When pediculosis is detected in one of the family members, treating the apartment for lice and nits is of particular importance.
The absence of one can lead to infection of the entire family with an unpleasant parasitic disease, and it will be much more difficult to completely get rid of insects. Important preventive measures are: disinfection of combs, linen, clothes, carpets, capes, blankets.
If lice are detected, treatment can be carried out using various means, for example, using chemical pest control agents or substances of natural origin. In addition, to prevent the reappearance of parasites, it is necessary to re-treat the room after a few days. Which methods are most effective and are especially popular - we will consider further.
What and how to process
Treatment for lice and nits at home involves mandatory disinfection of almost all household items that may be infected with parasites. Pay special attention to bed linen, blankets, carpets, capes, children's toys, lice combs, combs, and towels. These items should be processed in various ways, the features of which are described in detail below.
Combs
Removing parasites from hair almost always requires the use of fine combs. After each procedure, the item must be subjected to a disinfection procedure.
So, how and with what should you treat combs after lice and nits?
The most suitable methods are:
- Mix hydrogen peroxide, table vinegar, and plain water in equal parts. Pour the prepared vinegar solution over the ridges, then leave them for several hours. After this, hygiene items should be scalded with boiling water.
- A less complicated method is boiling. In order to get rid of lice and nits, it is enough to boil the items for several minutes. This measure is quite enough to kill the parasites.
This procedure is carried out not only to treat lice combs, but also all combs and hairpins that are available at home.
Bed dress
Linen treatment for pediculosis must be carried out daily. In order to disinfect and treat bedding against lice, just boil them and then leave them outside to dry. It is also important to treat feather pillows for lice and nits. To kill parasites, it is recommended to freeze them outside for several hours.
Washing things
Treating items against lice requires mandatory washing. Equally destructive for insects are high temperatures and large amounts of water. To get rid of uninvited guests, just wash and then boil the items. The washing temperature should be at least sixty degrees. Items must be ironed on all sides. Treating your apartment for linen lice is mandatory, since bed linen is often the source of infection.
Furniture
Treating furniture against lice is also a mandatory step in disinfection. Parasites are often localized in sofas, beds, and chairs. In order to get rid of them, it is recommended to use special pest control preparations, for example, fas. After the procedure, it is necessary to ventilate the home well.
If this option is not suitable for some reason, you should treat the apartment for lice using a solution of vinegar diluted in water. Gloves should be used as contact with liquid may cause chemical burns. It is recommended to thoroughly spray the furniture with a vinegar solution using a spray bottle. Since the product has a pungent odor, thorough ventilation is required after completion of the procedure.
Garment processing
The use of dust is a fairly popular and effective method of cleansing things from parasites. Before cleaning, the product is calculated: 1 gram per kilogram of items. For treatment, the laundry is soaked for half an hour in a 0.15% Malathion solution.
After this, things are dried in the open air.
Note! As a result of this treatment, it is forbidden to iron things, because when exposed to elevated temperatures, the active components of the drug lose their properties.
Mattress, pillow and blanket can also be treated with dust. The main thing is to follow these rules:
- Things are completely cleaned.
- Special attention is paid to seams and internal areas of the item.
- To evenly distribute the dust over things, you need to hit them several times with a stick using patting movements.
- If the items being processed are not urgently needed, then they can be packed in plastic bags and stored uncleaned, with dust, and then simply washed.
Preparation for disinfection
Treating an apartment for lice and nits requires careful preliminary preparation. Before carrying out the procedures, you should remove all rugs, capes, carpets, and thoroughly vacuum the floor. If there are pets, it is recommended to temporarily remove them from the premises that will be treated. You also need to take out the pots with plants.
Pyrethrum
Pyrethrum powder is made from Dalmatian, Persian or Caucasian chamomile.
Its active substances, pyrethrins, paralyze the muscles of lice, causing death. The product is safe for children, adults and pets. The powder is scattered in the habitats of parasites. You can dissolve it in a small amount of water and wet clean the house, treat cabinets, beds, and the floor under the carpet. Procedures with pyrethrum should be carried out with gloves and a mask. The product should not be used if any family members are allergic to pollen.
The disadvantage of pyrethrum is that it cannot cope with large insect populations. Its effectiveness decreases in light.
Facilities
Treatment for lice involves the mandatory use of toxic agents that have a detrimental effect on parasites. There are a lot of drugs on the modern market that will help remove insects and prevent their reappearance.
Before using the product, it is important to read the safety precautions.
Chemicals
Treatment of lice includes the use of various chemicals intended for disinfection of furniture, linen, bedding, and personal hygiene items. Such products contain substances that are almost completely harmless to humans and animals, but are destructive to parasites. Such drugs can be presented in various forms.
Aerosols and sprays
Various aerosols and sprays are used to treat the surfaces of cabinets, upholstered furniture, bed linen, and capes. The products in this group are non-toxic, that is, they are completely safe for humans. After treating a certain item with a spray or aerosol, there is no need to further clean or rinse it.
