Back to School means we are back to worrying about those nasty head lice infestations!
Here are a few fun (and kind of gross) facts to know about these pesky little critters!
Adult lice are six-legged, wingless insects 2-4 mm long. They have six legs.
They have translucent grayish-white bodies if they haven’t fed and are brown when they have fed.
Their heads have two tiny eyes (too small to be seen without magnification) and two small antennae (usually visible). Six pairs of hooks surround the mouth parts, by which they attach themselves to the skin of the scalp for feeding.
The mouth contains two retractable, needle-like tubes that pierce the scalp. Salivary juices are injected into the scalp to prevent blood from clotting, and then the lice feed by sucking blood through these same tubes. Their translucent bodies turn reddish brown when engorged with blood.
Lice completely depend on the blood extracted from humans for existence, and so they will starve to death after 48-55 hours without blood. We know that lice can live on a human host for 30 days, during this time, the females generally lay from 6-8 eggs per day. It is possible for some female lice to lay up to 5,000 eggs in their lives! YIKES!
For more info, stay tuned for part 2! You can also call Lice Ladies at 888.924.5423! OR email us at info@liceladiesatlanta.com.
