Diatomaceous Earth - The Best Pesticide You've Never Heard Of

[1love1earth]

well, the springtails to my knowledge don't develop into anything above soil.

Though oddly enough, I swear I saw two round eggs (bout the size of a period on the PC ., decently big) on a satori stem yesterday. Looked around on other plants but didn't see anything. Under a mag lense it looked like there was a little black thing in the egg, but it was hard to tell, could have been anything, though they did look like 2 eggs, right next to each other, maybe a few mm apart.

Might be multiple pests.

Anyways, the springtails really don't come to the surface, except the few that get dragged up there when I water. To my knowledge, they really like to live below the coco.

Now there's always a chance their not really springtails, but I'm taking a new preventative approach to all things bugs.

Gnatrol application every other watering, for a week, then weekly.
Nematodes bi-weekly for 2-3 weeks.
Spinosad spray (as soon as I can get some, might be 2 weeks out) weekly, depending on recomendations.
DE mixed into the coco.
Maybe some neem oil bi-weekly until I get the spinosad.

All and all, I don't think any of these products will really stress my plants out.

 

[Lifebreather]

First off, a Bump for this great thread.

This is a very little known product, many growers around my part have never heard of it, let alone used it.

Secondly...

Further what are the PH effects of DE?

Or can I just cut to the chase and ask...

All you folks that used it IN your actual grow media, did you have any issues with your plants afterwards? Did you have to adjust nute/water PH at all? Did you have to adjust cal/mag?

I, too would like to know about the effects DE has on pH.

I know silicone itself can add a wild swing to a reservoirs pH, but I'm not sure if this product would have similar effects or not...

 

[NiteTiger]

I'm a little late, but you can check my sig for why. To address 1love's post, I've never had DE affect my Nute requirements. Also, putting it in the coco is going to make the DE almost completely ineffective.

As far as PH, I've noticed no difference.

 

[Hella Fella]

excellent find NT some K+ coming your way

This nigga is OLD, isnt K+ from OG days?

 

[HellaFella420]

excellent find NT some K+ coming your way

This nigga is OLD, isnt K+ from OG days?

 

[NiteTiger]

yep, K+ is old OG style

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

I avoid this at all costs, tried it but just too much of a pain in the butt to deal with, especially with getting it in your eyes, mouth, nose, lungs...ugh...whether it's for MJ or veggies....this stuff scares me..lol
I guess some people have some big slug problems but I'd rather use sluggo... if absolutely necessary...unless the DE is being used for other things. And neem for the rest..Not sure what you think about that tho.

 

[NiteTiger]

I avoid this at all costs, tried it but just too much of a pain in the butt to deal with, especially with getting it in your eyes, mouth, nose, lungs...ugh...whether it's for MJ or veggies....this stuff scares me..lol

Good lord man, you're not supposed to bathe in it

I'm not sure why working with a food grade ingest-able product would be so scary? I'd be more worried about Perlite dust than DE.

Keep in mind, I'm talking about food-grade here, not industrial grade used in pool filters and such.

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

lol
I don't understand what makes it food grade, I just picked some up at the local nursery years ago.
Either way, the stuff is dusty and breathing it in as someone mentioned above is bad..which means getting it in your eyes is bad, at the least, I'd think...
DE complicates things for me..and I have a feeling it kills more good than bad...

Why not use sluggo, iron phosphate? Seems easier. Unless it cant be found or something.

 

[NiteTiger]

lol
I don't understand what makes it food grade, I just picked some up at the local nursery years ago.
Either way, the stuff is dusty and breathing it in as someone mentioned above is bad..which means getting it in your eyes is bad, at the least, I'd think...
DE complicates things for me..and I have a feeling it kills more good than bad...

Why not use sluggo, iron phosphate? Seems easier. Unless it cant be found or something.

Compared to other irritants you breathe in on a daily basis, the DE is far far safer. As I said in my first post...

To the safety aspect, it doesn't get much better. 100% safe for humans and pets, it's often used to treat medical conditions. In pets (and less food scrupulous humans), it is used as both a flea and tick dust, but also internally to kill off intestinal worms. In the food grade form, the worst side effect from direct inhalation is sneezing. I wouldn't try that with a No-Pest Strip

Now, you do make a valid point when you talk about it killing beneficial insects. It will decimate anything with an exoskeleton, good or bad. But so will Neem.

And Sluggo does not have a dog in this hunt, it is a completely different product, with completely different usage, and completely different applications.

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

Neem I just spray on the leaves though, but yea, probably rinses off at some point

I guess the food grade stuff must be safer than that of the nurseries or something, but how much different are food grade diatoms than nursery grade in terms of inhalation..nothing a mask/goggles wouldnt fix tho.

