Life Cycle of Head Lice

Parents of school-age children or children involved in day care, camps, or any other activities there is a risk of head lice infestation. Sharing personal items such combs, brushes, hats, scarves, or sports equipment could get head lice. Head lice are more common in a child that is why National Head Lice Awareness month is September. Nearly 12 million cases of head lice are discovered each year in the United States. Head lice are rare in African-American children because the adult louse likes the smooth round hair shape. You should realize the human head louse would make itself at home if there is a host head and a blood supply! Adults can be infested with head lice too so it is important to check all heads if one child has a case of head lice. You should not treat every person in the house, only the person who has head lice. Treating everyone will not prevent him or her from being infested.

The life cycle of head lice has three stages. Those three stages are the nit or egg, the nymph, and the adult louse. The entire life cycle is about one month. The first cycle is called nits. These are lice eggs that are deposited by a fertilized female louse. They are attached to the base of the hair shaft by a strong glue-like substance. They are found near the scalp for two reasons; they need heat for incubation and they need to feed immediately after hatching. They are oval in shape and about 0.8mm by 0.3mm. They are whitish in color oval shaped and are found close to the scalp. If they are found more than ¼ inch from the scalp the infestation is old. Nits take from six to nine days to hatch.

When the nits hatch they turn into nymphs. The nymph leaves the shell on the hair shaft and it turns a dull yellow color. The nymph is identical to the adult louse except it is smaller. It molts three times before it becomes an adult louse. The nymph is tiny, about the size of a pinhead and usually yellow or rust in color. It has the same characteristics as an adult louse. The nymph is normally found behind the ears or at the base of the scalp and neckline. Nymphs go through their molting cycle and mature to adults in about seven days.

Adult head lice are just slightly larger than the nymph. The female louse is larger than the male. They are oval in shape with six legs. The legs have claws at the end and they are normally located behind the ears and the neckline. They can migrate to the crown of the head as they mature. An adult louse can live up to 30 days on a host’s head. A female can lay up to eight nits each day.

Here are more facts you will want to know about head lice and their characteristics. They feed five times a day by piercing the scalp with their claws. They inject saliva into these holes they use to suck blood, which cause irritation and itching. They are normally light in color but will turn darker after they feed. They do not become engorged like a tick but can travel quickly and are active. Knowing the life cycle will give you an idea of how long you will need to treat the head lice problem.