Replied By Kira (Saratoga, NY) on 12/23/2008
I bought my "food grade Diatomaceous Earth" off of Ebay. There's lots of people selling it there. The private websites wanted a minimum order placed that was too high for me.Replied By June (KC, KS) on 12/25/2008
Hi, I bought my DE from www.herbalremedies.com. They have great prices. I mix it in my cat's food, and sometimes sprinkle it on their fur but don't use it on the carpet.As far as keeping fleas out of your house, vacuum of course, this kills fleas. I mix up a spray that really helps. I use a blend of any of these oils: neem, eucalyptus, tea tree, citronella, etc...and add water in a spray bottle. Add as much oil needed to get a strong smell, roughly 20-30 drops of each oil. I spray this on the carpet as often as I need and lightly on furniture. It helps repel and will also destroy eggs.
I've also read you can place liquid dish soap in a plate and put these around your house. The fleas are supposed to be drawn to the soap and drown. You then pick up the plate, dump the fleas and start over. I haven't tried this, but heard it's a good remedy.
Also, google for information on www.holisticat.com. This site charges for membership, but their old posts are free to read. They have great suggestions on natural pet treatments.
Replied By Lisa (Blakeslee, Pa,) on 10/11/2009
Diatomaceous earth works by slicing apart the vector, being it fleas,...what have you. It's not for indoor use, and if it works in this way, can you imagine how healthy it is to breathe it in. By all means, try neem oil, if you are looking for something natural and safe.Replied By Gloria (Chicago, Il) on 08/06/2011
I have used diatomaceous earth now for a couple of years. It is incredible and safe (as long as you don't use the pool-grade stuff), and works.
I have used it for fleas by just applying it on a wood floor and sweeping it to get it in the cracks and along the baseboard. I also applied it gently to one of my cats. I use the product at http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-All-in-One-Flea-Remedy/999013.aspx and follow their instructions. There are a lot of reviews of this product on this page.
Believe it or not, I also used this particular DE product to get rid of bedbugs by applying it along the baseboards in all 3 bedrooms. Bedbugs gone - permanently. I used a really small paintbrush to apply and spread it (it was time-consuming and difficult - furniture had to be moved, etc. but it was worth it), and I shaked it as little as possible to prevent any dust flying.
It also got rid of an ant problem I had - I hate killing anything, but I had no choice and over the course of several days the ants diminished until they were completely gone. I applied it in 2 places - where they were coming in my house, and the threshold to my kitchen that they were crossing over.
I am NOT associated in any way with onlynaturalpet.com, just have had great results.
Replied By Jody B. (Kansas City, Mo) on 10/05/2012
Hi. Thanks for all the great tips and suggestions. I have four cats between the ages of ten and fifteen years old, three of them strays (one feral) and one someone gave me that she's gotten from a shelter, all indoor/outdoor cats. They're all healthy and have shiny coats, and we have very little problem with fleas now. In the past I used Frontline and similar products to control fleas during the summer months, but after a bad experience with one of the products I stopped using chemicals. I try to feed my cats better-quality foods, grain-free as much as possible and no by-products. I occasionally mix about half a teaspoon of brewer's yeast into their wet food, sometimes put a drop or two of apple cider vinegar in one of their water bowls (so they have a choice if they don't like it - I don't want to discourage them from drinking water! ), and I use Herbal Flea Free Herbal Flea Powder on them when I see them scratching. Flea Free contains diatomeaceous earth, sage and yellow dock powders, eucalyptus, tea tree and other essential oils (unspecified). I sometimes spray Natural Defense, containing peppermint, cinnamon, lemon grass, clove and thyme oils on bedding and furniture. It says it's safe to spray on animals but they really didn't like it and would run from me when they saw the bottle, especially the feral cat, who is very skittish. With the Flea Free, I shake some into my hand out of their sight and then pet them with it. I think what has helped the most is that I sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the floor and carpets about once a month, working it into the baseboards and cracks, leave it on for a day or two, and vacuum it up. I'm careful not to create a lot of dust. (I don't have to worry about the cats because they take off when the vacuum starts up. ) This has also taken care of the bad ant problem I used to have in my kitchen. So I'm a big diatomaceous earth fan.
I took in a stray dog a couple of years ago that apparently had fleas, and my house was horribly infested for a few days. It was so bad I put the dog and cats outside and resorted to the chemical flea bombs and applications of Frontline Plus, and did a lot of washing and vacuuming. Since then, I've used no chemicals at all, just the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Good luck and best wishes to all.
Replied By Tamerad2004 (Asher, Oklahoma) on 06/13/2013
I found my DE at Home depot it is very important not to get the pool grade but the safe one is food grade if you had vapor problems then you got the pool grade. I found it by the insect sprays and bolms for the house. They try to direct you to the pool isle and most dont even know that its there or what its for so you may be better off looking they also sale it on homedepot.com in liquid or powder form and the brand I found was in a 4 lb yellow bag and the brand was "Safer" hope this helps. The one on line that has the liquid spray is a different brand but you cant get that in our local store. Hope this helps someone.Replied By Tamerad2004 (Asher, Oklahoma) on 06/13/2013
I found my DE at Home depot it is very important not to get the pool grade but the safe one is food grade if you had vapor problems then you got the pool grade. I found it by the insect sprays and bolms for the house. They try to direct you to the pool isle and most dont even know that its there or what its for so you may be better off looking they also sale it on homedepot.com in liquid or powder form and the brand I found was in a 4 lb yellow bag and the brand was "Safer" hope this helps. The one on line that has the liquid spray is a different brand but you cant get that in our local store. Hope this helps someone.