TIDBITS
Human lice only survive on humans. They cannot survive on a dog, cat, mouse, or bird.
Lice cannot jump, fly, or hop. They are limited to crawling. They travel by personal contract or by sharing combs, brushes, headgear, hats, bedding, towels, and scarves.

PREVENTION
Educate yourself and your children on how lice are passed around. Lice need to be transported on materials that touch the head; they can also move from head to head if touching. Shared lockers at school can be a source of contamination; so can keeping sweaters or backpacks in a group place.

CONTROLS
You must get rid of all the eggs (nits).
Do not treat a child who is not infected. If a letter comes home from school alerting you to an outbreak, begin frequent checks and shampooing for two weeks.
Shampoo with a soap that has a coconut or olive oil base. Other oil-based shampoos will do. These will kill adult and larvae lice. Repeat 4 times weekly.
Use a special head-lice comb found in pharmacies.
Wash bedding.
If these treatments are not working, the problem is most likely from reinfestation. Re-treat and educate on how lice are contracted. The most toxic material on the market kills only 85% of the population in 14 days. All treatments need several repetitions.
Look for non-toxic labels.
Adults will run from the heat of blow dryers.
The nits will be easier to find if a product is used to dye them.