It is kind of messy but not terrible. As for dusty, no more dusty than ReptiChips when it dries out. Any substrate is going to cause dust if you stir it all over when it's dry. Aspen did it, EE does it and even ReptiChips did it when I would push it all into one mountain to wet it down. Just do what I did, try all different kinds and see what works best for you. ReptiChips was nice except like I said, I couldn't find piss in it as it would fall between the bigger pieces. Same with poops. With Eco Earth, it just sits on top and poop generally gets coated in the EE like a dusting of sugar so it doesn't get smeared all over and piss is easy to see as you just look for a big round wet spot and then just spot clean that. Plus it clumps more or less which makes it easier.