Q: Can you give me some information on head lice please? My son has them, and I don't want to use pesticides on him.
K.W., Berkeley
A: The head louse will generally stay on the hairs of the head. The female head lice place their eggs on the hairs, gluing them directly onto the shaft of a hair, most often within a half inch of the scalp. Body lice are extremely similar in appearance, but they lay eggs on clothing and may spend more time on the clothing than directly on the host.
Even though the adult louse is capable of living up to a month while on a host, they can survive off a human host only 36 to 48 hours. It is extremely susceptible to lower temperatures and relies on the human host for survival. The lice may inadvertently walk onto the clothing and then onto the next person who wears that material, spreading the infestation. But the eggs are securely cemented onto hairs, so these do not fall off of one person and end up on another.
Doctors may recommend having a home sprayed for head lice, but that is something that should not be done. Eliminating head lice is a combination of physically removing the lice and eggs with appropriate combs and killing the lice and eggs with topical applications of head louse shampoos or ointments.
One good nontoxic way to get rid of head lice is with coconut oil. Use extra virgin organic coconut oil. Melt about two spoonfuls of the solidified oil and let it cool. Apply the oil liberally to the scalp, preferably at night so you can wash your hair the next morning. Massage it well into the scalp. The coconut oil will suffocate the lice and their eggs. Use a good nit comb to comb out all of the eggs. No pesticides are necessary.
Putting suspected infested clothing, towels or blankets into a hot dryer for 20 minutes will be sufficient to kill any lice that may be on them.
