Research suggests that bed linen, hats, clothing and furniture do not harbour or transmit lice or nits and that there is no benefit in washing them as a treatment option. Nits and lice only live on the human head. They quickly dehydrate and die if removed from the head.
Can head lice and nits live on pillows or sheets? Lice and nits can live on pillows and sheets. Lice glue their eggs to the hair strands of their host. However, if a piece of hair with an egg falls out while the lice host is sleeping, an egg could end up on pillows or sheets.
Just like with mattresses, lice can only live on any bedding—whether it's sheets, pillows, or comforters—for 1-2 days. Without a human scalp as a source for food (blood) for longer than 1-2 days, lice cannot survive.
Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that the infested person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water (130°F) laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry–cleanedORsealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
Either washing done with a water temperature of at least 50 degrees C or drying is necessary to kill head lice and nits.
There is no need for special chemicals or detergents to kill the lice. You don't need any unusual equipment or special training. The primary weapon against these bugs is… heat.
There's no need to wash your child's bedding every day.
Wash the pillowcase, but the comforter/blanket, sheets, and stuffed animals and other lovies can simply go in the dryer on high for 20 minutes. As for the bottom sheet, you don't even need to remove it from the bed.
If you begin to find that the nits are further away from the scalp, they may not be viable. Using a magnifying lens will make it easier to search for nits close to the scalp. You'll want to make sure that there are no clusters of nits close to your child's scalp for at least two weeks before you are in the clear.
lice: Size: Bed bugs tend to be bigger than lice, measuring about a quarter of an inch in length. In contrast, lice are smaller than an eighth of an inch long. Coloration is an important differentiator since bed bugs are brownish-red or mahogany colored, while lice are somewhat light whitish or gray in color.
Itching on the areas where head lice are present is the most common symptom. However, it may take up to 4 to 6 weeks after lice get on the scalp before the scalp becomes sensitive to the lice saliva and begins to itch. Most of the itching happens behind the ears or at the back of the neck.
Infestation timeline
An adult louse climbs onto your hair and lays about 6 to 10 nits a day, which take about 9 days to hatch. So if you look on the scalp and see no visible adult lice and several small nits, it's likely that you've caught lice in the earlier stages and had them for less than 2 weeks.
Head lice survive less than one or two days if they fall off the scalp and cannot feed. Head lice eggs (nits) cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they do not remain under ideal conditions of heat and humidity similar to those found close to the human scalp.
Nits are often confused with other things found in the hair such as dandruff, hair spray droplets, and dirt particles. If no live nymphs or adult lice are seen, and the only nits found are more than ¼-inch from the scalp, the infestation is probably old and no longer active and does not need to be treated.
The short answer is, they can't. Lice really cannot live apart from a food source for more than 24 to 48 hours and, unlike fleas and bedbugs, they don't like to live separately from their host, returning only to feast. Lice require close proximity to their host.
Lice cannot “fall” on pillows, sheets, stuffed animals, and other bedding unless the hair that they are attached to fall. But they can't live on these surfaces, or on hats, scarves, furniture, or carpet. They also can't live on pets or any other animals. Nits can't live without a human host.
Do not use a conditioner. It can keep the lice medicine from working. Rinse well with warm water and towel dry. Do not use the towel again until it has been laundered.
Repeat treatment every day or every other day for 2 weeks. Some lice eggs (nits) survive head lice treatments. The only way to be sure that lice won't come back is to pick out all nits. Nits left on the hair can hatch and cause a new case of head lice.
Dehydration: Applying hot air with a special machine operated by a professional can cause dehydration, possibly killing the eggs and lice. Household cleaning: Lice usually can't live more than a day without feeding off a human scalp, and the eggs can't survive if they aren't incubated at the temperature in the scalp.
After the first treatment, when the egg-laying lice are eliminated, you are no longer contagious. To stop the cycle of lice you must stop the egg laying first, then remove the nits. Timing is everything and you must complete the 3 well-timed treatments to ensure you are lice-free.
Vinegar contains properties that kill and get rid of nits and lice. This mixture should be applied directly to the whole scalp. Mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of warm water. Next, distribute this mixture onto the scalp and cover your hair with a hair cap.
Lice are most often spread by head-to-head contact with another person who has lice, such as sleeping in the same bed. Although they do not survive long away from a human host, lice may also be spread by wearing another person's hat or clothing, or by using another person's comb, brush, or bedding.
Wash items on a hot water cycle and dry on high heat for at least twenty minutes. The heated wash and dry will remove and kill any lice left. Carpets, mattresses, and flooring can simply be vacuumed and cleaned with everyday cleaning products.
Typically, 10–15 head lice are found. The number of lice often depends on personal hygiene, for example, how often the person bathes, shampoos, or changes and washes his/her clothing.
So, the realistic answer is “No, you can't drown lice.” The best treatment for lice is to get them picked out by a professional – Lice Geeks, for example – using the right comb. Even over-the-counter shampoos and products aren't as effective as a well-trained professional wielding the proper comb.
Why Do Kids Get Head Lice More than Adults? The answer is pretty straightforward. It's not that the pesky critters prefer children's blood to adult's. It's the simple fact that kids are in closer contact with one another on a daily basis.