Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

I'm ready to start assembly on buckets this week. I decided against dry ice because of the high humidity in this area. I'm going to use oxygen absorbers and Diatomaceous Earth.

Is anyone else using the Diatomaceous Earth? I have read an am unclear on one thing. Do you use it all stored products or just grains? What about milk and beans? I have read conflicting info on it?

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

Not using DE. It scares me.

Whatever you do, be VERY CAREFUL not to breathe the stuff, it's very harmful if inhaled - like asbestos. If you look at the stuff under a microscope, it's like spikey sea shells. It gets in the crevices/joints of the exoskeletons of insects and grinds them to death. And there is a difference between conventional DE and food-grade DE, I have read. Only grains/flours should get DE if your going to use it. They are really the only things that get any bugs.

Im just freezing my bulk bags of grains/flours before packing them in mylar with O2 absorbers and desiccant packets. I suppose you could mylar/absorber them up before freezing - dunno if freezing affects the mylar/absorbers/packets or not.

It's very cold up here where I live right now, so I just put my bags of flours and whole grains in sealed plastic bins and left them outside for 3-4 days in sub-zero temps (0-15 degrees F) to kill any bugs/larvae.

Don't quote me on this, but I don't believe you have to worry about bugs in your beans so much. It's just the grains/flours/rice that need attention in this respect. I used to work in a co-op and dealt with bulk grains and beans all the time, and I've never witnessed dry beans that get buggy. Also, I've read that you should NOT use desiccant packets with dry beans, it makes them too dry and they will not soak or cook right. O2 absorbers are OK.

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

I decided not to bother with dry ice or anything. I'm just using O2 absorbers, but I used about 10, 500cc absorbers per bucket. I figure that should suffocate the crap out of them. :D

I don't think any of the professional companies do anything other then O2 absorbers, so appearently they feel that's sufficient. I just went a little overboard to be extra sure since the absorbers are so cheap.

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

Is there a website that a noob could look at that would show me how to make a stock of grains/flours turn into foodstuffs? lolz
What the hell does someone do with a bucket of grains/flours?

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

Try this one.


http://www.baking911.com/bread/101_intro.htm

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

I agree with Phaedrus. DE makes me nervous. I don't use dry ice, either. Too humid around here most of the time. Moisture from the air will freeze to the service of the dry ice, then you end up with that moisture in your food storage. I just use lots of oxygen absorbers and pack the food in mylar bags inside buckets. I do have a bag of DE. If anything starts getting buggy after it's open, I might make the decision to use it to salvage what I can.

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

Never used it either. My wife REALLY doesnt like the idea, but we have tossed it around.

Some people here do use it. We use the LDS cannery for our supplies, they don't use it, and have been doing this longer than anyone else, so I am fine without using it. #10 cans and oxy absorbers.

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

if beans get too dried out to soak properly;partly grind them , then soak.

i got some DE but only to use after opening a bucket if it seems to be needed then.

nitrogen or co2 packed buckets won't allow a hatch i've read.



is the freezing foolproof on the 'hatchers'?

is there 'food grade' DE as opposed to 'garden ' DE?

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

Yes, there is a food grade. You can not use a garden product for food preservation. Not only is DE used for pest control and food preservation but its used as a nutritional supplement for getting rid of pesky intestinal worms and bacteria that all humans carry. Actually in times of stress and poor diet a little human worming might not be a bad idea.

Here is some info on supplemental use where I bought mine.
The only warning I found was to use food grade and to not inhale. These links talking about supplemental use in humans and livestock is really interesting.



https://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php
http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

Re: Anyone else using Diatomaceous Earth?
 

I'm using it. My preps aren't in superpails--I've been buying bulk and packaging it myself. A little bit goes a long way.