Food grade DE eliminates roundworms, whipworms, pinworms, and hookworms within 7 days of being fed daily. Studies that advise this are on our DE FAQ page and elsewhere throughout the internet.

We always suggest feeding DE for a minimum of 30 days for roundworms, whipworms, or hookworms, due to their life cycle and needing to catch any hatching eggs, as DE does not kill eggs.

Lungworms, including hookworms that have migrated to the lungs for which upper respiratory symptoms would be seen – sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, runny eyes, etc., take double the recommended daily DE dose for at least 90 days.

When we take in feral rescue kittens that have freeways of fleas running around their tiny tummies, we put DE in their litter boxes AND I feed the DE internally 1 heaping tsps. daily for tiny 1 to 2# kittens as we KNOW they will have tapeworms. Immediately thereafter and for about 2 weeks, they emit 30 to 40 tiny tape segments on the back of their hind end fur. Little by little, there are fewer and fewer tape segments seen, their pot bellies are gone, and their stools are normal.

IF we tried to bathe these feral rescues, they would KILL us and likely never come near a human again. It is our goal to adopt them out, so bathing is not an option. Most people don’t want feral cats or kittens, most want friendly, social, healthy ones and the DE really helps us accomplish this painlessly.

We feed whole rabbits we buy from rabbitries that sell to the supermarket butchers to all our canines and felines. Rabbits are natural carriers of tapeworms. Before we began using DE in 1997, I would occasionally see tapes in the canines stools. I did the “messy” Juliette de Bairacli Levy worming – fasting 3 days prior to the full moon – castor oil and anti-parasitic herbs and foods. It took care of the tapes, but was a HUGE mess to clean up the diarrhea. Since using DE regularly the past 8 years in everyone’s food here, I have never seen a tape segment in anyone’s stool. 🙂

DE does need to be fed daily in adequate amounts – at least 30 to 45 days for tape worms and 90 days for lung worms.

85 to 95% of the human population has worms and these worms are a major contributor to dis-ease. If your doctor said, here, take this chemical/poison wormer you give to your pet, would YOU take it?? If not, WHY on earth would you give it to your beloved companions??

The manufacturers recommended feeding rates for people is 1 heaping tablespoon daily. We take 2 tbsps. daily, simply because the RDA for 100 lb. dogs is 2 tbsps. and most of the humans here weigh 130 lbs. or more. Since DE won’t hurt us and we know the DE has to come in contact with worms/parasites to eliminate them, a little more is better than not enough.

I recommend starting with 1 tbsp. daily and increasing as desired, after you are certain you aren’t having heavy detox effects from the die off of worms.

Some human clients advise they use DE mixed with water and painted on their skin to eliminate parasites such as Helmith parasite infestations, Morgellon’s disease, etc., and consume food grade diatomaceous earth daily. Apparently, painting the DE on the skin makes it easier to see the parasite eggs, plus it dehydrates any insects on the skin.

Click here for recommendations for using DE for mite infestations.

If fecal counts are not zero for worms and ova after feeding DE for 30 days, increase the daily dose. Feeding too small a dose of DE will not give desired results. Increasing the dose, even if greater than the manufacturers recommendations, will not harm anyone. Some horses do fine on 1/2 cup of DE daily, others need a full cup. This reminds us, that all beings are different. So again, if the worm and ova counts are not zero, increase your daily dose.

Some advise feeding 1/2 cup daily to most of their horses works great, but there are one or two who still test positive for strongyles. As everyone’s immune system is different – age, height, weight, mineral intake, etc., some just need a little more to take care of the problem.

