Replied By Karen (Barcelona, Spain) on 09/18/2011
Silicon dioxide is what's in diatomaceous earth... :)Replied By Xnan (New York, NY) on 08/25/2012
Wrong! This is an irresponsible post! SILICA is in Diatomaceous Earth, NOT Silicon Dioxide!! DE "is almost pure silica (with some beneficial trace minerals); under a microscope, it looks like shards of glass (glass is made from silica). DE is totally nontoxic. There is no buildup of tolerance like there is to poisons because the method of killing is PHYSICAL, not chemical. On any beetle-type insect that has a carapace, like fleas and cockroaches, the DE works under the shell and punctures the body, which then dehydrates and the insect dies. "Replied By Paul (Lisle, Usa) on 05/01/2013
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is not crystalline silica. Both are essentialy pure silicon dioxide, but not in the same structure, which makes all the diffence in the world here. DE is made by diatoms and is amorphous. Crystalline silica comes from quartz containing rocks, including sand. The particles do not begin to get dangerous until they get below a few microns in size and are able to get into the lungs.