Can diatomaceous earth be used as a fly repellent for farm animals?

My granddad has a lot of trouble with flies on his cattle. This year the flies spread pinkeye throughout his whole herd and it took forever (and a decent amount of money) to get rid of the infection. I heard the flies are also spreading a disease that causes deer to overheat and die. I know DE is used for flea and other pest prevention in pets, so I thought maybe it could be used on cattle too. Any opinions?Can diatomaceous earth be used as a fly repellent for farm animals?
DE is being widely accepted as a safe and natural pest control alternative. I've used it with success on livestock (sheep, goats and poultry).





DE is powdered fossil - which is tiny, jagged pieces of crushed exoskeleton from invertebrates. It has been found that DE is small enough to penetrate the exoskeleton of insects and parasites (both internal and external). It will penetrate insect bodies and eggs and basically cause them to dry up.





While it doesn't offer the immediate control that poisonous sprays offer, DE is widely accepted as an organic method of pest control, and is much more environmentally friendly. We've dusted our animals with it and it definitely helps with flies, mites and lice problems. DE can also be dusted over manure piles to prevent fly eggs from hatching, and added in small amounts to animal feed to help control internal parasites.





I can't say with 100% certainty on the effectiveness for cattle, but it has worked wonders for our animals here. Make sure it is FOOD grade DE, not pool grade - as pool grade has been heated and other chemicals have been added.





For more info on it, make sure you contact your farm vet for specifics involving cattle and DE use.