What is the life cycle of the human louse?
The female head louse lives for about a month during which time she glues four to five eggs (“nits”) a day to the hair. She prefers the area above the ears and back of the neck where temperature and humidity conditions are better. The “nits,” about the size of a pinhead, hatch in about seven to 10 days, and the baby lice immediately begin feeding on their host. Within two weeks, the lice mate, produce more eggs, and the cycle begins again. Typically, less than 10 live lice are found on an infected person at any one time. Can lice live without a human host? No. The louse dries out rapidly if it is off a person for more than 24-36 hours. Can head lice hop or jump? The legs of the human louse are adapted for grasping a person’s hair so no, they are unable to hop, jump, fly or leap tall buildings with a single bound. Do head lice spread diseases? Head lice have little medical consequences except for secondary infection that results when the skin is broken by scratching. The human louse its
