[peggyprice]

Hi all -

I'm just popping over from the poultry pages to ask a question ... I've just started using DE in my hen house as a preventative measure against lice; but it occurred to me as I put all that lovely straw and chicken poo into my compost bin this weekend that as the DE works against bugs by scratching their surface so they dehydrate and die (as I understand it) - won't it have the same effect on my lovely active composting worms??

Does anyone here know the answer?

Cheers!

[richyrich7]

no idea to be honest but an educated guess would be no it won't have the same effect bugs have a tough exoskeleton which like you say the DE errodes, but earth worms have a soft rubbery outer skin so I reckon it would not bother them so much.   Esp in the moist conditions they favour

[Aunt Sally]

I use Diatom in my eglu and all the bedding and dropping from there go into my compost heap , which is luverley and full of worms.  I would say the dilution factor fixes it.

[peggyprice]

Thanks both for that - I shall continue as normal and see how we go