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Head lice are small, wingless insects. Like all insects they have six legs, which they use to cling to the hair. Lice only live in human hair. They often prefer the warmest places such as behind the ears or in the neck.
Lice are transparent. This makes them difficult to detect in hair. An adult louse is 3-4 mm long: approximately the length of a sesame seed. The females are the largest. Once they have eaten, lice turn brown-red.
Lice feed on human blood. They do so four times a day. They bite through the scalp and inject their saliva. That irritates and causes itching. Away from human hair and therefore away from blood, they cannot survive longer than 2 to 3 days.
Nits are not lice. Nits are the empty shells of hatched nymphs or eggs that didn’t hatch. Do you find nits in your hair? This does not necessarily mean you are infested with lice, but the chances are considerable.
The life cycle of a louse.
- mature louse
- eggs
- nymph
- mature louse
Lice reproduce very quickly. Female lice lay up to 10 eggs per day. The eggs, which look like dandruff, stick close to the scalp on the root of a hair. They are very difficult to remove.
The eggs hatch after 8 to 10 days. These ‘baby lice’ are called nymphs. After 10 to 12 days, nymphs become mature adults ready to lay eggs.
Lice live 2 to 3 months. In that time female lice lay 200 to 300 eggs.
