# Diatomaceous earth for treating mites, is it safe??



## Teapig (Oct 7, 2014)

I just read a post someone made swearing by this stuff over Revolution, olive oil and Dawn to treat mites and scabs on a rat... I had planned on getting Revolution tomorrow to treat mites...

It is food-grade, so it must be safe? Anyone had experience with this? I understand that it's dusty and not good on lungs, so perhaps mixing it with water would work? Poor Oxnard just underwent a olive oil bath today which he hated, and he might be getting covered in this stuff next ! :/

Just looking for more info. I'm terrified of home-treating my rats after I had a boy die from Ivermectin, but this seems like it's worth asking about...


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I've not heard any success with home treatments. At best, they buy time and provide relief but generally just waste money in an uphill battle. 

As to the ivermectin, was it horse paste given orally? Some people swear by it but I've always held my doubts on the soundness of it from a medical standpoint. It involves a random sample of concentration, which can be the shitsluck and be super toxic. 

If it was, let me reassure you. Revolution isn't given orally. It is placed between the shoulder blades. You also apply about 3 drops, a very small amount. In a 1mL syringe, you want around 0.03-0.04mL. It is then recommend to hold your rat or supervise them until it has dried. This allows it to dry and makes sure they don't ingest any (revolution is also a fairly safe concentration that I've heard can just cause tummy upset when ingested as opposed to toxicity). While I don't mean to say a guarantee from experience, I will say I have personally treated 12 of my own rats as well as walked several others through treating their rats without ill effect.


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## Teapig (Oct 7, 2014)

Okay, thanks for your feedback!

Yes ivermectin was given orally. Don't endorse the use of it, I really do not want others to go through what I did. I did everything right, and he still passed away from it.

Thanks  I think I will just get Revolution then, I'd rather not waste money/risk anything.


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## supersciencegrl (Mar 28, 2015)

I use diatomaceous earth at work; it's safe. The only thing I can think is like you say, you wouldn't want to breathe it in. 

I'm pretty sure it's safe - I have no idea whether it _works_.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

I'd worry a bit about the inhalation of the diatomaceous earth by your rats, but then again, a lot of us use baking soda where there is a potential risk of the rats getting to it. I typically use it to dust my yard for fleas and give the food grade DE to my dogs to prevent worms. It cleared some very minor worm problems in my dogs, but won't clear them if they're really bad. I'd stick with revolution for your rats since it's proven to be safe.


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## RedFraggle (Jun 4, 2012)

I also think it's a respiratory hazard and would treat with selamectin.


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## Vegn (Jan 2, 2014)

Diatomaceous earth would not work for rats. You put it on an animal to kill external pests, ingesting it can only get rid of internal parasites.


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

It did wonders for helping get the mites out of my carpet when they had mites. =P


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

It would probably be effective but at great cost to the rat. It would cause SO much respiratory distress. It simply isn't worth it.


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