Washing, soaking, or drying items at a temperature greater than 130°F can kill both head lice and nits. Dry cleaning also kills head lice and nits. Only items that have been in contact with the head of the infested person in the 48 hours before treatment should be considered for cleaning.
Lice on pillowcases can be killed by heating the pillowcase by immersion in water at > 60 degrees C, by a hot wash, or by 15 min in a hot clothes dryer.
Off the host, adult head lice can live about two to four days at 74 degrees Fahrenheit (F) and one to two days at 86 degrees. Nits will remain alive off the host for up to 10 days; they will not hatch at or below room temperature (68 degrees F).
Lice can survive in any weather temperature as long as the body temperature of their host is around 98.6 degrees. If a louse detaches from the host, it can live around 24 to 48 hours before they die.
Sustained freezing temperatures can kill head lice and their eggs. Temperature of 0°F or lower will kill lice within a few hours.
Either washing done with a water temperature of at least 50 degrees C or drying is necessary to kill head lice and nits.
Hair straighteners won't kill the nits on your hair shafts. Even if the high heat does kill any adult lice or nymphs (young lice) that might be on your scalp—which isn't guaranteed—it won't kill the eggs (nits).
Use heat. Wash any items used or worn by the person in hot water, and dry them on high heat. Lice and nits die when exposed to temperatures higher than 130 F for more than 5 minutes. Wash anything that touched the person's skin or scalp, including jackets, hats, scarves, pillowcases, sheets, and headbands.
For example, hats, scarves, pillow cases, bedding, clothing, and towels worn or used by the infested person in the 2-day period just before treatment is started can be machine washed and dried using the hot water and hot air cycles because lice and eggs are killed by exposure for 5 minutes to temperatures greater than ...
Introduce natural predators (Ladybugs)
Ladybugs can eat 100 lice a day! Plant lice, anyway, but I'm sure it's the same with head lice. COVER YOUR CHILD IN LADYBUGS. You can purchase them at any of those “Brew 'n Grow” type stores where people grow weed by equipment and pretend to grow tomatoes with it.
Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person's head. To live, adult lice need to feed on blood several times daily. Without blood meals, the louse will die within 1 to 2 days off the host. Life cycle image and information courtesy of DPDx.
Vinegar contains properties that kill and get rid of nits and lice. This mixture should be applied directly to the whole scalp. Mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of warm water. Next, distribute this mixture onto the scalp and cover your hair with a hair cap.
Head lice sometimes go away on their own because there are not enough insects to maintain the infestation, or they may persist for an indefinite period without treatment. With proper treatment, the infestation usually goes away within about two weeks.
Pillows and sheets
Nits will not hatch and will die within a week. People should machine wash any pillows or sheets someone with lice has used in hot water of more than 130°F (54.4°C) .
Lice and nits can live on pillows and sheets. Lice glue their eggs to the hair strands of their host. However, if a piece of hair with an egg falls out while the lice host is sleeping, an egg could end up on pillows or sheets.
Pillows? Just like with mattresses, lice can only live on any bedding—whether it's sheets, pillows, or comforters—for 1-2 days. Without a human scalp as a source for food (blood) for longer than 1-2 days, lice cannot survive.
Coconut, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, and peppermint are scents popularly believed to repel lice. Using any coconut scented shampoo and conditioner is an easy way to increase your defense. At 1% concentration, tea tree oil killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes.
Petroleum jelly (Vaseline).
For best results, coat the hair and scalp, cover it overnight with a shower cap, and wash out the next morning. Comb for nits. Repeat the treatment one week later.
The only way to prevent them from hatching would be to remove them with a good metal nit comb, or your fingernails. Nits are laid by the mother and attached with a glue she formulates, to sit on the hair shaft in the perfect spot to incubate and hatch.
Spinosad (Natroba).
Spinosad is approved for adults and children age 6 months and older. It can be applied to dry hair and rinsed with warm water after 10 minutes. It kills lice and nits and usually doesn't need repeated treatment.
It is not usually possible to get rid of lice in one day, as an infestation needs to be treated. However, there are treatments that can help get rid of lice and symptoms caused by lice more quickly. Lice infestations must first be treated by improving the hygiene of the infected person.
Hair gels, hairspray, oils or other non-medicated products do not kill lice or their eggs. Cutting your child's hair or shaving their head to get rid of lice won't keep them away. Lice stick to short and just “grown in” hair too.
Hairspray makes it harder for the louse to grab hold. The smell of hairspray and the use of solvents (sad but true) in them can also deter creepy crawlies from finding their way in. Not to mention that if you're tying longer hair back, you've got a double whammy.
By comparison, the researchers found that a normal hair dryer aimed at the base of hair, divided into 20 large sections, killed 55.3% of hatched lice and 97.9% of lice eggs after 30 minutes of blow drying.