Biology of Lice
Parents of kids in school know that almost every year there is bound to be some kind of outbreak of lice among children in their kids’ peer group. Lice are an incredibly adaptable and common pest, and their favorite breeding ground is the human body.
In this article, we are going to take a look at the biology of lice in order to understand them better. It’s important to note that understanding common pests is foundational to the idea of integrated pest control. It doesn’t mean that you learn to live with the pest; what it does mean is that an understanding of how a pest lives, breeds, and eats, you, in conjunction with a pest control company, can figure out the best way in which to bring your pest population under control.
What is even more important is that you can bring the problem under control without the use of overly harmful chemicals. Lice are a good case in point for this; many schools still recommend insecticide containing shampoos for taking care of lice. Understanding how lice react will mean that you don’t have to take the unnecessary step of dumping toxic chemicals on your child’s head in order to deal with the problem.
Three types of lice
There are actually three types of lice, all of which can be dealt with in the same way (we cover that in a different article).
* Head lice are the most common species, and are the cause of most of the ruckus within schools. If your child does have lice, it is important to note that unlike the other types of lice head lice are attracted to cleaner hair, not dirty hair. Reinforce this with your child, because you can bet they will be harassed for the presence of these unsightly creatures.
* Body lice are less common and unlike head lice usually only occur on people who live in unsanitary conditions.
* Pubic lice live where the sun don’t shine, and are spread through sexual contact.
Lice life cycle
Lice are tiny creatures, between 1 and three mm long. Female lice lay eggs only once before they die, always on the shaft of the hair as close to the body as possible in order to keep them warm. The eggs are called nits, and are only about the size of a flake of dandruff. They are difficult to remove as they are attached to the hair by a substance that has all the properties of glue, with the benefit (to the nits) of being insoluble in water. The nits hatch around a week after being laid, when they emerge they are in the juvenile nymph stage. Nymphs will reach maturity in another ten days.
Adult lice will usually live for about a month if undetected, provided that they stay on the area of the human where they were born. None of the species of lice can survive much more than a day away from a human host, so removal is the key to eradication.