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Post by Tabitha on Aug 8, 2020 2:39:53 GMT -5
Hello. I have searched the forum as well as online and I cant seem to find any consistent answers or consitent reasoning behind the answers that are given. I am trying to figure out if diatomaceous earth would be safe to use AROUND ferrets but not ON them or their bedding specifically. Most of what I have read has been about fleas. However I am looking to get rid of Carpet Beetles. The carpet beetles are obviously camped out in/under my box spring and my ferrets have free roam of my bedroom 24/7. So, of course, I refuse to use pesticides or chemicals of any kind for pest control. I know essential oils can be irritating for ferrets eyes and respiratory systems, so those are out too. I have already followed the typical advice for carpet beetles, thorough vacuuming of every available surface and carpet multiple times, hot water laundering of all fabrics, Ive sprayed 2 types of vinegar and lemon,sprayed isopropyl alcohol, each time removing my fuzzies from the room for a few hours to make sure and fumes were gone from them. To no avail. The beetles keep surviving. The next natural remedy seems to be DE however I'm hesitant because of the fact DE isnt good to inhale and ferrets are already sensitive enough... Would light use of DE JUST on/in/under my bed be much of a risk, if I did everything I could to block the ferrets access to my bed? Im literally getting to the point that Im willing to build myself basically a wood coffin around my entire bed if it will keep the ferrets away and let me get rid of the bugs so I can get a good nights sleep without paranoia about the bugs crawling near me *heeby jeebies shudder* Thanks for your thoughts on the matter!!
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Post by unclejoe on Aug 8, 2020 16:03:18 GMT -5
I've read to use food service grade DE, but it has a very low (like 0.1%) diatom content, and we had no luck with it. For those that are curious, diatoms are tiny almost microscopic shellfish whose shells are sharp enough and small enough to shred insect exoskeletons. Diatoms are the official state fossil of NY. We have used borax, as in Boraxo laundry detergent, to treat carpets for fleas with good success. I don't know if it would work on carpet beetles, because I've never dealt with them. For fleas, broom the borax into the carpet and leave it sit for several hours before vacuuming it up. It doesn't hurt fuzzies. It might help with beetles.
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Post by Charlie on Aug 8, 2020 23:26:57 GMT -5
I just got some DE today! I am going to use it around the outside of my house to keep the ants out and other bugs. Mine is the food grade kind too. I read it's safe for dogs and cats and humans but not sure of ferrets since they are smaller. I also read what uncle joe stated in his post about diatoms, etc.
If you have a way to keep the ferrets away from your bed then you can use the DE. It should get rid of the beetles...hopefully. Then you can always vacuum up the powder after.
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