Head Lice & You: Getting rid of the nasty critters.

So Saturday we are getting the kids ready to go out and do a little shopping. When my wife calls me over and says wth is this?
She handed me over the tiny little critter and just one look and I know. It's head lice.

Great my 4 & 3 y/o have head lice. So it's time to go to the store and get some stuff to get rid of the buggies. But let me share my lice story.

I've had head lice twice. Once when I was a kid. The first time my parents went out and got some of the nasty pesticide shampoo they sold in the 70's that probably gives you brain cancer. But it did it's job and killed all the lice and eggs.

Fast forward to about 28 years old and bam. Head lice again. And I know where I got it too. I was at a store and I tried on a hat. Uncle Sams Music. It gets alot of traffic and international traffic at that. South beach is a hot spot. So I'm dancing at a club on south beach and my head is itching the hell out of me and I scratched my head and under my nail was a big head louse. UGH! But too late to do anything that night.
So the next day I got the strongest thing I had in my shower. Selsun Blue medicated with menthol.
I reasoned that the menthol in the shampoo would kill the nasty critters. And guess what. I was right.
I put the Selsun Blue in my hair slightly wet and a lot of it. I left it in for two hours. Then washed it out.
I washed all my bedding and vaccumed the hell out of everything.
I repeatedly used the shampoo every day for a week and discovered that I was lice free.

Fast forward again my and now my kids have head lice. So I went down to the store and got the selsun blue. And the little metal combs.
So here's what we did in case anyone else has this issue.

Put everything into the wash. All their bedding.
Stick the pillows and any fluffy toys in the dryer for 20 mins on high.
30 mins of selsun blue in the girls hair and a wash.
And as an added precaution we put 10 drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle. We spray that in the girls hair and we use it like fabreeze on everything they may use and bedding to keep the bugs away.

This works. I did a bit of research on it and found that others as well have had good results.
Rid and all those pesticides don't work nearly as well.

It seems that the essential oils like menthol, tree tea oil and others kill or drive the bugs away.
I've even read people saying they've used the original listerine that has the oils in it followed by a rinse in vinegar works great as well.
Seems like the Listerine kills anything living and that the vinegar loosens the glue that holds the egg sacks to the hair. Letting you comb them out easily.

Well I hope no one else to go through this. But if you do don't use pesticides. Use the natural cures that work.

When I got them as a child me Gran shaved my head and rubbed bleach on my scalp till it really stung.
It worked even though I looked like a little Alien for a few days.,

My granddaughter stayed with us for a week a while back and used to lay with me on the couch when watching tv. When she got home she was found to be full of lice. I thought for sure I would have some but when combing my hair only found things that looked like dead dehydrated ones. And I also combed out a little spider which I hauled outside. Nature can help us if we need it to.

Shave everyones heads.

Done. next?

Tea tree shampoo can work well as it cools the scalp and then use a very fine comb to get the buggers out and keep repeating for a few days

reply to post by grey580


I have 4 kids and many grandchildren, every so often there would be an outbreak at school.
Tried all the remedies from our Chemist, multiple treatments with products and fine combs.
We found you can use Tea tree oil to kill any insects and eggs. It kills them all quickly.

As a preventative measure you can use tea tree shampoo occasionally to keep them away, they
hate the stuff. Simple and cheaper than any products and is not harsh on the scalp. Its also a
natural antiseptic and is extremely good at clearing up infections. I've used it for years and trust it.

ROBICOMB

Is the only thing that works! Zaps the little buggers. No worries, it won't hurt your kids (or you). It can be used both for treatment and prevention. As soon as one of those notes comes home, I get out the Robicomb and look for bugs. You do it a couple of times a day during the infestation, and then gradually cut it back, until every last nit is gone. Takes one A battery and costs about $30. Trust me, money well spent.

The shampoos are horrible insecticides and the herbal remedies are great for prevention but if the critters have taken up residence they won't work.