The Life Cycle of Head Lice
Today I want to talk to you about the life cycle of lice. Though they may only be the size of a seed, these stubborn little insects seem to drive moms crazy, and for rightful reasons. In reality, a lice infestation can spiral out of control in just a matter of weeks without the child or the parent evening knowing it.
From Nits to Adults in 12 days
- These tiny little creatures first start off as head lice eggs, otherwise known as Nits. Nits are a yellowish to dark brown in color speck that looks similar to dandruff at first glance. The difference between Nits (yellowish-dark brown) and dandruff (white) is that Nits will be attached to the hair strand close to the scalp. Dandruff will appear all throughout the hair and will be white in color.
2. In ab
out a week, the Nits hatch and reach their next stage, which is known as a Nymph (Babies). When Nymphs hatch they have to feed right away and will be very light in color. Sometimes almost translucent but when placed on a white surface can be easily seen.
3. Approximately 9-12 days after hatching (day 17-18 since laid as a nit), the once tiny speck has now reached adulthood. Now that the lice have reached adulthood, male and female will now mate. They only mate once and in about 2 days (day 20-21 since being laid as a nit) the female louse can begin to lay nits. The female louse lays nits twice a day, 4-5 nits at a time. So each day one adult female louse can potentially lay 8-10 nits a day. This will proceed for roughly another 2 weeks until the adult louse succumbs to her death (30-35 Days since being laid as a nit). Like other parasites, in order to live, the lice need to feed on blood multiple times a day. Without blood, it would physically die in 24-48 hours of being off your head but after 12 hours they are of no harm!
Simplicety At Home
If you find yourself stuck in the cycle. We can help! Simplicety At Home can be ordered from our website and shipped right to your door. Our Simplicety At Home Head Lice Treatment Kit includes EVERYTHING we personally use to safely and effectively remove head lice. We even walk you step-by-step through the entire treatment process with our in-depth instructional video! Our simple treatment process has proven effective in over 6,000 treatments.
