LICE CONTROL

  This article is about LICE control.
It will explain why they are a pest and what
needs to be done for controlling infestations.
PLEASE NOTE:  YOU CAN SEE PICTURES AND PRICING
OF ALL THE PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS ARTICLE BY
CLICKING YOUR MOUSE CURSOR WHERE PRODUCTS APPEAR
UNDERLINED IN THE TEXT BELOW. Most of your 
questions will be answered in the article. Be 
sure to read all of it before you call in for
technical support.
   If you are looking for information about 
any other insect or animal, go to our article 
archive section by following the link below where 
you will find in depth articles and information 
on just about any pest.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR ARTICLE SELECTION PAGE

   This article is about LICE. The discussion will
detail all you would ever want to know about this
pest including biology and control. The author will
explain why this pest should not be tolerated on
children, adults or pets and then offer preventive
programs so that infestations can be minimized.
   Lice have been around a long time and probably
are one of the first "pests" for which the pest
control industry was created. History has documented
the practice of lice control over 4000 years ago.
Though easy to kill, lice are stubborn and
persistent. Like bedbugs and fleas, they live on blood 
and other bodily fluids which mammals produce. Unlike
bedbugs and fleas lice need to spend their time on
their host. This makes them all the more offensive;
the thought of a louse occupying our childrens
head is intolerable. There are many old wives tales
about this insect as well as too many products to
choose from when confronted with the task of 
lice control. This article will dispell some of
those myths and offer a practical program for any
one who needs to get a lice problem resolved. The
products listed at the end of the article are the
cream of the crop; they will allow you to get control
of any infestation quickly and safely.
   Though there are over 1000 species of lice world
wide, there are just a few which are active on
people or pets. Most lice are animal specific; with
out this particular host close by they will simply
die off and reproduction cycles will stop. Yet it
is not uncommon to find any one person with different
types of lice on them. They might have a combination
of pubic lice along with head lice. Both species
will coexist and even though they prefer certain
body regions they will migrate and feed in other
areas if the environment is right and food plentiful.
Lice obtain their food by either chewing or
sucking. The most common lice which humans encounter
are head lice, body lice and pubic lice (crabs).
These are all sucking lice. Chewing lice rarely
infest humans and most reported incidents stem from
people who work in close proximity to animals which
have chewing lice on them. 
   Sucking lice complete a life cycle by first
hatching from an egg which is usually laid on a hair
close to the scalp. There is a strong glue which
binds the egg to the hair. Often referred to as a
"nit", lice eggs are the single most important
part of breaking the life cycle when trying to
purge a local infestation. More on that later...
When eggs hatch, the young is referred to as a 
nymph and will begin to feed immediately. This
stage goes through three stages until it reaches
adulthood. At that time adult females will begin
to lay eggs and the cycle will start again.
   The time span it takes a newly born louse to
grow to adulthood will vary with each species. Head
lice young take 7-14 days to mature and once 
adult live about a month. During that time a
single female will lay about 100 eggs. Crabs or
Pubic lice take about twice as long to mature - 
generally about a month - and adults will live
another month with females laying about 50 eggs
before they die. Body lice will take about a
month to fully develop as well and once mature
will live another 30 days. Females of this species
will lay 300 eggs or more during her adulthood.
   Though all three feed on human blood, the head
and pubic lice live in the scalp or pubic region
amongst human hair and body lice actually live in
the clothing of the individual on which it feeds.
Though the individual may change clothes the body
louse is able to live a lot longer away or off
the host as does it's eggs so that they can prosper
even if not in close contact with food for extended
periods of time.

   Over the years there has been considerable debate
about certain characteristics lice display as to
why that might happen along with quite a lot of
old wives tales which are just not true. Here are some
of the common misperceptions as well as truths
which you need to know if confronted with a local
infestation.

1)  Lice only infest the poor or unsanitary people of
any one society. NOT TRUE. Any one can get lice.
Adolescent girls are among the highest risk of getting
pubic lice as are men over 30. Head lice is clearly
most common among school children and body lice seems
to be most prevalent where people are forced to huddle
together closely and wear lots of clothes continuously.

