Educational Facts

Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) are tiny insects that attach themselves to hair and feed on blood from the scalp.
While head lice cannot fly or jump, they can spread from person to person through close contact or possibly through sharing hats, brushes or other items that have been infested. Lice lay eggs (or nits), which hatch in around 6 days, making infestation an ongoing problem.

• Head lice are small, wingless, blood sucking insects.
• Their colour varies from whitish-brown to reddish-brown.
• People get head lice from direct hair to hair contact with another person who has head lice.
• Head lice do not have wings or jumping legs so they cannot fly or jump from head to head. They can only crawl.

Between the treatments 7 days apart, embryos that were not killed by the head lice product in the egg will hatch and emerge to live on the head. They will be killed by the re-treatment, but in the meantime the nymphs will feed and grow. Not an ideal situation!
A good strategy to manage this situation is to use the stage 2 lotion and fine tooth comb technique between treatments. If stage 2 lotion is applied and then immediately combed out, the nymphs that have hatched will be removed. Do this at least twice in the 7 days between treatment 1 and treatment 2.

No. Head lice very rarely fall from the head. They require blood to survive. Head lice feed 3-4 times a day and without blood they will dehydrate in 6 hours in a dry climate and 24 hours in a humid climate. An egg requires warmth to hatch and is the reason why they are laid close to the scalp. The further away from the scalp, the less likely they are to survive

There is no single product on the market that kills 100% of head lice or eggs. Whichever product or lotion you choose, it takes time and persistence to get rid of head lice. We only recommend that you use products and methods that will not risk the health of your child.

As head lice only live for a short time off the head, the only extra cleaning needed is to wash the pillowslip on the hot cycle or place in clothes dryer. Head lice combs can be cleaned in water hotter than 60 degrees.

Under the School Education Act 1999, a Principal may exclude a child with head lice from school…..And according to the Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 2001, children with head lice may be re-admitted to school after head lice treatment has commenced. At don't bug me Pty. Ltd. we will issue a certificate of clearance immediately after the first treatment . This Certificate can be presented prior to your child going back to school as proof of treatment commencement