Head lice are only found on the human head or hair. Head lice do not live on furniture, hats, bedding, carpet or anywhere else in the environment. Treating anything other than the human head does not eradicate head lice.
Head lice are human parasites and require human blood to survive. They are not environmental pests so pesticide sprays for furniture and bedding are unnecessary. Vacuuming is the safest and best way to remove the lice or fallen hairs with attached eggs from upholstered furniture, rugs, stuffed animals and cars.
Wash items on a hot water cycle and dry on high heat for at least twenty minutes. The heated wash and dry will remove and kill any lice left. Carpets, mattresses, and flooring can simply be vacuumed and cleaned with everyday cleaning products.
Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that the infested person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water (130°F) laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry–cleanedORsealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
You can kill lice on clothing, pillows, blankets, and other washable items in one day by running them through a hot cycle in both the washer and dryer. The infestation must still be removed from each infected person and other areas of your home with soaps and sprays specifically intended for the treatment of lice.
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.
As with furniture and carpets, adult lice typically live for around 2 days on pillows and sheets without human contact. 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) .
They live in and lay eggs on pillows, in bed linens, on stuffed animals, and clothing and periodically visit the human body to feed. With this type of lice, it is important to machine wash pillows in hot water, machine wash bed linens in hot water, and put in a tumble dryer on a high heat drying cycle.
The only cycle on the washing machine that will kill lice is the sanitize cycle. Lice need to be subjected to temperatures of greater than 130° F to die. The sanitize cycle of most washing machine reaches 165° F, which is more than adequate to kill lice.
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.
Stuffed animals, pillows, and other items that cannot be washed easily can go in the dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes. Toys and hard plastic items like hair brushes can be boiled in hot water to kill off any remaining lice. Mattresses, chairs, car seats, carpets, and sofas can be vacuumed.
Routine vacuuming of floors and furniture is sufficient to remove lice or nits that may have fallen off the head of an infested person.
* Nix Lice Killing Spray will kill lice and bedbugs in your home. The bedbug and lice spray is effective for up to 4 weeks. It's easy to use – simply spray on affected areas such as bedding and furniture. Spray has no odor, will not stain water-safe fabrics and surfaces and does not leave a sticky residue.
f you want a spray for your bedding or mattress, then my top pick for repellent lice sprays for mattresses is Lice Logic Clear and Free Spray in mint. Pure Repel with pure essential oils that keep lice away, peppermint being the strongest.
PESTICIDE SPRAYS DO LITTLE OR NOTHING TO CONTROL LICE. NEVER treat your home, car, furni- ture, beds, pillows, or clothing with pesticides (e.g. 'lice bombs,' flea bombs, sprays, etc.) in an attempt to control head lice. You will expose yourself and your family to unnecessary pesticide risk.
Washing anything that has come in contact with the infested person in water that is at least 130 degrees fahrenheit is enough to kill these bugs. If there is anything that cannot be washed or soaked in hot water then it can be stored in a sealed plastic bag for two weeks.
THE INFESTATION
An infestation with lice is called pediculosis. In a normal healthy child, an infestation usually involves less than 10 live lice (7). Infestations may be asymptomatic.
Signs of Lice
Some symptoms of lice are a tingling feeling on your scalp, intense itching, and possible bite marks near your neck, ears, or scalp. If you notice any of the symptoms you should check yourself for lice.
It may take 4-6 weeks for itching to appear the first time a person has head lice. How are head lice spread?
DO LICE LIKE DYED HAIR? There is a myth related to hair dye: people with bleached or dyed hair cannot get lice. Lice gravitate as much to dyed hair as to hair that has not been colored. The bug only needs to climb up the hair to get to its food source, the head's blood.