Treating fleas with diatomaceous earth.

[Allegre Nee]

My cats have fleas, and we want to treat the house and the cats. I was planning to use diatomaceous earth (DE) instead of a chemical treatment, but I was worried that the DE could get under my ball python's scales or hurt him in some way.
It's food grade DE and I haven't been able to find ANYTHING online about if this will be harmful to snakes. (No articles referencing it as a snake repellent, so that's good).
Has anyone used this before? I'm not going to put it in or near the ball's home, and will vacuum well before handling him.

[Christine]

Just dont apply it to the snake or its cage. I have used it in the house and around the house.. Its not a chemical it irritates the insects cause its sharp. Dont breath it in and dont get it in your pets eyes.. I have used it in a drink also and fed it to my turkeys,dogs and cats...

[Jay_Bunny]

I have used this and it works well. What its made of shreds the exoskeleton of the flea (or so I was told) and that is how it is killed. I'm not sure how it works for the eggs though. I'm sure if you use it long enough, you'll get them all. You can apply it directly to your cats and around the home but since it has not been approved for reptiles, I would not apply it to your snake or its enclosure as mentioned above. Vacuum well before handling or allowing him on the floor.

And I can assure you that applying and vacuuming this stuff up is a pain. It will take several passes before you get it all out of your carpet. I would advise using a face mask when applying or vacuuming it up. And also, as mentioned above, you can use it as a drink for your cats as a de-wormer. (or so I have been told. I never used it for this purpose.)

I'd give it a 3/5 stars. It works but is a pain to clean up.