We have to face the fact that we cannot stop the deer, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and raccoons from bringing disease-carrying ticks into our suburban yards. We can only work to kill the ticks that are already here and try to do so with safety in mind for all living things.
What is Diatomaceous Earth and how does it work:
According to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) website, “diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica. Over a long period of time, diatoms accumulated in the sediment of rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Today, silica deposits are mined from these areas.”
“Diatomaceous earth is not poisonous; it does not have to be eaten in order to be effective. Diatomaceous earth causes insects to dry out and die by absorbing the oils and fats from the cuticle of the insect’s exoskeleton. Its sharp edges are abrasive, speeding up the process.”
How we started using Diatomaceous Earth:
About four years ago my husband sent out an email to friends asking if anyone had suggestions for getting rid of ticks in the yard. One person suggested trying diatomaceous earth (DE) since it had been used successfully in kennels and the “food grade” type was considered safe and non-toxic. This was good news for us since we drank water from a well and were against using chemicals. We immediately did an online search and purchased a 10 lb. bag of what looked like white talcum powder.
At that time we could not go out into our yard without finding deer ticks crawling on us. Both my husband and myself had been bitten many times and I had already been diagnosed with Lyme disease. Although we took every precaution such as wearing light-colored clothing, tucking our pants into socks, using Deet repellents and religiously checking our clothing and bodies after being outdoors, it still wasn’t enough – the ticks were winning every battle!
It was late spring, prime deer tick season in our area of northeastern Massachusetts. Before using the DE outside, my husband decided to try an experiment. Using the “white sheet test,” he dragged a sheet over the grass in our yard to see how many ticks would cling to it, thus getting a tick count. There were 22 ticks in a three hundred square foot area! In addition, he took some of those ticks and placed them into a small container with the diatomaceous earth overnight. In the morning they were lying on their backs with legs up, completely dried out and looking very dead. This was all the encouragement we needed to put the diatomaceous earth to the back yard test!
After checking online for a recipe of sorts, my husband mixed a ratio of about 1 1/2 cups of the DE to one gallon of water in a large watering can. This was then “sprinkled” over the areas in our yard where ticks congregated. It left a fine white powder on the grass, plants and rock walls that surrounded our lawn. After a rain, the powder disappeared but we hoped it would not lose its effectiveness. It turned out we were not to be disappointed. Two weeks later a second “white sheet test” in the same area came back with no ticks attached. Although we were still waging war, we had won our first battle!
The Continuing Saga:
Over the course of the last four years, we’ve applied diatomaceous earth to our yard twice a year, in the spring and fall. We’ve since upgraded to using a sprayer which makes the application faster and easier, but a watering can is fine for small areas. Each spring has brought fewer tick sightings until this spring when, amazingly, we found no ticks at all! Is it the DE or just environmental changes that are affecting the tick population? We can’t say for sure. All we know is that this is the first year in many that we haven’t had to deal with deer ticks and we are very pleased with the results!
What you need to know about using Diatomaceous Earth:
The DiatomaceousEarth.com website suggests purchasing food-grade DE. They state, “Generally, this is the best grade to use. For almost all the uses described in our articles, we recommend using food grade. It’s a multipurpose product that can be used in your home, yard or garden.” They also recommend wearing a dust mask when using the product to avoid inhaling the fine powder and wearing gloves to protect the skin from the drying effects of DE. Visit their website for more information.
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You can purchase 2 lb. and 10 lb. bags of food grade Diatomaceous Earth here:
You can also purchase appropriate dust masks here:
Very good article Nan. I remember that stuff when we had the battle of the bed bugs.
DE is amazingly effective!
I love your story of Mama calling you Nancy with the laughing face.
Terrific article! I’d heard years ago that diatomaceous earth killed insects and the like by jamming up their joints and disabling them. Don’t know if that’s true after reading what you wrote here, but the main thing is that it does knock them out!
It dries them out so I guess that would jam up their joints and everything else! LOL Glad you enjoyed the article 🙂
I have two fur family members that need relief from ticks and fleas. Bathing helps but we continuously pick them up in the yard and on our long walks – there’s literally no way to DE the whole neighborhood. I too have an issue with using chemicals and believe in all natural products (chemicals not only poison animals but they harm every living being in the eco system). I didn’t want to use DE in my yard though because I have a lot of helpful lizards (Anoles), frogs, and toads and was worried it would affect them. Instead I am opting to put DE with salt and baking soda under the couches, beds, refrigerators and any cracks and crevices, this seems to work. To keep pests off of plants I have a small applicator / duster but do not dust the flowers as I know it would affect the bee population. I am gently dusting my pets but very careful to avoid anyone breathing the dust. Frequent bathing followed by an herbal rinse is helping. It’s the only time I really look forward to winter – these darn parasitic nuisances.
Lived Leominster for 3 years and this year the ticks are bad! I’ve never had them in the non grassy area or my deck! Going to give this a try!