What is the effective difference between white DIATOMACEOUS EARTH and the tan/light brown DIATOMACEOUS EARTH ?
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dart above has the right idea but some of the details are incorrect. Diatoms make a silica skeleton (not calcium) and the brown variety usually hasn't been filtered as much as the white. When ALL foreign material has been filtered out it's white. If it's light brown there is still traces of other matter besides the diatomaceous earth. The white is usually more effective because it's pure silica but often it costs a little more.
As far as time--it's a contact killer so it should kill the insects once they crawl through it.
Bleaching. The Diatoms are small organisms that live in the sea, they create calcium skeletons that look like small pointy orbs under magnification. They are naturally bone colored, which is the slight brown color. Planning on using it as a pesticide?
Good luck
In addition to what you are doing , it'd be good to kill the fleas at the source , in the soil . There are certain nematodes that will do this . As shown on following link , effectiveness will vary with conditions , but is worth a try . I've tried it on just average turf/soil conditions , & did cut down on the fleas quite a bit . http://biocontrol.ifas.ufl.edu/ctgysrch/...
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