We are always told that lice are ‘caught’ or ‘transferred’ but if everyone is catching lice, where did they originally come from?
Lice or Pediculus humanus capitis (its medical name) are highly contagious, insect parasites that feed on human blood.
They don’t carry diseases and are essentially harmless but can make your life a living nightmare because of how itchy they make your head. The embarrassment of housing an insect colony in your hair is another story altogether.
Head lice require another body to feed off for them to survive but they can go a couple of days without a host.
What’s their number one choice of food? Human blood; which they suck from your scalp.
You would assume that head lice can fly since they spread so easily—they can’t. Can you imagine what it would look like if they did? You would have little minuscule insects buzzing around your head! Lice aren’t too fond of water either and they hate it when you wash your head.
Where do they come from?
We haven’t discovered any fossils of lice so we have no idea where they originally came from but we do know they have existed for a very long time.
According to scientists, head lice separated from body lice 100,000 years ago; this is assumed to be around the time humans began clothing themselves. Head lice remained on the scalp and body lice mutated so they were better able to cling on to clothing.
How are they transferred?
Head-to-head contact is how 99% of lice are transferred. Once they make their way onto your heads, it doesn’t take them long to grow. A female louse can lay up to 6 eggs a day! A single female louse can do more than enough damage on the scalp which is why you should treat them immediately.
How to treat them?
The only way to treat lice is to remove them AND their eggs. You can paralyze lice for a while through medication and then wash them out but it won’t make a difference if you still have lice eggs (nits) stuck to your hair.
For proper treatment of lice, the removal of nits is necessary.
Lice Troopers provide a number of
lice removal services Pembroke Pines that include in-home lice removal, lice removal salon and lice-removal home inspection and cleaning. We understand that lice infestation can be a recurring problem when you have little children in the house so we also have a membership program. Through the membership program you can have free lice removal and head checks.
Contact us for more information.
