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How to get rid of stuff » Pest Problems » How to Get Rid of Lice
 

How to Get Rid of Lice

March 2nd, 2006 by admin
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If you think back to your school days, you will no-doubt remember occasions where the school nurses would visit your class and dig through you and your classmates hair. What they were searching for was head lice, which is most frequently spread in schools where children share close quarters. This guide will show you how to get rid of lice without the use of dangerous chemicals and insecticides.

1. Louse identification

This article will concern itself with three different types of biting lice differentiated by their preferred home on a person's body: head lice, pubic lice and body lice. None of these species are able to jump or fly, so infestation only occurs through direct contact with infested individuals or infested materials (brushes, headgear, pillows). An adult louse is about as large as the tip of a ball point pen and appears tan to light gray in color. Tear-drop shaped eggs are attached to the base of hairs near the scalp and appear yellow, gray or brown.

Head lice

Head lice live in head and very rarely in eyebrow hair. They attach their eggs to the base of individual hairs with a strong glue-like substance that resists washing and brushing. Their bites can trigger an allergic reaction that causes itching. Scratching can cause damage to the scalp along with a subsequent infection of the area. An infested individual will often have brownish-red or black specs on their back and shoulders.
Head Louse Close-up

Pubic lice

Pubic lice take up residence in the crotch, anal area, thighs, abdomen, armpits and eyelashes where they live and lay eggs in the hair. This variety is usually spread through direct sexual contact but can also be spread through sharing of clothing or bedding with an infested individual. Pubic lice can be associated with sexually-transmitted diseases so any infested individuals should get tested for STD's. As with head lice, an allergic reaction to the bites can cause itching and will occasionally turn them blue. An infested person will often find reddish or whitish dandruff-like flakes in areas of infestation. Excessive scratching can cause red, scaly skin with hardened or oozing lesions. (Learn how to get rid of pubic lice)
Pubic Louse Close-up

Body lice

Body lice live only in one's clothing, they move to the skin in order to feed and then return to the clothing. This type of louse is often found where large groups of people are crowded closely together such as prisons, orphanages, and refugee communities but is also common in vagrants that sleep in their clothing and rarely wash. It is responsible for the transmission of typhus and other human diseases. They lay their eggs only in the clothing and are easily dealt with by washing.
Body Louse Close-up

2. Tools for getting rid of lice

This section will go into detail about the different tools that are readily available to help you fight a lice infestation. Insecticidal shampoos are discussed here, but please consider them only as a last resort. It is very possible to defeat a lice infestation without resorting to poison. Soaps and shampoos Olive oil Coconut oil and olive oil (For other uses of olive oil, read 13 practical uses for olive oil) are claimed to exhibit a mild pesticidal quality that can help kill adult lice, but these claims have yet to be substansiated so don't overspend on soaps and shampoos that contain these products. Regular shampoo is sufficient. Shampoos leave eggs intact and so should always be combined with wet combing (See below). Lice combs There are special lice combs that are designed with teeth spaced out just far enough to allow hair to pass, but not nits (louse eggs). Purchase only the metal-toothed type as the plastic variety are often not as reliable for removing all of the eggs. Combing is much easier to do when the hair is moist and soft, so an ideal time is right after shampooing. Insecticidal shampoos Please consider insecticidal shampoo as a last resort. They kill both eggs and adults, but the pesticides can be absorbed through a person's skin. Never shampoo with one of these products during a normal bath or shower as the residue can easily travel over most of the body, and never use an insecticidal shampoo on an infant or a person with open cuts, sores, or irritation of the scalp. Be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle exactly and never use them on someone who is not infested. If you decide to use an insecticidal shampoo anyway, consult your doctor first and stay away from any that contain lindane - Lindane is a known carcinogen and nerve poison that has been banned in many countries around the world. Instead, choose a pyrethrin based shampoo. Pyrethrin is a synthetic insecticide that is not only more effective than lindane, but much safer as well. Environmental insecticides Using insecticides in the environment is not necessary or recommended for lice infestations since lice tend to stick close to their hosts. There are some things in the environment that may need attention such as bed linens and headgear, but these are easily cleaned in soap and hot water.
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  1. October 17th, 2011 at 9:52 pm    Jules Says:

    I have a homemade recipe that has yet to fail but it takes strong stomach as the smell is pretty strong and you wan to do it as quickly as you can with children. My girls all had beautiful THICK LONG hair and once we got lice, it was literally impossible to get rid of using store remedies, and very costly. So my grandma gave me this and we used it and never went back. We only had a few bouts with this problem but this has REALLY not let us down. You take a bottle of hair conditioner and a bottle of nail polish remover, mix half and half but if you are dealing with a younger child I suggest making the ratio a bit less on the nail polish remover as this recipe is VERY strong!!! My girls were older so we did well with it. Mix the two VERY well and soak into dry hair as much as possible. try to saturate down to the roots then quickly put the hair on top of the head and cover with a plastic shower cap. Try to keep it on at least 30 minutes if not longer. This recipe kills the live lice pretty quickly but if you leave it in long enough it will kills the eggs also as well as help release them from the strands of hair. once you have let it sit long enough, take a metal lice comb and just COMB, COMB, COMB!!! Run it through the hair until you quit pulling the lice, and eggs out, then rinse THOROUGHLY! Lice cannot live off hair fro more than twenty four hours so swap out any and ALL pillows, cases, blankets and sheets for at least 48 hours. I always made my girls sleep in a different spot int he house for two nights while washing everything. We treated five days after the first treatment just in case any eggs slipped by and hatched and we were home free from there. it is definitely an aggressive approach but well worth it! We have had to do this twice in ten years and it worked both times like a charm. good luck!

  2. October 7th, 2011 at 7:48 pm    gvgvftcfcf Says:

    It is so sad
    to have this

  3. September 19th, 2011 at 4:29 am    Kristy Says:

    Hey my niece is 9yrs old and every year she ends up getting lice. I was trying to find other ways on how 2 get rid of lice. Yea the shampoo works but it gets costly having to do it twice most the time and I always do mine when she gets it so we en up spending no less then 60 dollars on the shampoo and spray. So we tried the mixing vinegar & cooking oil half & half and wrapping the hair up in plastic wrap or a shower cap but the plastic wrap seems 2 be tighter so we did that. Left it in for an hour, combed it out and only had to do that one time. We still would comb threw her hair every night just to be safe using conditioner and she was lice, egg & nit free. Hope this helps. Be careful with the vinegar tho cuz if to much gets on her skin it turns her real red so be careful on younger kids.

  4. September 19th, 2011 at 2:24 am    Kayla Says:

    If you get a plastic comb with your kit, the best thing to buy is a flea comb made for pets… It gets it out even better and it won’t break!

  5. July 28th, 2011 at 12:27 am    maleeha Says:

    Where can you get all these products? I live in Reno Nevada, is there anything in Walmart? Where do you find a metal lice comb? And some good shampoos to make it go away? My jacket in school fell on the ground a couple times and a long time ago the princepal announced to keep your on a hook and not on the ground because of lice, then I wore my hood and stuff and forgot all about her announcement! I have lice because when I itch i see things come out, and if it lands on your face you get pimples! Help?

  6. April 11th, 2011 at 8:53 am    Child Protection Worker Says:

    Soak hair with vinager, it breaks down the glue that holds the nits on. Use lice shampoo. Pull all the nits out of the hair by hand, yes it may take hours. Once the hair is lice and nit free you can deter other lice by using hair spray, it messes up thier ability to get on your hair lay eggs. You can also put baby oil and a shower cap on, it smothers them and prevent eggs from attaching. The whole house needs to be vacuumed and steam cleaned if possible. All bedding & pillows needs to be washed on hot. Stuffed animals need to be washed on hot. You may also put items in a plastic bag and freeze them. Best of luck. I know familes that have spent over $1,000 to get rid of lice.

  7. March 9th, 2011 at 5:41 pm    Dad Says:

    I think you should just use the shampoo for removing lice, leave it for ten minutes, then rinse it off. Blow dry your hair after that, and comb with the lice comb.

  8. November 1st, 2010 at 11:47 am    dalya harel Says:

    With over 20 years of experience and tens of thousands of satisfied clients, Lice Busters NYC has set the standard in the business of head lice removal. We have been Featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, WNYC.org, WNYC820am, WNYC 93.9 fm, Child Magazine, AM New York, Time Out New York, CBS, The Daily News, The Jewish Week, The Jewish Chronicle, and many prestigious blogs have rendered a unanimous verdict: CEO Dalya Harel’s lice-busting treatment is legendary.

  9. September 26th, 2010 at 5:13 pm    josh Says:

    My 2yr. Old has lice bad I don’t know what to do we did the mayo think and when thought her hair really good but she started digging at her head again! Fond bugs and nits we are worried! Help!

  10. August 11th, 2010 at 5:02 pm    james Says:

    Hi yall. ok so i grew up in schools infested with head lice now i didn’t get them asmuch as my siblings but once in a while i would get them. but my sisters were so much worse. but we found the ultimate cure. both of my sisters have hair theat almost touches the ground and is so thick. but finall to the cure. take a shower cap and sit it next to you. get a bottle of hairgel take the gel and put it in your hair till there isn’t a spot that is not covered thickley in it after that put on the cap. climb into bed and in the morning get in the shower. when done go through the hair and see if anything is still alive 99% guarentee nothing will be moving. make sure when you go through to use a metal lice comb. hope this helps anybody

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