Diatomaceous Earth

[Iffy]

Hi Folks,
Has anyone used this stuff to control pests on MJ?
http://www.safesolutionsinc.com/Diatomaceous_Earth.htm

"DE is a nontoxic pest control device that works on insects of all species. Unlike pesticides which rely on hazardous poisons to chemically control insects, DE physically controls insects by scouring their exoskeleton through abrasive action. Insects cannot become resistant to physical control, but they do become immune to insecticides. Pesticides not only waste time and money, they also damage human health and environmental ecology."
Apparently you puff this stuff made of powdered fossilised sea shell over the plants and on growroom surfaces.
I kinda like the idea - lateral thinking and all that but I'm not sure I fancy the clean-up after treatment.

 

[Weird]

yep

its a common soil amendment among the organic crowd

 

[Snook]

In the attic I cast it, by the handfull into the eaves of my home to keep crawlys (ants) out. If I had a basement, that would be another place it would do some good. In the grow room, if bugs get there, DE is good stuff. human and pet safe.

 

[theJointedOne]

I like to drop the occasional "Diatom Bomb" , if you will, two times a month the whole season outside. I basically dust the entire bottom of each girl by throwing handfuls of diatom at them . I do this up until i see flowers, then during flowering I make a ring on the ground around each stem a couple times a month. Great product

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Gives it that 'expando' lung-buster coughing sensation.

I LOVE de... but not outside the soil. The stuff is so light and powdery... really bites to see it show up in your bho or taste it in your hash. You can literally see the de on the trichomes with a scope. Gack!

Please keep it IN the medium if you're going to share with others. Thanks!

Stay Safe!

 

[theJointedOne]

Not sure what your talking about, Ive covered an entire plant with de, looked like it was covered with de and nothing bad happens at all.

i would not recommend in flower at all but for veg cycle you can douse the entire plant no hesitation. Morning mists outdoors and water showers takes it right off if your worried about it being on too long

 

[jahrastafareye]

It's good for preventing root aphids from becoming fliers. as they climb up through the soil to spread their wings, it kills them. however , it doesnt do anything to the aphids hiding underneath the root ball fyi.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Not sure what your talking about, Ive covered an entire plant with de, looked like it was covered with de and nothing bad happens at all.

i would not recommend in flower at all but for veg cycle you can douse the entire plant no hesitation. Morning mists outdoors and water showers takes it right off if your worried about it being on too long

Yes, in veg it's fine. Careful though as tons of de in veg will be happy to find it's way to flower room, if it can.

I can 'taste' de in the air when you spread it around. It's not as harsh as perlite dust but it's definitely a contaminate and turns my throat raw after a while.

No, you can't wash de off of trichomes. At least not very well.

Stay Safe!

 

[theJointedOne]

Yeah well inside i wouldnt be throwing it by the handful, im talking about playing outside with it..yes it does have a taste...

i used probably three 50lb bags last year fwiw, good stuff and recommended.

like i said too not in flower, co it doesnt end up in your trichomes anyway

 

[SeaMaiden]

I use it for pest control, and one of my sisters has a company that uses only DE around her home. She's in SoCal with the worst Argentinian ant problem I have ever witnessed. Billions upon billions of ants, so many they can make her white counters completely black with their bodies. She's got some chemical sensitivities, and she says the DE applications the guy does 1x/mth are very, very helpful in controlling the ants.

I have used it myself, but only at soil level, not on the plant itself. I don't want to risk getting those diabolical diatoms into lungs.

 

[hobb3s93]

how much do u guys mix per gal of coco? recently had RA's or gnats ,hurt my yeild but didnt kill everything(fingers crossed im on day 45).wanna mix some of this stuff with my coco next time to prevent insects.
do u guys mix it? or just layer the top?
BTw sorry if i missed it somewhere on icmag but can RA's and gnats ''crawl' thru smart pot walls?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Used to use 3/4ths to a full cup per 5gal of Pro-Mix or Sunshine

Stay Safe!

 

[rocket high]

Ive found it doesnt kill Fungus Gnats or Springtails they just crawl over the DE layered pots i poured some over the drip tray to cover all angles but i still have the critters... so what insects does it kill apart from ants ???...

 

[dank.frank]

Okay...I've been using DE for YEARS...as a soil amendment and as a minor pest control for outdoors...

However - IN SOIL - it is COMPLETELY ineffective at pest control once it is wet. If your medium were to dry out, then sure, it's properties for pest management return. DE is a BARRIER - not a cure all once you have certain issues.

When using it in soil - I have been using 1/4c MAX - usually only 2 Tbsp for an entire 30 gallons of medium. Granted I have other sources for minerals and silica in my soil as well, so perhaps that plays a part - but I have always considered (food grade) DE to be extremely strong stuff...



dank.Frank

 

[Iffy]

Yeah I saw it more of a barrier type application too, making a ring of it around the base of plants etc but I wouldn't want to smoke the stuff!
As for fungus gnats, I've found a combination of yellow sticky traps & 'Gnat Off' in the res to kill the larvae was the best solution. The ones buzzing around aren't doing any damage, its the larvae attacking the roots that need sorting quickest.
Stay safe

 

[nukklehead]

Would there be any benefit to putting a small layer of DE in a
smart pot at the bottom to thwart off any root invaders ??

 

[EclipseFour20]

I use Fossil Shell Flour (food grade DE--which means fresh water sourced--not from the sea) and is exempt for Cali sales tax (50 lb bags are available at feed stores...for around $40). DO NOT USE HOME DEPOT/POOL VARIETY--it is NOT fresh water source, it is chemically treated and is not "finely ground".

I mix DE in my custom soil at the rate of 5% by volume.

Agripower (Australian company) published a booklet titled, "A Review of Silicon and its Benefits for Plants" (no longer on their website...but is available here--http://www.scribd.com/doc/60266650/A-Review-of-Silicon-and-Its-Benefits-for-Plants

However their Beijing Conference papers is available (similar information but not as detailed as the above booklet) http://agripower.com.au/doc/2_Beijing_conference_Paper_English.pdf and concluded--

"AgriPower Silica (mostly diatomaceous earth) was included in a strawberry demonstration trial in Queensland, Australia at 250, 500 and 1000kg/ha. The AgriPower Silica was applied in addition to the normal fertiliser application (control) and was found to yield significant improvements in growth and yield compared to the control, with the following observations:
- Significantly increased root development/root mass by 100-200%
- Increase in flowers, foliage, crown size and fruit
- Brix was increased and maintained later in the season
- Increase in survival rates of runners
- Significantly increased soil moisture while not being water logged.
- Ability to increase uptake of key nutrients (N, P, K) during wet period when nutrients are typically leached away from the root zone
- Increased yields by an average of 35%
Recommended application rates would be from 200 - 500kg / ha pre plant depending on the soil condition."

Check out the graph (figure 3) on page 4, it charts increase in nutrient retention for soils amended with 5% Agripower Silica...including potting soil.

Check out the graph (figure 11) on page 14 of the Beijing paper, it charts extractable Si as a function of application rate--the sweet spot is 500kg.

Think two-fer, Silica + water retention. Once DE is mixed in the soil, the pesticide properties of DE diminish significantly since the diatoms are no longer sharp, but are soft and full of water.

 

[Snook]

wet = inaffective. yes. it has not been mentioned that the DE does not poison the insect, it shreds it open, like what would happen if we walked/crawled thru a bed of glass or better, razorblades. It kills them externally not internally. DIE you little crawley bastards.