The little kiddo comes home from school, complaining that their head itches. Could be dry scalp so you suggest they take a bath, wash their hair and put some conditioner on it. Give it a good rinse.

Then at suppertime, everyone’s sitting around the dinner table. The kid’s still scratching away. You put down your fork and take a closer look.

Oh-no, you think. The young’un has picked-up some head lice from another child at school. Poor thing. We’re going to have to shave the little one’s head and scrub it down to kill the critters. Better act fast or everyone in the family is going to look like Mr. Clean.

What Are Head Lice Anyway?

They are usually gray, but if left untreated, they’re pretty chameleon-like. They’ll become the same color as the person’s hair who has been infected. They’re tiny. Like between 1/8th-to-1/16th of an inch long. Louse are flat and oval-shaped with little claws at the end of their six legs that they use to clamp onto hair. They feed on blood.

Best to head to the doctor ASAP. Have the infected party wear a shower cap to contain the mini-monsters overnight. But you really need to head to the clinic first thing in the morning to get the physician’s advice and medicine to eradicate the critters. Why? Because every day you delay, the females are laying eggs. Up to a dozen in a 24-hour period. These unbirthed larvae hatch in about a week. Then in another week, the babies are full-fledged adults.

After Treatment

O.K., the kid’s fixed up, but what about if a head louse may have hopped off the host and contaminated the house. Will a residual insecticide kill them around your home?

The quick answer is absolutely not. Contact us at Vulcan Termite and Pest Control. We know how to handle it. Besides, head lice can hang around for a couple of days without needing any blood to feed on. The larvae will not hatch if they don’t have the warmth of a human head. That doesn’t mean you can simply forget about it, though.

What You Must Do

There’s a washday in your future. Immediately. Take all clothing, blankets, bed sheets, pillows and everything that may come in contact with an infected head. Stick ’em in the washing machine. Make sure the water is hot. Dry them in an actual dryer, not on the clothesline. The heat should also be on high for at least 45-minutes. That will kill them.

If your child has any stuffed animals or dolls, place them in a large plastic garbage bag for a couple of weeks. Same goes with any dry clean-only garments. Either seal them in an airtight bag or better yet, if there aren’t that many, take them in a sealed sack and tell the dry cleaning person that you’ve just deloused your house. You just want to make sure you got every conceivable thing immunized from these vicious creatures.

After we’ve done our job, we recommend a total vacuuming of your carpets, rugs and floors. Just make sure when you’re done, remove the bag and throw it in the outside garbage can. Vulcan can handle the furniture and any other likely places they might be hiding.

And don’t shave the kid’s head the night you discover the beasts. See a doctor first. However, bald children are kinda cute. Maybe they’d like to go commando for a while. It’s up to them.

Original Source: https://www.vulcantermite.com/healthy-living/head-lice-pain-in-the-neck-and-other-places