It is known that head lice do not like the smell of mint. Back to school time is the worst time of the year for head lice. Head lice cases have hit epidemic proportions as the over the counter products have become less and less effective.
Who gets lice? Almost anyone with hair ¼ of an inch or longer is susceptible to getting head lice. How do we know that lice like sweet people?
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A person is only contagious with lice from a fertilized female louse. She is the one that lays nits (lice eggs). Nits represent future generations of an infestation.
What are Lice?
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A louse is one bug, lice are plural. Nits are the lice eggs.
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Lice feed on human blood 5-6 times a day for a few hours at a time.
Lice are wingless bugs that range in size from as small as a pencil point to the size of a small ant. (2mm to 4mm).
A fertile female louse can lay 3-5 waterproof, hard to remove nits 2 times a day.
Lice do not jump or fly, they only crawl with their 6 legs which have claws at the end designed to cling to the hair shaft.
Nits, once removed from the head are harmless.
Lice live on heads, not in houses.
How you get head lice
More than 90% of head lice cases come from head to head contact with an infested person (hair touching hair).
Sharing items like brushes, hair accessories, dress up clothes, hats, or helmets.
Children working together in small spaces where heads touch.
Hugs (don’t give up hugging, just be proactive).
Cloth seats in the movie theater, on a bus, train, or plane (unlikely, as only abut 2% of lice are from the environment).
