and spray the leaves, under the leaves, stems, and even the soil around the plants. Once the water dries, you will see white water marks all over your plants. This is DE! Reapply every 1-2 weeks or after heavy rainfall. This method is a lot safer because DE is very fine dust/powder. If you do not use a mask, and sometimes even with a mask, it can harm your respiratory system (lungs) if large amounts are breathed in. Also, please make sure to use FOOD GRADE DE when using it in your edible garden. This is the only kind of DE that is safe to consume. Thanks.
Also, please try to avoid spraying directly into any blooms or flowers. And apply early in the morning, or late in the evening. It may or may not damage pollinators, but its better to be safe than sorry.
Good point! While DE is not poisonous, it is an unselective agent, and will harm beneficial insects as readily as the pests.
Panther359
That’s my big issue, where there are aphids there are lady bugs
It's my understanding that DE needs to be dry to affect the bugs. Once it's wet it loses it's effectiveness. Diatomaceous earth causes insects to dry out and die by absorbing the oils and fats from the cuticle of the insect's exoskeleton. Its sharp edges are abrasive, speeding up the process. It remains effective as long as it is kept dry and undisturbed.
applying it with water is just a way to cover the plant entirely. After the water drys you get the white dry residue back. like a force field ffffffffffffeeeeeuuuuuuuummmmm'
I know this is a older video but I found it so helpful. Also just placed two more orders from your website. Thank you so much and God Bless!
me too...
I'm going to try this. Thank you for sharing, I will do a video and post results.
Love Food Grade DE. I did not have a duster so used a repurposed squeeze type mustard bottle.
I've been growing vegetables in my hobby farm here in Central Texas for almost fifteen years now. When I first started planting potatoes, I would go harvest the potatoes and I would have a fire ant mound in just about every potato plant. The potatoes would be bitten so bad it was just awful! When peeled, there would be tons of little brown spots all over the potato from the ant bites, so we would have to peel a lot more to get rid of them. THEN... I started putting food grade diatomaceous earth in with my seed potatoes when I planted them. I would dig the hole, dust the hold with D.E., put the seed potato in and then dust a little on top of the seed potato with a little more D.E. Now, it is VERY RARE for me to find any fire ants at all when I harvest my potatoes!!! When washed, the potatoes are pristine and beautiful. When sliced, they are crisp and clean through and through. Food grade D.E. can be used to worm pets and even dust pets for pests. By the way, I've been using D.E. in my garden for well over eight years now and I still see PLENTY of worms in the garden all the time, so it doesn't seem to be affecting them very much if at all.
You shouldn't use it on pets as they will inhale the dust! Not good for their lungs either!
Yeah, it won't hurt earthworms in the soil but will dry out the shell of any insect with an exoskeleton. That means an insect with the skeleton on the outside of their body, such as cockroaches, bed bugs, ants, etc
@@wooddragon8639 everybody likes to freak out about the dust but food-grade diatomaceous earth is different than non food-grade diatomaceous earth. The latter has been heat treated so the silica turns into glass! You can sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth on your dog! I've even dumped a little bit at the base of an oak tree and the squirrels themselves rolled all up in it and dusted themselves. They were the ones giving my dog's fleas!
Once again, food-grade diatomaceous earth is not heat-treated! I'm not worried about the dust from it
@@eej902 does food grade also contain silica?
@@eej902 you can actually eat food grade. The only issue I could ever see happening with DE either food grade or not is it killing the microorganisms in the soil which is what makes soil living. Best thing you can have is microbes and worms lol
Great info, I should buy a bag for the beetles that attack my wild clematis. It gets/draws so many of them & they chew up the plant leaves. (It still blooms well but I hate having the bugs crawling on my deck)
oh my - I've been using it in my coops...didn't think about the garden!! Thanks!!
Only bad thing is it kills bees
@@eej902 oh no :( i was worried about that. Wondered if it is safe on butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds...
Shoot, even spiders are beneficial to plants i believe. Although i feel like a monster now even looking at a living organism in such a way. So much self reflection and changing needed here. Apologies.
@@christinaayres84 well they say the bees go straight for the blossoms so just keep it away from the flowers and I think you're good. It dries out exoskeletons, so it will harm animals with them.