2)  Washing your hair will remove head lice. NOT TRUE.
Though keeping your head clean is important when trying
to prevent lice, shampooing will not kill them off
once the hair is infested. Head lice have the ability
to hold on with their strong legs and claws and eggs
are laid with an epoxy-like glue which keeps the nits
attached to hair during any normal wash.

3)  Getting close to anyone will allow the lice to
"jump" from that person onto you. NOT TRUE. Though
lice do move well within the hair they reside lice
cannot jump.

4)  A case of Pubic Lice means you have "been somewhere
dirty" and are now paying the price for this behavior.
NOT TRUE. Though you can get pubic lice from intimate
sexual contact there are too many other ways it could
have happened as well. Do not conclude any misconduct
has occurred just because of the infestation.

5)  Lice have built up resistance to the pesticides being
used so we can't kill them. NOT TRUE. Lice today are
just as vulnerable to Pyrethrin or Pyrethroids today as
they were when these products were first introduced.


6)  Lice are a transmitter of disease. TRUE. Lice
have long been known to carry all kinds of disease
including Typhus, Relapsing Fever and Trench Fever. This
is probably the main reason lice are scorned and hated.
Napoleon met defeat in Russia due to Typhus which was
transmitted to over half his army of 500,00 during this
invasion. Over 200,000 of them died during that time
from the Typhus which was transmitted by lice.

7)  Lice are hard to control. TRUE. Though it is easy
to kill adult lice it is hard to kill their eggs.
This is due to the nit's shell which protects them
from pesticides and other treatments. Removing the
nits from the infested hair is critical to resolving
the infestation and needs to be done for complete 
control to take place.

8)  You can get lice from someone's comb, hat or other
clothing. TRUE. In fact this is the most
common source of lice transmittal. Head lice and body
lice are most likely to find more people to feed on
via clothing, furniture, bedding and personal objects
like hair brushes and combs.


HOW TO CONTROL LICE AND WHAT PRODUCTS TO USE....

