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

idiit

Active member
Veteran
Diatomaceous Earth is used by ppl thru ingestion to kill fungus, parasites, bad bacteria and more. the DE in your body will be wet. it still works. DE in the growing media will still be moist to wet. it still works.

time to rethink how DE works?

here's a short vid with an alternative perspective on how De works focused on internal use by humans ( animal/mammal) but still relevant imo.



there are lots of other related videos listed/linked to the right after you access this short DE video
 

GET MO

Registered Med User
Veteran
Bump for 2016. I was thinkin bout putting it in with coco and shaking it up real good as a coco treatment to prevent root aphids. Im currently battling them and after a dose of og biowar then mycotrol O I just put a lil layer on top of each plants pot. Next was finna hit with another dose of mycotrol o then a layer of sand over the DE, then maintanance mycotrol o once every two weeks or so. Whatchall think?
 

Cheech_408

New member
My only question on this forum is can I spray the diatomaceous as a foiler spray on my plants there about 3weeks into the flowering stages any help guys.
 

chronosync

Well-stoned member
Can I spray as a foiler spray on my plants there about 3 weeks into flowering any help on this guys

Sort of.....yea.

You could make a DE solution and spray your whole area. Go dunk and wash your plants and use a bunch more DE but dry. No bug can survive contact with dry DE.

As for spraying your plants. I don't know if I'd want much of it in the bud. I've been dusting rooms and gotten it all over plants in flower, it sticks all in the buds....I guess it disappeared. DE is totally non toxic but its real bad for your lungs and better not to breathe it. No biggir but people forget because you can eat it.....
 

Slipnot

Member
Diatomaceous Earth is used by ppl thru ingestion to kill fungus, parasites, bad bacteria and more. the DE in your body will be wet. it still works. DE in the growing media will still be moist to wet. it still works.

time to rethink how DE works?

here's a short vid with an alternative perspective on how De works focused on internal use by humans ( animal/mammal) but still relevant imo.



there are lots of other related videos listed/linked to the right after you access this short DE video

TBH when you break it all down its all here say

Diatoms are unicellular algae, one of the two major classes of the phytoplankton that constitute the bottom of the food chain in oceans and freshwater. Diatomaceous earth is a soft, siliceous sedimentary rock containing the fossilized skeletal remains of diatoms

The Bottom of the food chain i rather not even bother

but you mention its used for humans TBH unless you show peered tests one can easily determine its another marketing scam

Taken internally, it is said to help promote healthier hair, skin, nails, gums, bones, and joints; support healthy digestion, improve absorption of nutrients, regularize bowel movements, and detoxify the digestive system; strengthen cartilage and reduce joint pain; assist in weight loss; promote healthy cholesterol levels and blood pressure; and increase energy. It is said that it either does, “can,” or “might” have many other benefits: it functions like a medicine against cough; reduces inflammation in bronchitis; reduces the side effects of menopause; preserves youthfulness and delays aging; safeguards against radiation; acts as a diuretic; can prevent both diarrhea and constipation; can help normalize hemorrhoidal tissue; may alleviate back discomfort; can stimulate defense mechanisms; can decrease vertigo, headache, tinnitus and insomnia; might help prevent TB; might help with Alzheimer disease; can stimulate the cell metabolic process and division; and it “prolongs and slows down facial aging lines.”

It must be good, because it’s “natural” and it’s “organic.” I guess they justify calling it “organic” because it was derived from an organism, the diatom; but silicon dioxide is a mineral. It’s a rock, folks, a kind of sand.

Some of the language of the claims is incoherent. It “proves to be effective with female discharge, abscesses and stomach problems within the vagina and cervix, in addition to mastitis (specifically for breastfeeding moms).” Really? Where is that proof? And how can you have stomach problems within the vagina? It “might help diabetes by marketing synthesis of elastase inhibitor through the pancreas.” It “might help arterial disease by strengthening the bloodstream ships.” Hmmm…

On one website they claim that diatomaceous earth has a strong negative charge and that pathogens and toxins have a positive charge; I question that. They claim that it attracts, traps, and absorbs fungi, protozoa, viruses, endotoxins, pesticides, drug residues, E.coli, and heavy metals. Apparently it’s pretty smart; somehow it knows to only attract things that are bad for you. They say the sharp particles scrub the walls of the intestines. They say the colon is coated with mucus and molds and that removing the coating allows better absorption of nutrients. Really? I would think sharp particles would injure the delicate lining of the bowel; mucus is normal and has a protective function; molds are not a problem except in the imagination of those who believe in Candida overgrowth syndrome; and if anything, I would think diatomaceous earth would be more likely to absorb nutrients and decrease their availability.

