Actual, Published SCIENTIFIC STUDY on DE ...

[Officially Retired]

So far, I haven't been able to find any actual, published, scientific research on Diatomaceous Earth (DE) as an intestinal wormer for dogs, but I did find such research that was conducted on free-range poultry. The research was conducted by D. C. Bennett*, Y.-J. Rhee, A. Yee, and K.M. Cheng, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. The abstract is presented on page 81 of the 98th Annual Meeting of the Poultry Science Association, July 2009. You may download the actual science via the link here:

Essentially, the findings are exactly as I suspected, the product had ZERO effect on intestinal worms. However, the good news for DE users was the product did seem to improve growth rate and body mass in the hens and growing chickens, and it also produced thicker egg shells and bigger yolks, so the compound may well be a worthy addition to the diet ... for NUTRITIONAL reasons, not as a wormer. Here is a copy of the relevant page:

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If anyone has some actual, published, scientific research (from an accredited source) on the affect of DE on dogs, I would like to see it, but until then it is my opinion that this credible account on chickens in all probability holds true for dogs too. I would like to thank the people who made their claims about this product loud enough to inspire me to prove them wrong with actual science, as regards to worms, and yet to allow me to validate their claims as to DE's residual health benefits in other ways. This is why I placed this finding in the Nutrition Section, not the Disease Section, as DE is now officially considered a "health supplement" on this forum, and not an internal wormer.

Jack

[Crofab]

*insert expletives here*

I had type a long response in regards to this article agreeing with what you said. I used it on a particular dog that I knew had tape worms, and after a month a couple of weeks, the dog still had tapeworms. That was the essence of the post along with it seemed some of the younger dogs filled out more, but I believe that was more to do with the extra water all dogs were getting in their feed to get them to ingest the DE.

Once this bag is empty, that will end my use of this product.

[Officially Retired]

LOL, I hate when that happens

Actually, the more I read about DE, the more I fail to understand how someone could even believe that the product would work in a moist environment like the intestines. The claimed efficacy of DE hinges on dry conditions, where its sharp edges and absorbing qualities dehydrate arthropods. It is also widely published that, even against arthropods, if the DE ever gets wet, even from mere humidity, its effectiveness goes down to absolute zero. And that is for its primary use: as a "duster" for bugs.

Therefore, seeing worms are not even arthropods at all (and have no exoskeleton), and on top of this by their very nature in being in the moist environment of the intestines, their very habitat makes DE unlikely to work at all (and which the above study proved). So, unless I am misunderstanding something, I find it hard to understand why anyone would actually believe DE would work as a wormer at all. It seems automatic to question its efficacy in any moist environment.

However, regarding the thickness of your dogs fed this product, virtually every study I read did seem to be unanimous in its concludion that DE was a good health-builder ... and that animals fed this supplement were thicker, had better appetites, and enjoyed better reproductive fitness than without, which to me makes it a worthwhile product to buy ... not as a wormer but as a feed additive.

Jack

[Crofab]

I didn't really know what to expect from the product. I never really searched for any scientific data on the product as I was just being lazy. I read some people raving about DE, and I thought I would try it as a test run. As you can tell, my test run was a complete dud.