How to Effectively Get Rid of Lice Lingering in Your Home

How to Effectively Get Rid of Lice Lingering in Your Home

It typically starts with a simple symptom: scratching the head vigorously with both hands. You may also notice your child taking a comb through their hair to relieve some sort of persistent itch. And that’s when you realize—this isn’t dandruff or any other simple condition, but a lice infestation!

Before you go into a panic, keep in mind that lice are not a result of poor hygiene. And as dire as the situation may seem, there are quick and effective ways to get rid of lice by visiting a professional lice treatment clinic. With the proper intervention and a bit of persistence, any infestation of lice that has spread among members of the family will soon be over!

Along with seeking professional treatment, here are some things you can do to ensure that the heads in your home stay lice-free:

1. Focus Your Attention on Heads

Since lice have to stay close in order to live, focus your attention on heads. Perform routine head checks to see if the lice have managed to spread to other members of the household. You can also bring your family to Fresh Heads Lice Removal and our specialists will check your family’s heads for $10 per person. Also, since lice spread primarily through head-to-head contact, you should limit this type of contact to prevent lice from spreading any further.

2. Remove and Clean Affected Fabrics

Eliminating the lice on one’s head usually suffices to keep the infestation from spreading, but if you want to go the extra mile, clean fabrics that any infested people recently came into contact with. Since lice make themselves at home on your head, washing both the recently worn clothes and beddings that may have come into contact with the hair and scalp is a good way to make sure excess lice are eliminated. Remove any used comforters, pillowcases, blankets, and bedsheets. Run all of these through the washer, and then through the dryer at a temperature of at least 130 degrees for 30 minutes.

3. Get Expert Lice Removal

Getting rid of lice on your own can be a struggle. Unfortunately, most over-the-counter treatments are ineffective as they are usually chemical-based and are unable to eliminate super lice, which have evolved to be resistant to most pesticides.

The best way to ensure your scalp is clear of lice is by seeking effective lice treatment options at our clinic. By getting treatment options provided by professionals, you can delouse heads more effectively and prevent lice from reappearing. Our FDA-Cleared AirAllé® device blows heated air through its applicator tip, killing eggs and lice through dehydration. Not only is it highly effective, but it’s all-natural!

Head Lice Treatment in Orlando, Savannah, and Jacksonville

Eliminating head lice is tricky business, but by getting the right treatment and taking a few steps at home, you can prevent an unnecessary resurgence of these pesky little pests! One of the most effective ways to address a lice infestation is to visit a proper lice treatment center. Here at Fresh Heads Lice Removal, we offer effective head lice treatments that allow a quick return to normal life. Book an appointment for your child today!

 


Schools Without Lice.

Schools Without Lice

At Fresh Heads Lice Removal, our mission is to get rid of lice in schools across the United States. We’ve partnered with the Lice Clinics of America to create the Schools Without Lice program. By this program, we provide school nurses and teachers with free screenings, resources, and treatments. Together, we can have schools without lice!

housecleaning after head lice infestation

How to Get Rid of Lice in Your Home

The only thing more daunting than treating your family for a head lice infestation is the thought of sanitizing your entire home. Fortunately, the main way head lice is spread is from direct head-to-head contact and you aren’t very likely to catch it from household items. Still, you might want to clean some items in your home once your family has been successfully treated for lice.

The Life Span of Head Lice

Head lice can’t survive more than 24-48 hours when they aren’t on a human host. This is an important fact to keep in mind. It means you’ll only need to clean what an infested person has been in contact within the past couple days.

What to Clean During a Head Lice Infestation

Fortunately, you won’t need to clean every single item in your house. But there are some important items you’ll want to be sure to take care of. Here’s a list of what should be sanitized after a head lice infestation and the best way to do it.

1. Brushes, Combs and Hair Accessories. Round up any hair care items such as brushes, combs, barrettes, and headbands that have been used in the last 24-48 hours. Place them in a sealed plastic bag. Then place the bag in the freezer for 24 hours to kill any lice and eggs. Alternatively, you can place the items in hot water—at least 130 degrees—for about 10 minutes to eliminate lice.

2. You’ll want to clean any clothing that has been worn in the last 24-48 hours, including any clothes that were worn during treatment. Wash them in hot water and then put them in the dryer. The heat from the washer and dryer will effectively kill lice and nits. Throw any hats, scarves or accessories you’ve worn in the last 48 hours into the dryer for at least 30 minutes.

3. Stuffed Animals. Since your child’s favorite stuffed animals have likely come in contact with his or her head. The easiest way to do this is to place them in the hot dryer for at least 30 minutes. The dry air will dehydrate any lice that have been left behind.

4. It’s best to wash any bedding that has been slept on in the last 24-48 hours. Wash all pillowcases, sheets, and duvets in hot water. Finish them off by drying on the high heat setting until thoroughly dry.

