Whip Worms?

[Tommy Coyote]

that can be sprayed on the soil to disinfect it? Something more effective than just picking up the poop everyday. She has 4 dogs.

 

One of my customers is having trouble with whipworm investation. She can't afford a monthly preventative. I took a stool sample in yesterday and got a shitload of wormer for her to use.

 

But is there anything that she can spray on the backyard that will kill the eggs? According to what I just read the whipworm eggs can survive in the soil up to 5 years.

 

It's pretty much frozen solid here. Will that help?

[GentleLake]

Diatomaceous earth is supposed to be useful for whipworms in the soil . . . and in the dogs.

 

If it were me, I'd be applying food grade DE to the yard frequently for quite a while. And I'd be picking up poop religiously for quite awhile, too.

 

Food grade DE can also be given the the dogs internally, too, to eliminate worms.

 

Lots of info and dosing rates on DE here: http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/diatomaceous_earth.html

 

I'd think she should be doing some fecal samples regularly for a while until she's sure she has it under control.

 

As for having 4 dogs and not being able to afford to treat them, well, all I have to say is maybe she shouldn't have so many dogs.

[Tommy Coyote]

I know, I know. But the situation is that she does have 4 dogs and can't afford to really take care of them very well. So we have to punt. She is aware that she needs to keep the yard clean but it's hard when you leave in the dark and come home in the dark. I think I did get her to realize that the whipworms are in the soil and the dogs just pass them back and forth.

 

Where do you get DE?

 

We have enough wormer for 3 wormings - if she remembers to do it. She is doing all 4 dogs this weekend - 3 days in a row. And then again in 3 weeks. And then again in about 4 months. Cost: $133. That's not too bad when you think about it - just about $30 a dog and good for about 6 months.

 

I wish I could get her to do heartworm checks and then put the dogs on Sentinel but I don't think that's going to happen.

[GentleLake]

Food grade DE (make sure it's food grade and not the stuff for pools) is available in many health food stores and lots of places on line.

 

There's a retailer list in the link I posted before -- http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/de_retailers.html#MO

 

If she decides to try it, make sure she knows not to breathe it.

[denice]

You might check with some local rescue groups. I know the one I work with will help out with the heart worm checks ect if they can. Lots easier to help than to rehome dogs. Might also try to ask her local vet about options. I know sometimes the drug reps will give them free things, doesn't hurt to ask.

[Tommy Coyote]

This is a person who doesn't believe in giving her animals chemicals.

 

It's obviously not working out too well for her.

[Shetlander]

Sad for the animals.

[Mark Billadeau]

I cannot find any controlled studies on the efficacy of DE in decontaminating soil of Toxocara canis (canine whipworm) eggs.

[bcnewe2]

But you can find all kinds of internet claims.

I've used de for lots of things. The only things that i found really had merit were fly control in the barn and bug control in the garden but only if the bugs had direct contact with dry de. It also helped with fleas but wasn't a cure all.

I found no significant difference in feeding it to sheep, dogs, or humans for parasite control. These were my personal findings from experimenting with it on my own farm.

[gcv-border]

Many years ago, I went to a livestock husbandry seminar where someone asked the speaker (a veterinarian) how well DE would work at controlling intestinal parasites. His answer was (paraphrasing) - "It works fine when combined with ivermectin or safeguard."

[Mark Billadeau]

The question was raised how to treat the yard to eliminate whipworm contamination of the soil. I looked specifically for published studies on decontaminating soil of whipworm eggs and even more specifically using DE for the decontamination. I found no information on decontamination methods; I only found published research on contamination levels of various soils, environments, and locations. I saw one old article which indicated there were no known methods for decontaminating soils of whipworm eggs. Most articles discussed treating infected animals and attempting to prevent soil contamination.

 

[Tommy Coyote]

OK. Thanks.

[Tommy Coyote]

Everything I'm reading says that it's impossible to get rid of whipworms in the soil. All you can do is keep the yard picked up and check the dogs of worms periodically. One of the articles I found said that the eggs are sort of susceptible to heat and dry conditions but I guess the cold doesn't even phase them.

 

Bummer