Do I Need to Bug Bomb My House to Stop Head Lice?
As head-lice treatment professionals, we at Lice Clinics of America – Northwest receive several questions from our customers about head lice and how to treat them. One frequent question we hear is “How do I treat my home for lice?”
It’s a common misconception that head lice, like other pests in the home, can live on clothing, bedding, and furniture. This belief leads well-meaning parents to consider using fumigation and pesticide products such as bug bombs, or foggers, to control their lice infestation.
“This is probably the most popular myth about head lice that people believe,” says Mark Meyer, owner of the Lice Clinics of America – Northwest clinic. “I would say most, or a large portion, of our clients, assume that having lice in the home means having to treat the home itself when that’s actually not the case.”
Why Pest Control Tactics Don’t Help a Lice Infestation
The consistent warm temperature and protective cover of hair make the scalp the louse’s ideal home. As parasites, head lice feed solely on human blood, which means that they need to remain on their host’s scalp for their entire lives. If a louse happens to come off of its host, its chances of survival are slim to none. The louse’s specially evolved legs make it difficult to move around any surface that’s not a human head. Once it leaves the head, it cannot feed, will become dehydrated, and die—usually within 15 hours.
This occurrence is far less common than you think. In addition to being optimized for movement through hair, the head louse’s legs are also good at helping them hold on tight—so good, in fact, that lice will remain on the scalp through swimming, brushing, and bathing. Their eggs (also called nits) are even harder to remove; the glue-like substance that attaches them to the hair keeps them in place until they hatch. A nit will not come off of the hair unless it is pulled off the end of the hair shaft.
Now that you know an infestation of head lice has nothing to do with the home but everything to do with the hair on your head, you can see why sprays, foggers, and professional fumigation are not only ineffective, they also add unneeded risk to family members. Those types of treatments use toxic chemicals that require household members to stay far away to prevent inhalation.
Safe Solutions that Work
Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on unhelpful and potentially dangerous pest-control methods, visit Lice Clinics of America – Northwest for effective head lice treatments and gentle prevention products. Using the FDA-cleared AirAllé device, our professionally trained technicians will have you and your family members lice-free in just one hour. We will also help you select the best prevention products for you from our Prevent line, which uses pleasant-smelling essential oils to repel lice from the hair. All of our products and treatments are pesticide-free, so you can leave the bug bombs and exterminators behind!
Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 1 million cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Northwest has five locations – Bend, Portland, Clackamas, Salem, OR, and Vancouver, WA. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, visit https://liceclinicsnorthwest.com, email info@liceclinicsnorthwests.com or call Portland (503) 404-0475, Clackamas (503) 714-7722, Vancouver (360) 334-6360, Salem (971) 273-5900 or Bend (541) 640-5335.