I thought sluggo was for killing slugs...with trace amounts of iron phosphate.

 

[NiteTiger]

Neem I just spray on the leaves though, but yea.

I guess the food grade stuff must be safer than that of the nurseries or something, but how much different are food grade diatoms than nursery grade in terms of inhalation..nothing a mask/goggles wouldnt fix tho.

I thought sluggo was for killing slugs...with trace amounts of iron phosphate.

Yeah, there is a significant difference. From what I understand, the food grade particles are much smaller, so they don't cause any damage to the tissues in and of themselves.

My general application of DE, as I mentioned, is to the container, medium, floor, and plant. When applying to the plant, I target mainly the leaves and stem. Just like with any other product, the less stuff getting on your buds, the better. But just like with Neem, it is perfectly safe to use on the buds if necessary.

And Sluggo is for killing slugs, which is why I'm confused. DE isn't for killing slugs. As a matter of fact, I even stated that it was less effective on slugs than on other insects. So that's my confusion, it's the polar opposite product for slugs?

You just sped-read the OP, didn't you?

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

I skimmed it but check it out

"Diatomaceous earth (DE).
After testing all kinds of slug barriers, Jeff Gillman, author of The Truth about Garden Remedies and professor of horticulture at the University of Minnesota, concluded that DE is the most reliable. "DE is a white powder made from the fossilized remains of diatoms, one-celled algae that have a skeleton made of silicon," Gillman says. "To a slithering slug, this lethal powder is extremely sharp and cuts their undersides, causing dehydration." DE does have to be replenished each time it rains, making it a better choice for climates where it does not rain frequently. (Note: Buy only untreated diatomaceous earth formulated for garden use, and wear a dust mask when applying it. DE made for swimming pools is chemically altered and not suitable for use in any garden, much less an organic one.) "
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-2-9-1502,00.html

I'd always thought of DE as mainly for slugs, although it prob. has other uses as you've mentioned
Food vs Nursery grade must change how effective it is on slugs I'd think

 

[NiteTiger]

Hmmm, maybe the nursery grade is better suited for slugs.

I never even glanced at it, went straight to the food grade to be honest

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

I didnt even know they had food grade, can only imagine what it's used for ?? lol. o well. cool. later

edit:below:lol:facepalm

 

[NiteTiger]

Third times the charm

To the safety aspect, it doesn't get much better. 100% safe for humans and pets, it's often used to treat medical conditions. In pets (and less food scrupulous humans), it is used as both a flea and tick dust, but also internally to kill off intestinal worms. In the food grade form, the worst side effect from direct inhalation is sneezing. I wouldn't try that with a No-Pest Strip

 

[Nicoli]

I add DE to all of my soil.. it also contains silicates which are beneficial.

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

So if I wanted to introduce some silica to my grow, how would I go about amending my coco? Right now I've got a 30% Perlite, 70% Coco mix.

 

[NiteTiger]

I top dress my coco with a good layer of DE, and let feedings carry it into the medium as I said in my first post. Also gives you the benefit of having a barrier on your medium.

 

[SupraSPL]

I've been experimenting with DE as a mechanical pesticide and especially as a soil amendment to replace perlite. I use the DE from NAPA (Oil Dri #8822). It is similar to kitty litter in size (I sift it to remove fines). It is the freshwater type and is not heat treated the way that swimming pool DE is. Despite this, I do my best to avoid breathing the dust when making up soil mixes (dry peat is also irritating). After it is watered once, the dust is no problem.

I spread DE under the containers to absorb and evap the runoff from watering/feeding and also to provide a barrier against insects. Even with this usage, dust is no problem. The DE barrier does not contact kill spider mites (altho I doubt they volunteer to tread on it!) I gathered a lil pile of DE in my hand and captured a spider mite. I watched it run frantic laps around the DE for almost 10 minutes (I felt bad). No problems, he/she never even slowed down:


The DE in the soil will not kill all the FG larvae, they can still successfully complete their life cycle in force (I assume earthworms as well). However as was mentioned earlier, a continuous layer of dry DE on the surface will certainly ruin any fungus gnat's playground.

I can also verify that DE in the soil mix does not harm predator soil mites. They continue to patrol and complete their life cycle no problem. Hypoaspis predator mites living in DE soil mix:


DE is very good as a soil amendment. When you pour water on dry DE it hisses and crackles as the air rushes out. It holds water, nutes and air. The roots are in love with it!

I have not had any PH problems from DE. Here is a happy seedling macro germed a mixture of Peat + DE + Lime +Wetting Agent. The cotyledons will continue to grow larger, rather than turn yellow and die as they do when I use rockwool.