Thankfully, natural DE is not a “poison”, but a natural method of eliminating parasites by dehydrating them. Since parasites are a major cause of dis-ease in everyone – human, plants, and animals, as well as the other great benefits of feeding natural DE, we immediately feed DE to all rescues or client animals (infested or not, as most often they have parasite issues and the DE will help strengthen their immune systems, get them healthier more quickly, detox heavy metals, provide 15 minerals, and eliminate any worms they may have). Our DE feeding protocol for worm infestations can be given once or twice per day as follows:

• Kittens – 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
• Cats – 2 teaspoons twice/day
• Puppies less than 10 lbs. – 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
• Puppies 10 to 19 lbs. – 2 teaspoons
• Dogs 20 to 50 lbs. – 1 to 1.5 tablespoons
• Dogs 50 to 100 lbs. – 2 tablespoons
• Dogs 100+ lbs. – 3 to 4 tablespoons
• Cattle, Dairy Cows, & Hogs – 2% of dry feed ration & Free Choice
• Chickens – 5% in feed & Free Choice
• Goats & Sheep – 2-3 tbsps. per 100#’s of body weight & Free Choice
• Horses – 1 to 2 cups in daily ration
• *Humans – 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons daily (1 tbsp. AM, 1 tbsp. PM)

For puppies and kittens who are still nursing or not eating, it is easy to feed them food grade diatomaceous earth by mixing the DE in a small amount of raw goats milk (or whatever milk you prefer), yogurt, or cottage cheese.

Just remember, DE has to come in contact with the worm/parasite to kill it within 24 to 72 hours. Once you start worming with DE, do NOT stop the daily DE for at least 3 weeks. IF you start one day and forget for 3 days, the infestation and dead dying worms which emit bacteria, toxins, ammonia, etc. can cause toxic overload, which can make animals or people sicker.

Anyways, you can feed too little, but you can’t feed too much DE (of course, no one is going to feed a 50# bag to a canine, horse, or kitten in one day – okay, so there might be someone out there that would try it…). The recommended feeding rates on my website are what the manufacturer recommends. Personally, if I KNOW I’m dealing with an infestation in a new rescue, I ALWAYS feed more than the recommended dose for the first 3 to 4 weeks, because I don’t want to have to deal with the dis-ease worm loads can cause, nor the diarrhea, etc.

Feeding DE to young pets – kittens, puppies, birds, goats, etc. as soon as they start eating on their own has shown to help prevent stool eating, dirt eating, rock eating, coccidia and giardia. Since Codex DE eliminates intestinal worms and provides 15 vital minerals, it helps keep the immune system stronger and healthier. There is no easier way to assure healthier, happy, radiant furry and feathered family members. Of course, feeding Species Appropriate Nutrition helps.

For puppies and kittens who are eating on their own, it is really easy to feed them food grade diatomaceous earth by mixing the DE in a small amount of raw goats milk (or whatever milk you prefer), yogurt, or cottage cheese.

Remember, as stated before, DE has to come in contact with the worm/parasite to kill them within 24 to 72 hours. Once you start worming with DE, do NOT stop the daily DE for at least 3 weeks. IF you start one day and forget for 3 days, the infestation and dead dying worms which emit bacteria, toxins, ammonia, etc. can cause toxic overload, which can make animals or people sicker.

A study done by ACRES, USA, Inc. advised that after 12 months of storage, the food grade diatomaceous earth treated material had 15 insects, compared to 4884 for malathion and 16,994 for untreated grain.

Why feed diatomaceous earth 365 days a year?

We use food grade diatomaceous earth (aka DE) daily, 365 days/year for numerous reasons. The animal and human health benefits food grade diatomaceous earth provides are outstanding.

Since DE does double duty – inside the gut and then outside in the stool, it makes sense/cents to just feed it 365 days/year. It keeps fly loads down and can help eliminate them completely if fed regularly and used on the grounds, makes stools smell less, and sweeps bacteria and heavy metals out of the body. Plus of course, it eliminates internal worms and parasites which will lower feed and vet bills and help prevent disease.

It is our belief that worms and parasites are a major cause of all disease. ALL cancer and other dis-eased patients have worms. Therefore, by feeding food grade diatomaceous earth in adequate quantities daily, we know we have NO worms and therefore at least seventy percent of the chance of getting diseased goes right out the window.

These statements have not been evaluated by Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. 

The information on this web site is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician or veterinarian. This information is not intended as a substitute for the reader’s independent judgment and personal responsibility. Health issues are far too important to delegate to anyone else. It is highly recommended you research and seek information and counsel from as wide a variety of sources as possible, so you can make well informed educated decisions about you, your child’s, or your pet’s health, as in the end YOU make the decisions.