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Tips for dealing with Fungus Gnats

Thanks so much, Susan.  I've got some Dr. Bronner's Soap.  Found it way back in a cabinet.  Now, I need to find the datomaceous earth I'd found and then misplaced again.  :(

DE is used in swimming pool filters.  They make a slurry out of it. 

It absorbs water, so be careful.  We kept a big container of DE for some friends over the winter, only our garden shed flooded and when we went to get the DE out in the spring, it had absorbed a large amount of water and had swelled up and burst the container.  It looked like a huge column of white toothpaste!  In fact, DE has been used in toothpaste.  After we got the DE removed from the shed, I was in there sweeping and the leftover dust got into my lungs and I was sick for several weeks.  Not good, so be careful using it. 

It could dry out the soil, or might keep the moistness balanced.

Thanks, Grant.

71 GTO, This is a good thread.

noss

Hi Noss,
this is a little off topic, but since you mentioned food grade DE,  I am wondering how DE is used in food production,

grant

Yeah, I read the warning labels on that stuff. I might go out in the garage and get out the resperator. i am paraniod. I am sure my wife will love to see me with that on and using this stuff in the house.

Inhaling perlite dust is really harmful, supposedly.
Inhaling sphagnum dust is potentially very harmful.
Inhaling DE dust is harmful too?
Breathing is harmful these days.... everything in moderation?

Ok, after much serching locally found some of the Diatomaceous Earth. Do I just sprinkle some on the top of the mix? Is there a method to apply it? This is the brand that I found.

http://www.amazon.com/Concern-97064-Diatomaceous-Crawling-Insect/dp/B00030CC1M

Mosquito dunks have always worked for me, 100%. Do be careful with the DE, very dusty and very bad for you to breathe in, apply wet to be really safe.

Some people eat DE, they say it provides silica that is missing from our modern refined diets. Still have not tried eating any myself.

hoosierbanana, I have a book on chickens that suggests feeding DE to chickens to kill intestinal worms.

Hoosier, How do you apply it wet? Do I mix it into a paste and spread it? Is there supposed to be a deep layer on top. I am still not sure how is the best way to use this stuff. The instructions on the box do not help for applying it to soil or a plant.

Just add water into whatever container you transfer some of the DE to. You can make a paste or a very thin mixture.  No need to cover the top of the container I think about a Tablespoon or less per container should be plenty if you thin it down.  You can dust it on if you are really careful not to breathe the dust, then just mist it to make it stick. 

Possum- I have heard that also, I give it to some outdoor cats that I feed and they are just fine. It is not supposed to harm earthworms though, guess it all depends how thick your skin is.



If you inhale irritants for too long, your lungs will react to it with inflammation.  If that goes on too long, the inflammation it can cause pulmonary fibrosis and that is irreversible and progressive.  Not good.  Protect your lungs.

noss

Noss, you just freaked me out. Now I'm considering just living with gnats. I actually havn't see any to many since I sprayed these pepper tree things we had to bring inside with that ecogreen stuff.

Oh, poor 71GTO!  I didn't mean to frighten anyone, but ya know--It's better to know what to protect yourself from than not know and lose your health.  Just use the mosquito dunks like people do.  I'm going to try that.

When I was in my 20s, we kept a cardboard drum of diatomaceous earth in our garden shed for some friends.  We got a minor flood in the neighborhood and the water didn't get into the house, but it got into the outbuildings and the diatomaceous earth soaked up the water and turned into a giant column of toothpaste-like substance, which split itself right out of that cardboard drum it was in.  That was sure something to see!  We got rid of it because it was no good anymore.  That spring, I was sweeping out the shed and I got into the dust that was left from the diatomaceous earth.  I didn't realize it, but the next day, I came down with something like a really bad cold, but I realize it was a reaction to the diatoms in the dust.  Am I in trouble from that?  Don't know, but I know it's not good to inhale.  There are masks you can use to protect yourself from irritants and it's a good idea to use them.

So, not all natural things, like diatomaceous earth, are harmless!  Dang!  Arsenic is natural and it'll kill you real well.

Know what you are using and use it appropriately and you'll likely be all right.

noss.

From what I have read, the DE used for pools has been processed differently than the DE used for insecticide. The pool grade has been chemically treated and heated, so there is crystaline silica, ie glass, in the pool grade DE. The insecticed and food grades DE is simply mined, dried and ground into powder.
Of course it is always best to use the dust mask, lungs do not like any kind of dust,
grant

Oh great!  Now I'M freaked out.  Now I have to be afraid of silicosis!!!?  8-O

No kind of powder is good to inhale, you are right on, Grant.

noss

See post #29

How does one breathe in moderation?

noss

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH GNATS.

Always deal to your left.

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