My parents have cork floors in their kitchen. They had a golden retriever until recently (he was 13 when he died, and they had had him since he was 3). Ten years of golden retriever claws on the floor in front of the dog-biscuit cabinet really left a mess. The cork is all scratched up there. The rest of the floor is holding up fine, though. It's just where the 60-lb dog did his dance every day that shows the wear.

Personally, I'm sticking with the wood floors that came with my house. I'll have to refinish it eventually, but it's been here for over 70 years and it'll probably be here another 70. I have the original wood floors in the kitchen, too.

Back to DE, I have heard it used against slugs in the garden. As for parasites, they are with us all the time. Every once in a while, I read something about some colon cleanser that cleans everything out and cures all ailments. It sounds really gross, and I figure that eating lots of carrots and apples and psyllium husks will be beneficial without the grossness of those ads. Why do I read those things??