I take this everyday as-well and it’s amazing
Great info. Never heard of this product. Will share so other people can benefit. Thanks.
thanks Nery!
Good tip Luke, thanks for sharing
If you use "Food Grade" you can also feed it to your dogs & cats to help de-worm their intestines. Or rub it all over their fur to help kill fleas & ticks etc... Just do it outside so when they shake the dust cloud is outside your home!
you got that right!
@@MIgardener Does DE work on the soil around the plants?
Good source of silica and makes limbs strong like steel. Tractor supply sells a huge bag of DE with calcium mixed in for like 15 bucks. It's definitely the way to go. And ya gotta get the underside of the leaf
We get a ton of cucumber beetles and it ruined my crop last season. So I'm going to try this out
It also works great for aphids, slugs and mites. You have to make sure to dust the undersides of the leaves as well....
Totally!
I spray water with small bottle, then use puffer of DE, this way you can get the undersides of leaf. The bugs just live underneath if you don't.
Great idea! Thanks ❤️
I use it all the time. I bought food grade DE because it’s also good to ingest about a teaspoon a week to help with stomach bugs and such. I just mix it with a smoothie. It tastes a bit gritty but I recommend it to all my clients.
Oooh! I just read you can use a sock and fill it with DE to make a duster
I use diatomaceous too, I get leaf hopper problems pretty badly. I recommend avoiding the blossoms tho, it will affect the bees.. even tho the bee's have those little hairs all over them when they go to clean the dust off of them it will affect them.
Great stuff ! I also use it as a wormer for my chickens :)
Works great for that too! :)
Thank you for this information.
I have that, and forgot I did...grrrrr ty for video.
I'll have to try this on eggplant next year. Flea beetles always do a number on my plants. A dust mask is a good idea when working with DE. It's silica which is non-toxic to ingest but hazardous to inhale.
make sure to try to avoid the blossoms as much as possible so that the pollinators are not affected :)
Wow. Ok see i tried to tell my pops but he didnt believe me, about the lungs. Because when i was vacuuming, my asthmatic self starting choking on all the dust flying out, and it turns out pops spilled a bunch and vacuumed it, clogged it up. He still wont wanna hear me out tho ha ha.
5/2018 - Just dusted my garden today for aphids, ants & whatever else is out there crawling around. Last year my poor okra & squash took a major hit. I try not to use chemicals of any kind if at all possible. Inspecting your plants on a weekly basis or while watering is hands down the best way to identify and control pests. Last year, I was a little on the lazy side and had a major aphid infestation that went unchecked! Once I addressed the issue it was almost to late! For me, I start all my plants from seed & baby them like children for months before I ever get them in the garden and it's heartbreaking to spend all that time nurturing these little plants to see them be eating alive or destroyed by insects that can be controlled. This year, I transplanted my okra and within 3 days I had aphids everywhere! I've sprayed with Neem oil week one...as well as manually washing the underside of each leaf and smashing them. This removed most of the aphids. Now I'm dusting regularly with DE as well as spraying every 2 weeks with Neem Oil...this has controlled them and hopefully by the time I get blooms it wont be a huge problem. Remember, Neem Oil & DE will kill your pollinators so use caution when applying these products. When I have blooms I am very careful not to get the product inside the flowers. Side note: I've used DE in micron filters for my fresh/salt water aquariums for over 20 years. It's a fantastic product that is safe for you and your pets (when used according to label directions) of course! I also use food grade DE regardless of its use....And, like the gentlemen suggested, if you apply on a windy day keep the wind on your back so the powder is carried away from your face! Happy Gardening :-) Texas
this was very helpful, thanks!
Thanks man nice video.
Thank you for the video. Just a couple of points for people out there. DE does need to be food grade, not the pool filter kind. DE is safe for chickens and pets for flea control and human consumption. The reason for the mask is because the particles can get in lungs and irritate, but it would take a lot. I use a mesh kitchen strainer to dust the coops, pet beds, and plants. I find I can control it better and get an even dusting, not poofing too much at one time. I really like your videos, keep them up!
yes, i agree with everything you said! and i would add avoid the blossoms so that the pollinators are not affected as much as possible.
