We feel there are several reasons to completely avoid pesticides:

1. There is absolutely no point to them. By immobilizing the live lice with conditioner, and combing them out along with the nits, you simply do not need a pesticide.

2. Pesticides are not proven to be safe, especially for multiple uses. But multiple uses are almost always necessary to be effective. Across our decade of experience we have worked with countless families who have used multiple pesticides, multiple times, and they still have lice. They may think they are being re-infested by their homes (they are not!) or by classmates, but in fact they are simply not breaking up the life cycle.

3. Pesticides make you itchy. They are intensely drying for your scalp, and the itchiness they cause just confuses the issue even further.

4. Pesticides are rinsed out of our hair into our sewers and eventually our waterways, causing unknown potential harm to the environment.

That may be true, but if it claims to kill a pest, then it is a pesticide, naturally derived or otherwise. And the other four reasons cited above still apply!

Some studies have been conducted that show head lice are becoming resistant to more and more types of pesticide. But that is of no importance to us as they are utterly helpless against manual removal!

No. Live lice breathe through vents in the sides of their body that they can close when water is present, and they can go a long time without breathing - that’s why washing your hair has no effect on them. But when we apply the thick conditioner to them, it blocks up the breathing vents and they are temporarily trapped in it, so that we can comb them out, along with their nits (eggs).

No. Head lice are a human parasite and as such, live directly on our scalps. They need the constant warmth of our heads and a constant blood supply to survive. They do not wander into our environment like bedbugs or fleas do. That means washing your bedding the same day you discover you have lice and do your first combout is as prudent as you need to be. A healthy well-fed adult louse can live a maximum of 48 hours off its human host, and is very visible (as large as a fruit fly). It will not leave your head willingly unless it’s onto someone else’s. But if it does by some terrible accident find itself in your bedding, hat, or elsewhere, it will dehydrate and die quite quickly.

Nits (lice eggs) do not ever enter our surroundings as they are glued to our hairshaft and need the warmth of our heads to incubate. If a shed hair happened to have a nit on it, the nymph inside would not survive.

If it makes you feel better to wash recently worn clothing and give your couch a light vacuum - go ahead, it doesn’t hurt.  Items such as stuffies that have been in close recent contact can be set aside for 48 hours or put in the dryer. But do not exhaust yourself cleaning every item in your home.

Head lice is almost always spread through head-to-head contact. This is why it is so common for children to catch it. Children are very prone to touching their heads together while they play or read with their friends, cousins and classmates, whereas adults rarely do this. It also explains why parents and teachers are susceptible!

It is very rare to catch head lice from an object such as a hat or cinema seat. This is because head lice are a human parasite and as such, live directly on our scalps. They need the constant warmth of our heads and a constant blood supply to survive. They do not wander into our environment like bedbugs or fleas do.

Follow up is always a necessary part of head lice treatment. This is because there are two stages in the life cycle of head lice when the items are too small to remove. When the nit is first laid on the hair shaft, it is too small to comb out, and when the baby nymph hatches out of its shell it is very tiny and stays directly on your scalp feeding. These two stages are all but impossible to remove during your first combout. The same would be true for a pesticide treatment. During your first combout we will remove almost all of what is present, but there will almost certainly be a number of those two tiny phases left behind.

The best strategy is to wait a few days for the tiny nits to plump up as they develop, and for the tiny nymphs to feed and grow a bit larger. The next combout will be more effective if the items are allowed to grow. This is good news - there is absolutely no need to exhaust yourself or your children by combing every day.

You can have us come back to do your follow up combouts, or do them yourself, as we will teach you how during your first appointment. We will leave you with a follow up schedule to follow until you get a first clear combout. Getting two combouts 7-10 days apart is the sure-fire way to know you are absolutely finished.

No. Luckily, head lice are human parasites and are not attracted to other animals. They will not be able to establish themselves on your pet. Dogs do have their own dog lice, but they catch it from other dogs. Happily, it’s much easier to comb out that human lice because dog lice move very slowly within the fur - unlike human lice!