The Rusted Garden Blog — Diatomaceous Earth
How to Use Diatomaceous Earth for Fungus Gnats and Crawling Insects: Seed Starts & More
Posted by Gary Pilarchik on
by Gary Pilarchik (The Rusted Garden) Diatomaceous earth or DE is not a poison. It is basically the sharp fossilized remains of microscopic sea creatures made up of silica. It is not harmful to us as it is a fine powder that feels like chalk. You should take precautions not create a lot of floating dust and breath it in as it can be an irritant in the lungs. However it is perfectly safe to handle. For crawling insects, it can be devastating. The microscopic dust or silica is extremely sharp and it will grind an insect's shell and body down over time. The...