DE is also good to mix with pet/livestock food. Kills internal worms and keeps the weevils under control.
I've heard that you don't want as thick or deal of a dusting where they would avoid it.
So, here's what I use and do...
I have a battery powered small leaf blower that I got with a drill kit I purchased from Milwaulkee. Mine is the 18 volt stuff and works well for everything including what I'm going to explain.
I take an old used cinnamon shaker, (What ever you've got. turns out cinnamon is also a deterrent so it was in the chicken coop). Then I will take the last nozzle, smallest tube/final tube off so the center section of the blower is on it still.
I take the shaker now with the food grade DE, tap a bit of it into the air intake on the blower and dust the whole garden, yard, garage, patio, where ever I need to dust. It's certainly a fog of dust so don't forget to wear your mask.
yes i please want to know will it kill squash bugs, i really hate those bugs and those borers. please tell me. i want to try that de.
I am looking for a hand sprayer that I can use to spread over the yard for fleas. Kind of like the old metal ones my grandmother used. I saw two on amazon but they are plastic and have very poor reviews. any recommendation
Will this work on my young apple tree? It barely made it through last year due to Japanese beetles. I went out most nights and knocked them into soapy water, but couldn't keep up with the damage.
Thanks for the info
How's that baby?! We have used Diatomaceous Earth for the past few years in the garden. We have cats and didn't want to hurt them with chemicals. Plus, we don't need chemicals! We have a 4.4 lb bag now and I just use an old mustard bottle. It works great if you have ants in the shed too, like we did. Great video, Luke! Thank you!
The baby is doing great! You will see her very soon ;)
Yeah!!!
is it have quantity/dosage for DE to use?..what happen to tree if over use dosage de?
Pillbugs and their ilk are eating my seedlings in the garden bed. Bought a bag of diatomaceous earth but wasn't sure how to apply it. Thanks for the tips
thanks for sharing
Luke I used it yesterday but I didn't use it near that much plus I think when I watered a lot came off. I will be more liberal next time!!
Worked to me to keep control of pill bugs.
I have rolly pollies or some people call them pillbugs they roll up like an armadillo and they're in my soil will this work to get rid of them?
This is awesome! Man i have SOOO many gd beetles and neem oil seems to control but not remove many of them. Thanks man!
Not a problem! Dust them thick and re-apply in a week or so and your problems will be gone!
That is awesome man! Im so excited to get rid of these freaking pests!! They are all over my watermelon, pumpkin and cantaloupe and squashes.
did it do the trick? it really is amazing how well it works but avoiding the blossoms is tricky so that the pollinators don't get affected :)
MIgardener | Simple Organic Gardening & Sustainable Living k
What are long term effects if any for people who use this every year in the soil? Or does it just break down to non harmful. Anyone know?
I thought white butterflies were cute until I found out they white moths destroying my cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, Swiss chard. Now I see them them in a differently. I am going to win this battle. Thanks to you!
Grace Gusmano garlic powder w/lime works very well also.
@@beckywatt5048 might be a dumb question, but here goes: would cinnamon also be another good option as well as peppermint oil maybe? I love having options for times when u gotta work with what ya got on hand lol
@@christinaayres84 Possibly , I read about garlic powder and hydrated lime ,and a friend of mine was supposed to have bought 5lbs and got 50 lbs so I bought it cheap and it worked very well .
Murderer
@@beckywatt5048 i see. And this sounds like the best non harmful alternative too, as i assume its more of a deterrent, rather than harming the little creatures. I do feel like a murderer using diatomaceous earth, so thanks a bunch for the alt. tips :).
Hi, what would you use to get rid of maggots? Some of my Broccoli plant stems look like they are infested. I don't want to lose my whole crop. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
I think I'll drill some 5/16" holes in a mayonaise jar. Shaker method. More even and light.
A fine handheld strainer works great!
What about dirt gnats? Is it effective for treatment of that infestation? I am doing vinegar/dawn dish soap watering for the larve.. but these boogers are Hard to deal with. I container garden btw. 👩🌾🤷♀️ Thank u!
Can I used it for potted soil if yes how? My plant roots have too many millipedes
Can you use this product on fruit trees and bushes?
