How are headlice caught?
A. Head Lice, contrary to popular belief, can not jump or fly! They simply crawl (quite quickly) from one head to another when one head of hair is in contact with another. That’s why school children, playing and working closely are the most at risk group of catching and spreading head lice. They can not be carried by pets and it is unlikely that they can be caught from exchanging head gear or playing with other children’s cuddly toys or sleeping in their beds. Lice that crawl off the head in this way are generally dying and therefore unlikely to infest more hair. They can’t survive away from the head for long! It is also a myth that head lice like clean hair – they are not really bothered whether hair is clean or dirty. All they are bothered about is getting a good feed of blood from biting the scalp!