On another page of that same website they claim “life can’t exist without silica,” “silica is the most important trace element in human health,” and “most people are silica deficient” and they make extravagant claims for its health benefits. Their evidence is from testimonials, and they make excuses:

Of course, most actual in depth health related studies are initiated and controlled by the pharmaceutical industry, and why should those companies study the value of health remedies found in nature that could actually hurt their bottom line?

And they protest that they are not allowed to make specific medical claims, and are required to use the term “may help.” This is a deceptive ploy to make customers think their product is truly effective and it is only unfair censorship that prevents them from saying so.
 

Slipnot

Member
Natural medicine websites claim that silicon is an essential trace mineral, that our diet fails to provide the amount we need, that there is a deficiency syndrome, that our soils have been depleted of silicon, and that supplementation has significant health benefits. More reliable science-based sources indicate that it has not been established that silicon has any metabolic function, and it is not considered to be an essential trace element.

Silicon is readily available from foods, and “neither silicon deficiency nor a silicon-responsive condition have yet been identified in humans.” There is some preliminary evidence suggesting that silicon might have a role in bone health, but that has not been confirmed.

PubMed lists 92 articles on diatomaceous earth, but none of them support the health claims that have been made. A PubMed search for the health benefits of silicon was equally unrewarding. One article found a decrease in litter pH when silicon was added to the feed of turkeys; nice to know! One review article said “compelling data [compelling to whom?] suggest that silica is essential for health although no RDI has been established.”

Another review found a positive relationship between dietary silicon intake and bone regeneration. A review of the skeletal effects of nutrients concluded, “Data are very limited for the role of nutritional levels of boron, strontium, silicon and phosphorus in bone health. A nutrient rich diet with adequate fruits and vegetables will generally meet skeletal needs in healthy individuals.” As far as I was able to determine, there have never been ANY controlled clinical trials in humans to test the effects of supplementing the diet with silicon or diatomaceous earth.

One evidence-based nutrition website concluded that the “claims of health benefits are theoretical and anecdotal” and that “while some supplements can definitely help, there is absolutely no evidence that diatomaceous earth is one of them.”

The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database doesn’t take diatomaceous earth seriously enough to even list it. It does list silica, which it rates as “likely safe” but recommends against using it during pregnancy and lactation. It rates silica as “possibly effective for osteoporosis.” It found some evidence that men and premenopausal women who have higher dietary intake of silicon seem to have higher bone mineral density, which could reduce the risk of osteoporosis. But higher silicon intake does not seem to benefit postmenopausal women; bone loss in postmenopausal women is primarily due to bone resorption, and silicon seems to affect only bone formation. They found insufficient reliable evidence to rate the effectiveness of silicon for any of its other proposed uses. They stated that “an essential biological role for it has not been identified.”
 

idiit

Active member
Veteran

DocTim420

The Doctor is OUT and has moved on...
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but you might read this study before dusting your soil surface with DE alone.
http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/40/6/1806.full.pdf

"Based on the results from both experiments, the incorporation of DE into growing medium had no influence on the 2nd and 3rd instars of the fungus gnat, B. sp. nr. coprophila. This study has demonstrated that the use of DE as an amendment incorporated into growing media, at the concentrations tested, does not negatively affect fungus gnat larvae, which suggests that incorporating DE into growing medium may not be beneficial to greenhouse producers. However, further studies are needed to access whether there is differential larval susceptibility (first instar vs. later instars) to DE and if moisture content influences the efficacy of DE."

That said, I have found mixing DE (food grade) with pyrethrin (both spray and soil applications) does synergistic wonders. Something about the high silica content, high absorption properties and structures of the diatoms that improves the quality of certain insecticide formulas. In this case, adding DE provides BOTH slower release of pyrethrins as well as prolong pyrethrin's effectiveness (extend the half-life).

And, I do incorporate this particular amorphous silica source in my grow medium as well, at the silly rate of 2lbs/cubic yard.
 
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