I have written articles about lice alerting moms to the effects of pesticides in prescription and over-the-counter treatments on two occasions. I have seen it aggressively treated at my school in Jersey City, New Jersey. Even so, in all the years I have been a mother I have never had an intimate, first hand, in-my-own-home experience with lice–until now.

The summer heat has gone on far too long in the Adirondack Mountains and the high temperatures have encouraged infestations of these microscopic insects. Last week, dropping off Daniel’s flute at school, I watched him run in from the playground. As he was loping into the school with his classmates, he was frantically scratching behind his ears. Daniel has very long hair and his efforts resulted in a curtain of thick hair falling across his eyes. That evening as I parted sections of hair at the nape of his neck, rapidly moving tiny bugs the size of a pinprick ran for cover.

Here’s how I non-toxically won the lice wars:

1.) Do not use any product that contains Lindane (Kwell). This prescription product has been shown to cause VERY serious side effects.

2.) Instead use Olive oil to smother lice. After shampooing hair, towel dry and apply a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to saturate hair and scalp. Cover hair with a shower cap or plastic wrap. Leave on for five to six hours or overnight. With the olive oil still on remove lice and nits. Nits are lice eggs that stick to the hair shafts, usually near the scalp. They are oval in shape and unlike dandruff are adhered to the hair. They must all be removed or the lice will come back. Although they can be found all over the head, lice and nits tend to populate the head at the nape of the neck and behind the ears. Once the nit check is complete, shampoo your child’s hair.

3.) The olive oil treatment needs to be repeated on day 5, day 9, 13, 17, and 21. The schedule is designed to follow the reproductive cycle of lice.

4.) In hot water wash all the clothes and bedding of the infested person. For cushions, stuffed animals, pillows, and other items that cannot go in the wash put them in plastic bags for 21 days. You can also put them in the dryer for twenty minutes. Vacuum the entire house, then remove the vacuum bag and toss it in a sealed plastic bag. Soak hair items in a solution of 10 parts Clorox to one part water.

5.) Thoroughly check every other member of your family. Although lice cannot jump they can crawl from one family member to the next. Do not allow other children in your home to share hats, pillows, and bedding with the member of your family who has lice. Your child is ready to go back to school once all the active lice and nits have been removed from their hair.

Best of luck and feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.