[Cats Rule]

I use DE on my cats to keep fleas down. Is food grade DE bad to breathe in? I've read in some places that FGDE is OK to breathe in.

 

[kty78]

I have read that all de is bad to breathe in but I think it's more along the lines of people who work with it on a daily basis and breathe it in constantly, but I could be wrong. It is basically like little shards of glass that can supposedly irritate your lungs. I don't know if it actually does anything for bugs, I have it sprinkled liberally on my concrete basement windowsill and there's still live fruit flies on my plants down there. Grrr. Also, people mix it in with their livestock feed to control insects and parasites and the animals breathe it in as they're eating, they have to, they stick their nose right in the food. Nobody has ever mentioned that.

 

[shan841]

I bought some food grade DE and it does say on the bag to wear a mask and gloves. I think you are fine though, unless you breathe it in on a regular basis.

 

[Cats Rule]

I take food grade DE internally, it's an excellent source of Silica, which most people need.

FGDE is great to use around the foundation outdoors, it wipes out colonies of ants in hours. I no longer use chemicals on my cats for fleas, I use DE and I vacuum more. With the raw meat diet I feed them, they seem to do better with fleas than they did on kibble and canned foods.

 

[~Siameseifuplz~]

DE is bad to breath in. It is basically little tiny sharp glass like particles. Our skin and digestive tract is made to handle tough stuff like that, our lungs are far too sensitive and thin for that. So be very careful not to release it into the air when applying.

 

[Mom of 4]

DE is bad to breath in. It is basically little tiny sharp glass like particles. Our skin and digestive tract is made to handle tough stuff like that, our lungs are far too sensitive and thin for that. So be very careful not to release it into the air when applying.

This!
And one exposure episode is enough to cause you problems.