Is Diatomaceous Earth safe?

[Bones]

Has anyone used Diatomaceous Earth to de-worm & de-flea their rabbits? Every site I have read said that it is safe but I wanted to make sure before I start buying it.

Found the answer to my question.

[RabbitPam]

What was the answer and where did you find it?

[Elrohwen]

How do you know that your rabbit has worms and/or fleas?

DE can be useful for preventing bugs from coming in your home and I’ve always read that it’s safe to use around animals. However, if your rabbit does have a worm and flea problem, I would take them to the vet and get proper medication rather than trusting the DE to take care of it. Rabbits ingest anything that’s on their fur, so I’d hesitate to put something like that directly on them no matter how safe it is supposed to be.

[Bunnies4ever]

Diatomaceous Earth (or DE) is a bone of contention for many animal lovers. Some swear by it and others won’t use it. There are two types of DE. “Food Grade” DE is everywhere. It’s used in grain silos and food warehouses to keep bugs away. It’s harmless and some people take it everyday as a parasite and colon cleanser. There’s also the type used for cleaning swimming pools. THAT STUFF IS POISONOUS! It had added chemicals in it and can kill you. I had a minor infestation of fleas once while volunteering at my rescue and brought them home. I used DE in my house which took care of the fleas, but took all my bunnies to the vet for a dosage of revolution to be on the safe side. Personally, I would not use DE on my pets, even though I don’t think it would harm them, but I don’t want to take that chance. If your bunny has fleas, don’t delay! Literally overnight your home will be overrun with them. Take your bunny to the vet right away! If you want to know how I got rid of the fleas in my home, email me. Good luck!

[mocha200]

The House Rabbit Society says this about Diatomaceous Earth: “For environmental flea control, sprays and “bombs” are not recommended, as they may leave harmful residue that the rabbit can ingest. Safer alternatives include borax and diatomaceous earth, worked into the carpet where fleas leave their eggs.” So if your house has fleas you can use Diatomaceous Earth to kill them but don’t use it on the rabbit. You will need your vet to prescribe something like Revolution!

[Elrohwen]

Nice job on looking up the official info from the HRS, Mocha 🙂

[Silly Sungura]

I have read that some people actually feed it to their rabbits to control parasites, but, goodness, that scares me. So does sprinkling them with it, because rabbits are avid groomers.I have used DE around my other pets, before I got my bunny, but I will not use it anywhere around my bunny. Personally, I worry about her breathing it in or ingesting it because it is made of finely ground shells, which might potentially irritate the lining of her GI tract or her lungs. To us, DE seems smoothly textured, but to a small, delicate animal like a rabbit, I just have my worries. Better safe than sorry.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Breathing it in is extremely dangerous, it causes microscopic tears all over the lung. I would not use it in a house with pets, it’d be easy for them to sniff it. Worse still to put it on them and I’m sure they’d inhale some if you fed it to them.

For sure great in flower beds, if no animal are going to be in there. I’d go with a vet treatment if your bunny has parasites.

[mocha200]

Petzy said this in a thread of mine last year: “I used the diatomaceous earth (also known as “Barnfresh”) only once per month. I asked Dana Krempels and she said it is safe to use around rabbits.” She used it in her outdoor pen. Not sure if this helps. I wouldn’t put it on the rabbit though!

[Bones]

Thanks, I was going to get it but I guess I will avoid it now. I did not know that it could cause tears in the lungs. My rabbit does not have fleas and does not show signs of having worms but I thought that it would be a good thing to keep around for if I needed it.

[Elrohwen]

Rabbits kept inside almost never get fleas or worms. I’ve only heard of a couple cases of rabbits with fleas and it’s usually been because the fleas came in on a dog and the house became infested. They don’t get these parasites nearly as easily as dogs and cats so preventative treatment isn’t necessary.

A simple stool sample taken to the vet will let you know if she has an intestinal parasite and then you can treat. A rabbit that’s not around lots of other rabbits is unlikely to have issues.

[Bones]

Thanks, Spelda got fleas from the dogs last month but I treated her with a pyrethrin based spray and that worked. I will continue using my spray if she gets anymore.

[khrisangel]

I would use DE before using Pyrethrin. But just my opinion. My buns have had no ill effects from food grade DE. I even use it for IBS

[Sarita]

khrisagangel – this post is 2 years old :~) I am going to lock this – we ask that member’s don’t respond to posts over a month old (unless they are updating their own status).

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