   If you have a lice infestation which needs some type of
treatment, you have several options. The first thing
that needs to be done is to establish that in fact you
have lice. Though small, they can be seen. Generally white
or clear in color, lice are not fast moving and can
be caught with a LICE COMB or small pair of tweezers.
Though adults are easy to see, the eggs of lice can
be somewhat small to the naked eye. Many people confuse
dandruff, skin and other small pieces of material for
lice eggs. Before you go crazy trying to clean yourself
of lice and lice eggs make sure you in fact have some
on you.
   After you have determined that you have lice, there
are several things which can be done. First and foremost,
the host must be treated. This should be done with two
types of shampoo. Traditional LICE SHAMPOO does a good
job of killing adult lice. However, many people do one
of two things wrong with the use of this product. First,
they use it too frequently and over expose young heads
and sensitive skin to the formulation. Remember, lice
are easy to kill and you only need to follow the directions
if you want to break the cycle. This means weekly treatments
so that eggs hatching in the next week or two are
not able to infest the head. There is no need to
treat every few days. The second problem people create
for themselves is that they don't do the follow-up
shampoo's at all. Although the first shampoo will
probably kill most of what you had in the hair, treat
one week later just to insure eggs were not able to
hatch back out causing a reinfestation. This shampoo
should be used for either Head or Pubic lice. Body
lice live in clothing so there is no need to use
this shampoo.  However, clothing and furniture needs
to be treated and this will be discussed later.
The second shampoo to use is the LICE ENZYME RINSE.
This is a unique formula in that it breaks down the
epoxy-like glue which attaches eggs to hair. By 
breaking the glue down you are then able to remove
the nits which really helps in breaking the cycle.
In most cases a single treatment of the Lice Shampoo
and the Lice Enzyme will kill off the adults and
remove eggs so the hair will be lice free. However,
we always recommend at least one followup treatment
a week later of both products to insure there
is no reinfestation. Use both for either Head or
Pubic lice.
   If there have been reports of lice at your childs
school and you want to take a pretentative measure,
get some LICE SHAMPOO REPELLENT. This is another safe 
product which is both easy to use and effective. 
Simply add some to your regular shampoo and lice will
not want to inhabit hair which has been cleaned
with this product. This gives you that extra
protection when lice season starts during the
school year. To keep lice off clothing, apply some
LICE SPRAY REPELLENT directly to pants and shirts. It
uses Permethrin as the main ingredient, is odorless
and won't pose a hazard to kids or pets. Don't
be confused by the main label; it does say Flea
Spray. However, in small print there is a whole
section specifically listing Lice and Lice Eggs. 
Use it on garments, bedding and other areas where
you are concerned lice may be hiding. Since it kills
eggs, Lice Spray Repellent should be applied to
anything might be harboring lice egggs.
   Though head and body lice live on their hosts,
it is not uncommon to treat living areas where
lice have been found. Most adults will die within
a week or so if they fall off hosts but as a
protective measure there are several materials
which are designed for such applications. The
safest material to use is PT-PI. This aerosol
product uses Pyrethrin as the active ingredient
which is very safe. It is derived from the
Pyrethrum which is extracted from the Chrysanthemum
plant - the same material which is used in the 
Lice Shampoo listed above. This aerosol is both
quick acting and safe. You can spray it over couches,
chairs, beds, mattresses, carpets and other
areas including clothing. The Pyrethrin will quickly
kill adult lice and larva. But since it won't kill
eggs so you will have to use it every day or two 
if this is your only choice of treatment.
   If you want to use something which will last
longer, get the LICE KILLER AEROSOL formulation.
This is basically the same material as the PT-PI
but it also includes some Permethrin.. This means
applications will last for a week or more. This
product can be applied over the same areas as the 
PT-PI but by using this form you won't have to
spray quite as frequently. The other added benefit
of this product is that its water based. This
means there is very little chance of staining or
discoloration to any fabric or surface where you 
apply it. Both of these forms are low odor; the
Lice Killer has no odor at all. 
   If the structure has had a history of body
lice and you need to treat large areas the use
of a liquid residual might be best suited. 
DELTAMETHRIN is a low odor time released material
which will last 1-2 months per treatment. It
should be applied with one of our SPRAYERS and 
should be sprayed over furniture, rugs, carpets,
and other areas where body lice may have been
active. Since body lice lay eggs which will
lay dormant for some time it is always helpful
to have a product which is around when the larva
emerge. This is what the Deltamethrin will do.
Generally one application of this product will
provide more than long enough protection and
no more than two applications are needed. Watch
this short video to see just what a good spray
pattern should look like to get the job done right.



   Clothing, linens, bedding and other loose
washable items should be washed together in hot
water using our KLEEN FREE LAUNDRY WASH. This 
additive is not a pesticide but it will help to 
remove both active and dead lice from fabric. Using 
special enzymes as penetrating agents, Kleen Free 
will help to loosen nit eggs and sheddings.

   Lice are a persistent pest which will appear
from time to time during the year depending on
local conditions. Most cases reported are small
and limited with just how many people are
infected. Follow our guidelines for proper
identification and then treat accordingly. If
you have Head or Pubic lice you will need to use
both the Lice Shampoo and Lice Enzyme Rinse.
Use Lice Repellent if you don't want to get any
while attending local institutions which
have the lice active. Apply some PT-PI if you
have local activity inside a home and need
to treat furniture or bedding. Spray with
Deltamethrin if you want something which will
last longer. All clothing should be washed
with detergent and Lice Detergent Additive to
insure there are none left behind to continue
the cycle.   
   
To see these products or any of the other pest control 
products we sell, follow the link below.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR PRODUCTS PAGE

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR CHEMICAL INDEX PAGE

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO OUR ARTICLE SELECTION PAGE

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR MAIN PAGE

Our toll free number is 1-800-877-7290.

E-Mail us at Jonathan@bugspray.com


All articles copy righted by U-Spray, Inc.
4653 Highway 78
Lilburn, Georgia  30047
Phone:  (770)985-9388
Fax:  (770)985-9319
Toll Free:  1-800-877-7290

url: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page990.html