Tractor Supply carries food grade. Theirs is gray instead of white. It's used in livestock to eliminate digestive parasites.
good to know! Thanks!
How do I treat soil mites in my indoor pots growing baby onions. I have a cat and need a safe pesticide
Does this work on squash bugs; i don't know if they are arthropods
What is the difference between seed potatoes and store bought?
Can I use it as spray for the worm inside my bitter gourd produce?
DE is a food additive and can be purchased at your animal feed store. 50 pounds for $30 Canadian funds
Tractor supply sells it in bulk for cheap
I’m confused… Everything else I’ve read or watched says to dust on wet plants so it sticks to them and to dust lightly, not liberally. I also cannot find a dust applicator anywhere near me and I don’t see one on your site?
Thanks. I have some I use on ant hills. I going to to go outside and dust my garden.
People!
I grow all sorts from cannabis to shallots to strawberries to whatever I can think of growing,whether to eat it or smoke it, purely aesthetically,downright challenging or relief from utter boredom! (lock down sucks don't it just?!)
I once had an infection of fungus gnats from moody garden centre soil.I read up on it and amongst other methods I tried I hit on DE in 4/20.
This stuff is genius.For everyting!! Trust...this guy speaks veraciously,I recommend DE.I even mix a teaspoon in with fresh orange and drink it up gratefully! You can google up why...that way I know u'll find out why I went and bought a 20kg sack of the stuff! 😂
Oh,minor matter but DE is the fossilised remains of Diatoms hence the name lol Not just ground up seashells but like i said,it's a minor.
Stuff's cheap too.Bout 15 quid on E-bay for 20kg that's as cheap as sugar I think? Peace folks...and support YOUR N.H.S if you're lucky enough to have one 💙
Thank you
have you thought of diluting it in water instead of dry powdering the plants? this feels like youll get mildew from this with the wrong weather. i was looking into this as a soil amendment for silica, and well it creates a passive repellant for bugs but much milder.
What about basil 🌿 can I put food grade on the basil? Thought I can’t?
Is it safe to use once vegetables are growing or plants only?
How often would I do this?..Sorry if I missed it in the video...
Hello!! Can I use this also for white grubs?
I believe I have thrips eating and killing all of my peppers and starting on my tomatoes can I use Diatomaceous on that bug will it get rid of it, I plan on doing it first thing in morning, spraying it mixed with water doing all my plants.
Mine are not on the plants. They're in the soil. Do I just dust this on the stems or in the dirt?
I have a massive problem with ants in my compost bin, could I use this in there?
Diatomaceous Earth is actually fossilized diatoms which are a type of algae that have microscopically sharp points
Came here to say this. Bacteria sized organisms with silica cell walls. Also, it causes laceration at the joint segment of bugs with chitinous coverings like beetles. Causes their hemolymph to leak out, and they die.
Don Post actually diatoms are in the algae family.
my parents bought this stuff for 20$, it came in a cement bag style thing, it looked over 20 times bigger than that bag. any farm store like TSC country stores in canada have it in bulk
Might not have been food grade which costs more
Love using it D.E. around the base of my Tomatoes, and Brassicas to prevent Cut worms. Works amazing!
totally! A great use for it.
a great way to use D.E. that way you are avoiding the blossoms so that the pollinators won't be affected :)
How can I order the shaker bottle
so when you use it, your plants can't photosynthesize, and when you water it gets wiped off?
what would be so bad if you used pool filter grade DE instead of food grade on the leaves?
Just bought some from u thanks for the video
Great! Thank you for supporting the show!
+MIgardener | Simple Organic Gardening & Sustainable Living
Hi I have a question
My watermelons have this rippling in the middle of the leaf and on the under side of each of the leafs that have ripples they have theses tan eggs siting under them. The funny thing is the melon leafs are green a healthy but that ripples just worry me.
+MIgardener | Simple Organic Gardening & Sustainable Living
O and if it is a vires is there a natural cure and if not what about a (I can't believe I am saying this) A chemical way to get rid of it
Can DE get rid of squash/cucumber beetles? I can't raise them, because the beetles are so bad.
