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• Tuesday, October 24, 2006 08:39 PM

  Get Some Freshwater Diatomaceous Earth

  I had a problem with silverfish which colonized my summer home during the winter. I discovered diatomaceous earth, since I couldn't call an exterminator due to my pet birds.

  Diatomaceous earth (not the kind used in swimming pools, but the insecticide form) should be applied with a duster. You can buy a duster and the diatomaceous earth online. It takes about a day to figure out how to load and use the duster, but it is crucial because it delivers a fine "spray" of DE which clings to surfaces, but is very light. I won't go into exact details about how I used the DE in my home (remove all light switch and electrical outlet covers and spray void spaces, remove pictures and spray all along the edges, spray along windowsills, spray curtains, bookcases, books, furniture, etc.)

  But I will tell you that I spray DE with a duster inside my luggage (before packing) and on the outside of my luggage to prevent bringing home any potential hitchhiker bedbugs. So far, so good. The DE is not as thick as dust (unless you want to make it thick like dust, which I did initially in areas where I had seen silverfish). I reapply a fine layer of DE on my luggage -- just in case -- each time I travel. It sounds like a tremendous amout of work, but once you get the hang of using the duster, it's no biggie.

  Oh, and if you want to use DE to eliminate bedbugs, first you need to vacuum. Make a little pile of loose DE. Spray with an insecticide. Vacuum up into your vacuum bag. Now use a crevice tool and a furniture brush to vacuum up any live bugs and as many eggs as you can. The insecticide dust inside your vac should kill any bugs you vacuum up. I took some HotShot oil-based insecticide in a pump sprayer and sprayed the cracks between the wall and the floor (except in the room where I keep my birds). Then I sprayed DE along the wall/floor area I had just sprayed with the oil-based insecticide. The next day, I applied a fine layer of DE again in those areas. In the room where I keep my birds, I used DE only.

  It worked. I still occasionally grab the duster and use it, particularly if I see a silverfish, which is now a rare occurence. DE worked very well on some houseplants recently when they became infested with spider mites. Some people use DE outside, particularly for slugs, but I don't because I garden and DE kills bumble bees and honey bees and I don't want that. They are my champion pollinators.

  Anyway, you may want to try the DE for luggage if you travel a lot. Or even if you only travel occasionally. Diatomaceous earth is all-natural.. it consists of microscopic dead bodies of prehistoric shellfish.

  —USERNAME Read USERNAME's other letters
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