Solutions
Concentrated emulsions intended for the preparation of disinfection solutions are similar in specificity to sprays. The preparation for the procedure should be prepared according to the rules written in the instructions attached to the drug. As a rule, such solutions simply need to be sprayed over surfaces using any spray bottle.
Powders
Preparations presented in the form of powders are the most inconvenient option for products intended for treating clothing against lice. In addition, their use is fraught with the risk of small particles of powder getting into mucous tissues, eyes, and respiratory organs. After completing activities that include the use of powders, you should definitely wash the treated items; they cannot be used before, since there is a high probability of intoxication of the body.
Soap
The safest, most effective, and cheapest remedy that can be used to treat almost the entire house for lice is laundry and dust soap. To prepare a saturated solution that will help eliminate uninvited guests, you need to grate or otherwise grind a bar of soap, then place it in a bucket of hot water.
This solution can be used for washing, disinfecting pet hair, cleaning furniture, floors, and walls.
Pencils cream gels
Products presented in the form of gels, pencils, and various creams are not convenient when treating large surfaces, such as floors. However, they can be used to disinfect clothes, small items, and combs. After completing the activities, it is recommended to rinse the items in hot water.
Methylacetophos
Methialacetophos is a liquid organophosphorus insecticide. The product is toxic to humans, but effectively fights lice and nits.
You can work with methylacetophos only with gloves and a mask. How to use the product:
- Dissolve 10 ml of methyl acetophos in 1 liter of water.
- Dip the patient's bed linen and clothing into the solution or spray it with a spray bottle.
- Place the processed items in a clean plastic bag, tie it, and leave for 1-2 hours.
- Wash clothes and linen in warm water with laundry soap, rinse well, dry in fresh air and iron with steam.
The solution can also be used to treat cabinets and the floor under the carpet. The treatment is carried out when there are no children or animals at home; after the procedures, the room must be ventilated.
Folk remedies
Treatment for pediculosis can also be carried out through the use of folk remedies. You can remove lice and nits at home using the following method: place small fabric bags in all rooms, in which mint, thyme, pine needles, and eucalyptus should be placed. To enhance the effect, you can mix herbs with essential oils.
When cleaning, you should thoroughly treat the floor, as well as furniture and walls, with a solution of laundry soap. This measure is effective not only for eliminating, but also preventing the appearance of parasites. It is important to remember that preventing the appearance of uninvited guests is much easier than fighting their invasion.
Cleanliness and personal hygiene are the best ways to prevent head lice.
What to choose, self-treatment for lice or calling a pest control service?
Initially, it is necessary to thoroughly treat furniture and all personal items, since if this is not done on time, you may again encounter the return of parasites and the entire painstaking and grueling process of their extermination will take place from the very beginning.
If the owners do not have time to carry out this work, it is preferable to have all items dry-cleaned and order professional treatment, which is carried out by special disinfection services.
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Causes of body lice
Before getting rid of lice, it is recommended to find out the reasons for their appearance. This is necessary to prevent the re-infestation of lice in your home.
Lice infestations can happen in just a few seconds, so they can cause serious damage to you and your belongings.
The reasons for the appearance of lice in the house may be the following:
- prolonged contact with a person wearing clothing infested with lice. Insects are capable of not only crawling, but also jumping from one person’s things to another’s things;
- Trying on contaminated clothing. This rarely happens in stores, but if you try on things at the market or in a second-hand store, you can become infected;
- being in public places. Lice can get on your clothes when you leave things, for example, in a common locker room.
You need to know the enemy by sight
To take the right steps to eliminate insects, it is important to know what linen lice look like. This is a parasite with a body length of no more than 3 mm. He doesn't have wings. And the insect’s abdomen is slightly elongated in length. These are practically white parasites that, after consuming microdroplets of human blood, acquire a reddish or brownish color in the abdominal area. These insects are often mistaken for bedbugs. But unlike the latter, linen lice have a lightish color. In addition, they are not able to jump. If you find it difficult to determine what linen lice look like, there are plenty of photos of these parasites on the Internet. You just need to enter the appropriate query into the search bar, and in a matter of seconds you will probably know the enemy well by sight.
Insects reproduce quite quickly - one female produces more than 300 eggs during her life cycle (about 30 days). Small lice (nits) are characterized by extremely miniature parameters (half a millimeter in length and white color). It is almost impossible to detect them without an optical device (portable microscope or magnifying glass).
If parasites live in cotton fabrics, then they feed only on human blood. In the insect's mouth there are special stylet-like outgrowths, with the help of which it pierces the skin and injects enzymes into the wound. The purpose of the latter is to reduce the clotting of human blood. At the site of the parasite bite, an allergic reaction occurs in the form of redness or even bluish spots. During the day, the insect takes “food” approximately 5–6 times.
The causes of parasites are unsanitary living conditions. Linen lice are the most dangerous species among all their “relatives”. Body lice is characterized by numerous lesions on the human skin (especially in the abdomen, chest and back), which cause unbearable itching. By scratching the bite site, a person can infect the wound. Clothes lice usually causes:
- severe allergic reactions;
- pyoderma;
- ulcers;
- typhus.
In addition, frequent insect bites provoke increased irritability and mood swings in humans, especially young children.