5. Furniture, Carpets, and Household Items. For larger items and things that can’t be placed in the washer and dryer, vacuuming or bagging is best. Vacuum upholstered chairs and sofas that may have come in contact with head lice in the last two days. Vacuum floors and carpets thoroughly. Sealed for 48 hours, any large pillows and cushions can also be placed in garbage bags.

How to Treat a Head Lice Infestation

The first step to tackling a head lice infestation is finding an effective treatment for the family. For safe, nontoxic treatment that works, call the pros at Fresh Heads Lice Treatment Centers. Our technicians are expertly trained to remove head lice using our signature AirAllé treatment. Within locations at Jacksonville, Orlando, and Savannah. This revolutionary, FDA-cleared treatment uses heated air to dehydrate and kill head lice and their eggs. It’s quick, convenient and safe for the whole family. Schedule an appointment at one of our locations today.

How To Clean Your House After a Head Lice Infestation

Fresh Heads lead technician, Theresa, goes over some handy house cleaning tips for cleaning up after a head lice infestation!

laundry machines for killing lice in your home

3 Steps to Killing Lice in Your Home

In your quest to rid lice from your life, you’ve cleared the hurdle of ensuring everyone in your household’s hair is free and clear. Now you’re left wondering how to kill head lice in your home to avoid a re-infestation. The good news is that contrary to what you may have heard, you don’t have to go crazy deep-cleaning and boiling everything in sight. It may seem daunting at first, but killing lice in your home doesn’t have to require an enormous amount of time and energy.

The one comforting thing to realize is that head lice do not survive long when not on a human because they can no longer feed. That said, there are a few steps you can take around the house for killing lice in your home to reduce the chance of these annoying pests making a comeback.

  1. Machine wash and dry on high heat all clothing, bed linens, stuffed animals and other items that were used by the person infested with head lice within the 48 hours prior to their treatment. If it’s clothing or items that can’t be machine washed, you can opt to have them dry cleaned or you can seal them in a plastic bag and store for two weeks.
  1. Soak all hair care items like combs, brushes, barrettes, and clips in very hot water that is at least 130 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
  1. Thoroughly vacuum the floor and any furniture, such as mattresses and sofas, where the infested person sat or laid down on.

Since head lice can only survive one or two days off of the human body, the chances of a person becoming infested from a louse or nit that has fallen onto the floor or furniture are slim. It’s also great news that head lice will not survive on pets, so there’s no need to treat them. These basic housekeeping steps will help ensure that you kill head lice in your home, and give you peace of mind that you’ve done all you can to avoid a re-infestation.

If you’re dealing with head lice, call the experts. Fresh Heads is a science and research-based treatment center dedicated to helping you find the most effective treatment for lice!

housecleaning after head lice infestation

How to Clean Your House After a Lice Infestation

Most parents who are dealing with a Head Lice Infestation are overly concerned about the house cleaning that they think they must do. At Fresh Heads Lice Removal of Jacksonville, we spend quite a bit of time educating our families, and most of the time, the families we help have done way more cleaning than they really needed to do. Here’s why:

Head Lice are a parasite, they require their host, and the host is the human head. If a louse comes off of a human head, it begins to die very quickly. In fact, after about 6 hours off of a human head, a louse will be so severely dehydrated that it would have a very difficult time crawling back onto a head, even if it had the chance. They cannot survive at all off of a head for more than 24-30 hours. Likewise, nits or lice eggs are glued to the hair shaft, typically about 1/8th of an inch from the scalp. The heat from the scalp incubates those eggs, and as soon as the baby louse hatches from the egg, it heads directly to the scalp where it belongs. If a hair that happened to have a nit glued to it fell out, that nit would quickly get cold and die. Lice are smart. They have been around for thousands of years, and they know where they belong. They are not crawling all over your house!

With that being said, the CDC estimates that of the 6-12 million cases of lice that occur in the U.S. each year, 98% of those cases are contracted via direct head-to-head contact. The remaining 2% could come from a contaminated environment, like a shared hat or hairbrush. To be extra cautious, you should follow these simple housecleaning tips:

–Wash All bed sheets and blankets in hot water
–Wash all clothes that have been worn in the last day or so, or that are lying on the floor
–Place stuffed animals, throw pillows and throw blankets in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes
–Vacuum all sofas, chairs, car seats, large pillows, carpets and area rugs
–Clean all of the hair out of your hairbrushes, place them in a ziplock baggie and freeze them overnight.
–Bag up all hair accessories for 24 hours

The truth is, when you are dealing with a head lice infestation, the hard part is on the head, not in your house. Fresh Heads Lice Removal in Jacksonville, FL is the exclusive provider of the revolutionary AirAlle head lice treatment, the lowest cost traditional comb-out anywhere in Florida, and amazing tools for the do-it-yourselfer. We are Jacksonville’s top choice for Head Lice Treatment!