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diatomaceous earth

PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2015 1:01 am
by mannytheseacow
Anybody used diatomaceous earth around the yard? I've heard it's good for killing pests and microbes and things... I've used it as an organic treatment in the greenhouse before. Just wondering, if I was to sprinkle it around the yard or in the bed pack in the barn, wouldn't it kill the good stuff as well as the bad stuff? I'm especially thinking about the barn bedpack, it might be great in there now, but when I shovel it out and turn it into compost, I don't know if it would still be a good thing to have in there. Anybody have any thoughts?

Re: diatomaceous earth

PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2015 1:18 am
by Lollykoko
I have only used it to counteract fleas.

Re: diatomaceous earth

PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2015 10:50 pm
by 4seasons
I have read about using DE in chicken coops to keep the smell down, but I choose not to do that for a couple of reasons.
1. I would have to buy it and I like to use as much free stuff as possible.
2. Speaking of free stuff I use what I clean out of the chicken coop as compost. From what I have read on DE it either kills or stops the bacteria that breaks down organic material into compost and/or repeals the bugs that break compost down. Since one of the reasons I got chickens in the first place is for their natural composting ability I choose to avoid using DE.