Diatomaceous earth does not harm earth worms or soft bodied bugs...only hard shelled bugs..it nicks there shell and dehydrates their body .It works well if put around the foundation of your buildings or wooden structures to keep ants out
Jeffrey Andreas It sure did work on my tomato plants to get rid of the big green fat horned tomato worms!
How do you protect the Bees and lady bugs?
Does it work one cucumber beetles?
Thanks for this video. Does it have to be feed grade D.E? I found some at Home Depot, but it does not specify feed grade.
Food grade is the only safe DE to use in your garden if you are growing edibles. The difference is the location and method from which DE is mined and collected. DE that is not labeled as food grade can be contaminated from the methods it is collected and slightly dangerous to consume. Not to mention that they might include other ingredients that is not safe to eat. DE has hundreds of uses. One of those uses is to consume it with water for health benefits, but you should only be consuming food grade DE. Although you might be able to wash off most of the DE when you harvest your edibles from your garden, its better to be safe than sorry. Most big box stores will not carry food grade DE. I bought mine from amazon and its one of the highest, if not the highest, quality DE available.
Panther is right - you want food grade DE. Many feed stores will carry it (it is used on livestock) or order it online.
what about leaf footed stink bugs? will Diatomaceous earth kill them?
You said it works for beetles but will it kill off their larve grubs found in soil?
I take a cup and pour slowly into my gas blower intake! BOOM! Garden done, don't breath it!
Jerri Croft 😂
i do the same thing to trick or treaters :)
I have a small hand-held, maybe 1-cup-size strainer that I load up with DE, then I tap it about waist high, and let it dust every plant and the ground in any effected area like powdered sugar. Within a day or two, all the arugula that had been being decimated by mint flea beetles and the like, stops being destroyed, and no new holes keep appearing. This year, my tomato plants had little holes all over the leaves, something was clearly hitting them hard! They were still in pots. At the same time, my basil had big holes in the leaves, just a few, but it was clearly the work of either slugs or Japanese beetles. So I put my tomato plants by my basil, dusted the whole area, left that on without watering for 2 days, presto, problem solved!! Yeah, everybody dies!!
Will D.E. help with cabbage worms?
Watched your fall garden video. What would be good for a fall garden in Texas? You mentioned that most everything can grow just look at the expected frost. We don't get a frost until after December, But it is Texas.
it would absolutely apply for texas and I bet you could plat tomatoes now and be perfectly fine! just look at the first frost coming up and make sure your days till maturity are good!
Will this help with pepper maggots?
How often do you apply it?
What is your website to buy stuff from you?
will this work for grasshoppers as well?
Can it be used for slugs?
Do we have to use only food grade for veg plants or jus the regular d... Earth will be okay??
zahi t ONLY USE FOOD GRADE!
Great video Luke. Does it work on cucumber beetles?
absolutely will.
Pwede ba ibudbud mismo ung ugat ng halamant s DE POWDER
In the phoenix area. I can’t plant squash or viney veggies and fruits because I get INFESTED w squash bugs. They are the worst!
I’ve heard tilling some diatomaceous earth in the top layer of soil helps but wasn’t sure if I should go ahead and do it 😬
Wont everyday watering will get in the way of doing this powder treatment?
You don’t necessarily have to water everyday. Put your finger in the soil and if it’s moist then you don’t need to water
Does this work for white fly?
I'm just starting my garden plot and have tons of red ants (Florida). Can I till this into the soil as I'm getting the plot ready?
Perhaps you could put a dusting on top of the soil. Eventually the ants are going to come up and get it on them and carry it back to the nest. When they try to clean themselves or the other ants try to clean it off of them they will also the affected by the DE and get rid of the whole kit and caboodle.
@@missrose0077 This takes a few days for them to die off but it will get the just leave where you sprinkled for ants undisturbed they will get in and take down in the mound & die. I also deputed with water & poured down in a mound but it don't work until it drys out.
What about snails, will it work for that?
I've been using DE for years on my dogs and I dust our yard once the weather warms in the Spring so I am familiar with it - this year I started vermicomposting so I'm pretty protective of earthworms now, so haven't used the DE in the garden at all - is there anything to worry about with the DE getting into the soil or do we just do our best to dust the plants? Thanks so much - great video!
i read that the worms slime protects them from the scrapes of the particles :)
Does it harm beneficial insects?