"DE" , as diatomaceous earth is abbreviated, has the neat quality of killing insects (insectaside, as some say) It's perfect for natural insect control. (Unfortunately, it kills good ones, like bees and ladybugs, too, so its use shouldn't be indiscriminate.) It is 100% ecologically safe to the environment and non-poisonous to man and beast. In fact, if you've eaten anything made with flour (like Bisquick), you've eaten DE. It's used in commercial grain storage as a means of natural, poison-free, insect control. So, how does it control insects, or kill insects, and what's it doing on this website? Fresh Water Diatomaceous Earth works by slicing open the exoskeleton (outer, hard covering) of insects, causing them to "bleed" to death. (Actually, their insides leak out, they dehydrate and die.) Imagine walking barefoot through a room that has millions of razorblades embedded in the floor. You've got the picture. When D.E. is sprinkled on the ground, on an ant mound, or mixed with grains, legumes, etc., it slices and dices the insects that walk through it. If you're planning to can or bucketize your own food, mixing in a cup of Fresh Water Diatomaceous Earth will help keep it pest-free. And it won't hurt YOU when you ingest it, 'cause the 'sharp pieces' are too small to cut you, you lucky guy. (In fact, many farmers deliberately mix DE with animal feed to kill internal parasites in farm animals. The D.E. in the animal feces even kills the fly maggots that invariably appear in the patties.) Powder the landing places that flies use for fly control.