If you have school age children you are probably aware of the head lice infestations at many schools around the country. Finding head lice on your children can be a very traumatic experience for parents, but once you get informed about these pests you will have the knowledge to safely eradicate the problem.

Head lice are human parasites that have probably been around since caveman times. Unfortunately, they are more common than most people realize and the incidence appears to be growing because lice are becoming resistant to the chemical ingredients in commercially available lice shampoos.

It is important for parents to know that the chemicals used in these shampoos are pesticides that kill lice due to a neurotoxin activity. They are also potentially carcinogenic, so be sure to follow the instructions and do not leave the product on your child's hair longer than recommended by the manufacturer. Many people do not want to use these toxic pesticides on their children for safety reasons, and there are pesticide free alternatives as I will describe below.

Before we start, you need to understand the life cycle of head lice. Head lice live for about 30 days and the female louse will lay 3 to 5 eggs or "nits" per day (the eggs are called nits). The nits take 7 to 10 days to hatch, and then after another 7 to 10 days these new lice will be mature and start laying their own eggs. Therefore, within a few weeks you will have a significant infestation if it is not treated.

Adult head lice are about the size of a sesame seed and have six legs with claws that grasp the hair shaft. They are crawling insects and do not jump or fly, so exposure is through direct contact with a contaminated person. Also, you can't get rid of them by taking a shower because they can survive under water and use their claws to hold tightly onto the hair.

Now that you know more about head lice and their life cycle, there are three things you need to do to eradicate a lice infestation. The first thing is to get rid of all the immature and mature lice using a lice comb. This stops any new nits from being laid and starts a 10 day countdown where all the existing nits will be hatching. The second thing is persistent removal of any remaining nits and immature lice that hatch during the 10 day period. The third thing is cleaning any infected items such as bedding, jackets, hats, etc., to prevent repeat exposure to the lice.

The tools you need are a good metal lice comb, some hair conditioner, paper towels, and a waste basket. Optional tools are a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers. You can purchase a metal lice comb at your local Pharmacy. Do not use a cheap plastic comb like the ones supplied in the lice shampoo box.

There is one important trick for dramatically improving the effectiveness of a lice comb. The comb does not work well on dry hair because lice crawl fast and you won't catch them all. Therefore, before using the lice comb, apply a thick layer of hair conditioner to your child's dry hair. Massage the conditioner into the hair and be sure to cover from the scalp all the way to the end of the hair. The hair should be nice and slick so the lice can't move around and evade the comb.

To use the lice comb, work in small sections starting as close to the scalp as possible and comb all the way down the length of the hair. Wipe the comb on paper towels as you go and discard in the waste basket. The adult lice are reddish brown in color, and will be easy to see against the white paper towel.

Take your time and comb the entire head very thoroughly until no more lice can be detected, then rinse out the remaining conditioner. This step removes the immature and mature lice, and many of the nits. Repeat this process every three days for the next 10 days to be sure you remove any new lice that hatch.

The second part of the treatment is checking your child's head every day for nits and physically removing them. You are literally going to be "nit picking" for the next two weeks. Have your child sit near a bright light and search through the hair close to the scalp to look for nits. The nits are basically glued to the hair close to the scalp and need to be scraped off with either your fingernail or a pair of tweezers. You can also pull out the hair or cut it with a small pair of scissors. A magnifying glass can help you identify the nits if you are unsure.

The third part of the treatment involves washing any bed sheets, blankets, jackets, etc., that came into contact with the infected person to prevent repeat exposure. Lice can only live about 24 hours off of a human host so you don't have to go crazy disinfecting the house. Vacuuming is the safest way to remove lice from furniture, rugs, car seats, etc., and you can decontaminate items like stuffed animals by putting them in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat. Also, lice do not live on pets since they require human blood for survival so you don't have to worry about Fido or Fluffy.

My children have caught lice from their school friends twice in the last two years. We successfully eradicated the lice infestation both times using the method I describe. It's not fun, but if you are persistent about combing and nit picking you can get rid of lice without the use of toxic pesticides.

To learn more and see pictures of what nits and lice look like, check out the following resource: http://headlice.org/faq/index.htm.