Re: Birdseed Moths

This will probably explain as well as any how DE works. I used it in my
vegetable gardens too, no more little chewing critters in the soil and
nematodes and such.

Diatomaceous Earth
Safe as Dirt but Kills like Insecticides

Diatomaceous Earth, which is also called DE or silicon dioxide, is as
chemically inert as road dust, but when properly used, it is very effective
against insect pests. Unlike ?chemical insecticides? of the last half of the
20th Century, DE is a ?physical? or ?mechanical? insecticide.

Knowledge of one fact about insects and two facts about DE is required in
order to understand how DE can be safe to humans and yet very effective in
killing insects.

Insects control their body moisture by means of a complex ?waxy? coating on
the outside of their exoskeletons, i.e., their shells. This coating is
naturally porous, which permit slow loss of water and evaporation. If the
waxy coating is damaged, the insect suffers serious injury.

?DE is made up of ancient skeletal remains of diatoms. These one-celled
creatures have hard, sharp structures that are small enough to abrade, cut
or pierce insect?s waxy coating. But the structures are so small that DE
feels as soft as baby powder to humans.

This stuff doesn't have much if any effect on the moths, it kills the pupa.

Val
Lat. 47:42:18N
Lon. 122:21:19W
Alt. 5ft 2in (when fully vertical

"johncarrington" <johncarrington@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dzSaf.1348$lg.129@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Valkyrie and the Group...
> I, too, had/have an infestation of the Moths from Hell. I threw out the
> grains that others have described, put the Black Oil Sunflower seeds in a
> garbage can and porched it and vacuumed and swatted the the critters. I
> found the use of the Diatomaceous Earth curious. How does that affect
> them?
> John
> Chenango Forks, NY
>
>
>
>
>
> "Valkyrie" <YawShur@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1131114415.812430@xxxxxxxxx
>>I just keep my birdseed in the freezer all the time, but then I have a
>>large freezer.
>>
>> My son worked in a pet store and we had quite a menagerie around the
>> house for a while, assorted animals and 5 birds. We got a 'moth
>> infestation' and I literally had to toss anything having to do with any
>> kind of grain and vacuum every single nook and cranny. Two days later I
>> could see little wiggling larva in the corners of cupboards....good thing
>> I'm not squeamish! I vacuumed those up and immediately disposed of the
>> vacuum bag each time. I finally decided to bring out the big guns.
>> Since I had pretty much emptied or tossed everything out of the
>> cupboards I went and got a bag of Diatomaceous Earth and dusted the
>> cupboards down good and then laid shelf paper on top just for aesthetic
>> reasons. That seemed to do the trick to eliminate the larva. I also
>> imported a jar full of spiders....I'm also not an arachnophobe... from
>> the garage into the house and they seemed to snag the last of the flying
>> critters, when they were gone the spiders disappeared, probably went to
>> the basement to find bigger game. It took about a month to clear the
>> house of those meal moths and I've just immediately put all birdseed in
>> the freezer and stored it there ever since. I happen to have a large
>> freezer though so it's not a problem wondering what to do with the ice
>> cube trays when smooshing a 50lb sack of sunflower seeds into your little
>> top fridge. The cat sort of misses those little moths though, he liked
>> leaping at them.
>>
>> Val
>> Lat. 47:42:18N
>> Lon. 122:21:19W
>> Alt. 5ft 2in (when fully vertical)
>>
>>
>> "Dave" <galt_57@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:1130944965.587941.255990@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> What if I throw the birdseed in the freezer for a few days?
>>>
>>> http://www.bobvila.com/ArticleLibrary/Location/BewareBirdseed.html
>>>
>>
>>
>
>


.

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