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Lynn (Gulfport, Florida) on 01/21/2009
5 out of 5 stars

My male cat had scratched his ears so much that the ear developed a huge bubble and separated the ear skin/flesh. I had to take him to the vet for expensive treatment and surgery. It was due to ear mites. The ear is now permanently disfigured and ruined his appearance. I used diatomacious earth (food grade) mixed with a little water for transport, and and eye dropper, and put it in his ears when the mites came back. The water will evaporate and leaves the DE in the ear for ongoing treatment, as it is a powder and coats the inside of the ear a little. You don't need much. He stopped scratching by that night, and he hasn't had a problem since. That was a couple of years ago. My other cats are having problems though, and I am going to use it on them. I HATE ear mites and see how my cats can suffer with them. You can buy it (food grade) online or sometimes in a plant nursery (they use it to kill insects). It pays to remember that there may be an infection in the ears as well, and without a proper examination, you can't know. As much as I don't like vets offices, checking for an infection is worth it, especially in severe cases. One of my cats had mites and an infection. Her energy picked up after treatment for the infection, and I felt guilty that maybe she'd had it all along and it was painful. It's important to find a vet you like. Talk to people and get a referral for one you trust. Treatment can utilize both natural and standard treatment when appropriate.
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Replied By Gwenda (Gulfport Fla, Fla) on 01/19/2010

thanks for this info, my dog a cocker has ear problems all the time, the vet was charging me a fortune for a cream that as soon as it was used up immediately returned, i came looking online just in case there might be a remedy and i have the diamomceous earth at home here and will try it.......as you see i too live in Gulfport fla
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Replied By Rachael (Fountain Valley, Ca) on 02/13/2011

Only use food grade DE as any other can be hazardous to you and your pets.
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Replied By Chris (Birmingham, Alabama) on 10/19/2014

I use DE for ear mites but it is a desiccant which means it can dry out the skin and ear.

I just dip my forefinger and thumb in and put it on the outside and inside of the ear but not all the way down into the ear canal. Mites travel so they will get up to it. I rub some around the base of the ears and some at the base of his tail. (not sure how much good that does but read that mites will travel to the base of tail area like fleas. ) That is the only thing animal related that DE seems to work for. I had no luck for fleas. It does work for roaches and seems to discourage ants.

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Replied By Chris (Birmingham, Alabama) on 10/19/2014

I use Diatomaceous Earth for ear mites but it is a desiccant which means it can dry out the skin and ear.

I just dip my forefinger and thumb in and put it on the outside and inside of the ear but not all the way down into the ear canal. Mites travel so they will get up to it. I rub some around the base of the ears and some at the base of his tail. (not sure how much good that does but read that mites will travel to the base of tail area like fleas. ) That is the only thing animal related that DE seems to work for. I had no luck for fleas. It does work for roaches and seems to discourage ants.

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Replied By Jean (Old Glory, Tx) on 11/25/2016

There are two kinds of DE (Diatomaceous Earth). One is food grade and just as it says, food grade and when it is viewed under an electron microscope, you can see the razor blade sharpness of the long ago diatoms. Pool grade has been heated and is smooth and not to be used except for what it says, pool grade. The way the food grade DE works is by slicing into the breathing portals of fleas, flies, ticks, ants of any kind, termites and the list goes on. They say it is even good as a wormer when put in an animal's feed and if flies are a problem due to feces, the fly larvae can't live. I can't testify as to this but have read about it many times. I have eliminated huge red ant beds by putting maybe half a cup of food grade DE around the ant's entrance and if it rains, replace the DE. I often dust food grade DE on the shoulders and at the base of the tail for fleas during the summer and this will kill ticks if they walk though it.
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