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Comment by Citizen_Lame | Hacker News Reader

3. Spread the diatomaceous earth all over the floor. Don't be shy and over do it. It wont work immediately but in 7 days or more they are dead.

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This. My wife had grabbed a couch off the side of the road. Perfect condition, even advertised on Facebook as free!

After a couple days we saw these bugs crawling out of the couch. After a quick reverse image search, it came back as a bed bug.

Lo and behold we noticed these buggers were all over our house after a month.

We didn't use anything but diatomaceous earth. Sprinkled it all over the house around the base boards and furniture. After about two months, they were all gone.

Don't you have to be careful not to breathe that stuff since it's composed if tiny silica spikes? You'd need to wear a respirator in your house.

Have used it to get rid of fleas. The DA dust just lays on the floor - once applied it’s out of the air.

We didn’t wear respirators and I haven’t heard of anyone who does in this scenario.

Not really, there are different forms and OSHA recommendations for how much of a safer form should be in the air if you are possibly breathing it your whole working life..

Pets and very small children might get much higher doses being curious and near the floor though.

Yup. It’s a fine powder that will get into the air if walked on or near, and causes nasal and lung irritation if breathed in short term - and silicosis if breathed in long term.

Unlikely this length of exposure would result in silicosis probably though.

[http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html]

One trick is do not clean it up with a vacuum.

Well actually you want a thin layer not a thick one otherwise bugs walk around it.

Is it safe to use this to avoid any possible bed bug outbreaks? or are there any risks that outweigh the benefit of it defending against possible bed bugs?

I've been thinking about spreading it around every so often under my bed (plus around my bedroom) just in case.

It's generally considered safe. It's sold as an additive to livestock feed, though I don't know what the purpose there is.

It's very finely ground volcanic rock. The particulates have very sharp edges which shred insect exoskeletons. It doesn't hurt your skin though.

It might cause a problem if inhaled, similar to silicosis but that's mostly a guess.

Some people leave a line of it on windowsills or door thresholds to keep bugs out, but it's a fine powder that gets everywhere and makes a mess. Personally I wouldn't leave it around but that's up to you

> It's very finely ground volcanic rock.

No. "Diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica." http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html

> It's very finely ground volcanic rock.

Wikipedia is pretty clear that it's finely ground fossils. (It also says that it's sedimentary rock, as is necessary for fossils. Fossils can't be volcanic rock; their structure would be destroyed by melting.)

They also aren’t necessarily ground (the fossils) - and are made of silica.

Breathing it for long periods of time wouldn’t be ideal.

> It's generally considered safe. It's sold as an additive to livestock feed, though I don't know what the purpose there is.

Antiparasitic.

I'm going to go ahead and suggest you don't make a proclamation of safety (about a product associated with severe lung disease) followed immediately by "mostly a guess".

You want “food grade” diatomaceous, which is reasonably safe. Personally I wouldn’t use it preemptively, only when there’s a suspected problem. I would wear a mask when applying.

“Pool grade” diatomaceous earth should not be used, it is hazardous to be around as it’s structure was changed by heating.

https://www.diatomaceousearth.com/blogs/learning-center/begi...

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