I wanted to give a recommendation (and thanks) for your diatomaceous earth powder for bed bugs.

Our entire apartment bldg was heavily infested for months - landlords were very slack about control and failed to warn tenants of the problem. When we got them in our apt last May we were sprayed 4-5 times by the pest company (which made me quite sick) and the bugs kept coming in from adjacent apts because they did not do building-wide treatment, just individual apts if people complained enough and called the health dept. the whole thing was a nightmare - my husband is an amputee and ended up in hospital with an infection in his residual limb (almost certainly from a bug bite), and we were getting no sleep and loads of stress. then I found out about the powder and ordered my first batch from youl.

Using it effectively was a lot of work (moving everything and getting it into each and every crevice) but bites and bug sightings began to decline within days of the first application, and after the second application I found dead bugs on the floor every morning for a few weeks and only the odd live one. After a few months there were none at all. Occasional reapplications kept it that way. I ordered more powder and offered it to others afflicted with the pest, and quite a few people accepted. Seemed like the bldg was clear, but in the spring came more infestations. and a new pest co. rep came and inspected. We were clear, and he later told me that all of the apts with powder were also clear - even though adjacent apts were infested, it had kept them from coming in.

So, great product, it really works (if you do it right) and - unlike pest sprays - no noticeable side effects. So, thanks, and feel free to share this story

Rich and Lisa Wiles - New Jersey

A Dirt Works Customer

In terms of safety for humans and our mammal friends, there is absolutely no justification for using any other insecticide besides diatomaceous earth or whatever else you want to call it: fossil shell flower. Everything in the world is a chemical including diatomaceous earth but this one does not get absorbed into the systemic part of the body.
When you go to a hardware store and look for insecticides, diatomaceous earth is never there. I think that is ethically criminal.
From a very practical view, it is inexpensive, never loses potency and can be used effectively to prevent the annual invasion of ants into your house. I use it on the outside threshold of my house and on the earth nearby. My 20 lb bag will last me several life times. Whenever I have a friend tell me about their ant invasion I just scoop some out and give them a demonstration.
Jack A Zeller, MD
11603 Gilsan St
Silver Spring, MD
20902

Wally Tharp, President
Perma-Guard Inc.
115 Rio Bravo SE
Albuquerque, NM  87115

 RE: The use of Fossil Shell Flour (FSF) in our veterinary practice

 Dear Wally,

 FSF is given free choice to calves at 36 to 48 hours after birth. The calves readily consume it, even at this young age. In a very few cases FSF is placed in the mouth so that they acquire a taste for it. Following this they eat it on their own.

 FSF has been used on approximately 2,000 calves; the results have been consistent and gratifying. The incidence of calf scours has been 99% eliminated. There have been cases of Diarrhea, but this has been due to the calf over eating on milk. No true case of calf scours as such has been observed.

 The reason for FSF doing such a commendable job of preventing calf scours, pneumonia and white muscle disease is due to the baby being provided with a well-balanced complex if chelated minerals. Dr. Carey Reams, a respected Bio-physicist, held the view that practically all diseases were caused by a mineral deficiency and/or imbalance in the body.

 Our experience in our own herd of beef cattle has been that by using FSF we have been able to stop the use of vaccines and antibiotics.

 We also have abandoned the use of herbicides, pesticides and commercial fertilizers. All of the above practices have accomplished two things in our operation: 1. Healthier cattle  and,  2.  A financially viable enterprise.

 Best Regards,

H. D. Johnson, DVM