How to treat a bed for lice

Blood-sucking skin parasites have plagued people living near them for centuries. Today, head lice, thanks to careful adherence to hygiene standards and other preventive measures, has almost been defeated. But still, cases when a person can be bitten by lice are detected even in a completely prosperous metropolis. Moreover, individuals living on the hairy parts of the human body are increasingly being replaced by their counterparts, who choose more sophisticated methods of camouflage.

Linen lice are a subspecies of ordinary head lice, but they live on clothing and hide in the seams of bedding, pockets, and folds. They are especially often found on underwear, where these pests have almost unlimited access to a food source. The human body is a constant source of supply for pests, their only type of food. When saturated with blood, pests slow down their activity, which makes them difficult to detect.

What do they look like?

Linen lice, photos of which you see in our article, like their fellow species, have a rather inconspicuous appearance. The need to look as inconspicuous as possible makes these bed and body parasites very dexterous in solving camouflage issues. Getting rid of body lice at home can be quite difficult. First you need to figure out where they come from and what they look like. The description of their biological parameters looks succinct. These are insects with a translucent body, no more than 3 mm in length, the wingless body is elongated, and when saturated with blood it acquires a brownish-brown tint.

Larvae and nits are no more than half the size of an adult's body. Insects prefer to stay in groups; it is the massiveness of their colonization that usually allows us to detect the source of problems. At first glance at them, it may seem that small whitish grains are scattered on the surface of the fabric. But, taking a closer look and discovering the presence of paws, it is difficult to doubt the species of blood-sucking skin parasites.

Chemical substances

After you have discovered lice, you need to begin actively combating these insects as quickly as possible. There are many effective means by which you can get rid of these parasites. All these remedies can be divided into two groups: chemical and folk. There are many types of chemicals: powders, gels, ointments, creams, solvents, sprays and pencils. But among the listed tools, not all are easy to use.

For example, powders that contain small particles can easily enter the human body, while ointments and gels in most cases leave marks on surfaces. The most suitable options are spray and aerosol. Since this is a ready-made product that can be used immediately. The spraying effect allows you to treat literally all surfaces in the house, as well as clothes and bedding with maximum efficiency.

How are they detected?

Without knowing what the bites of linen lice look like, blood-sucking insects are quite difficult to identify, and their appearance often goes unnoticed. Itching and signs of skin damage are attributed to tight, tight underwear, allergies, and local irritation. Pests have only one feeding tool - the mouthparts, equipped with special outgrowths that, when viewed under a microscope, resemble stilettos. At the moment of the bite, a special secretion is injected under the skin, into the wound, to prevent blood clotting.

Specialists from the Sanepidemstation.com service warn: Secretory substances secreted by blood-sucking parasites can cause the development of severe allergic reactions. When infected, such a wound quickly becomes inflamed and heals poorly. When a colony of insects acquires alarming proportions, the number of bites increases, and bluish spots form on the surface of the skin.

Features of life

Before choosing methods of fighting insects, it is worth taking into account the peculiarities of their life activity. Linen lice need to maintain the following living conditions:

• high environmental humidity;
• atmospheric temperature from +5 to +40 degrees is optimal for nymphs and adults;
• temperature indicators from +31 to start reproduction processes;
• availability of constant access to food supply.

The standard life cycle of a linen lice is about 40 days. In the absence of a favorable environment for life, insects are able to slow down the progress of biological processes. In this case, the lifespan of pests may increase.

Feedback from our clients: My son literally has an epidemic of all these parasites in his kindergarten. Then they have lice on their heads - they shaved their heads. Now I found it on my underwear. They washed everything right away, but they managed to multiply. It’s good that we had the exterminators’ phone number from last time. They even gave a discount for repeat applications, and in general the company works great, everyone is quite happy.

What kind of parasites are these?

Lice are parasitic insects whose food source is human blood. Parasites are transmitted during contact with a person with lice.

Conventionally, these insects are divided into the following types:

• head lice are inhabitants of the scalp;
• pubic lice are insects that cause discomfort to a person in the groin area, as well as on the eyelashes and eyebrows;
• Body lice are insects that live in the folds and seams of clothing.

Due to the tiny size of the insects, as well as their rapid reproduction, it is very difficult to remove lice. After all, a larva hatched from an egg becomes a sexually mature individual within 8-20 days. And given the fact that the lifespan of parasites on the human body can reach about two months, it becomes very easy to assess the scale of the problem. Only timely treatment of the apartment from lice will help deal with bloodsuckers quickly enough. Otherwise, the grueling struggle will begin from the very beginning.

How does infection occur?

Linen lice, photos of which clearly demonstrate the inconspicuousness of pests, have the ability to blend into the surrounding space. That is why the infection process often goes unnoticed by humans. There is only one way of transmitting pediculosis - contact. Accordingly, the carrier of the harmful parasite must somehow come into contact. First of all, the source of infection may be physical contact, and the carrier himself may also be unaware of the presence of insects, especially if they are at the stage of larvae or eggs.

Most often, infection occurs in crowded places, both adults and school-age children or preschoolers. A temporarily borrowed item of clothing, as well as mass storage of clothing (in a wardrobe, warehouse, second-hand store) can also become a source of danger. The only safety measure is strict adherence to hygiene requirements, separate storage of items, careful care of them, and washing at high temperatures.

Feedback from our clients: Homeless people recently appeared at our entrance, the unsanitary conditions are off the charts. Naturally, we don’t make special contact with them, but sometimes it’s simply impossible to walk up the stairs without touching them. Then they noticed that the whole family began to itch. When the lice were found, we were shocked. We wrote to the Criminal Code, the local police officer, and called exterminators to the house and treated everything. It helped.

Safe pest control methods

Safe chemical pest control agents include repellents with natural ingredients and plant extracts. The active substances do not kill, but only repel parasites. What to do in such cases? Repellents are used to prevent lice infestation. They are sprayed onto hair, clothes, hats, and pillows.

It is better to buy lice repellents at a pharmacy; you need to pay attention to the age restrictions for using the drug.

The safest and most effective method of controlling lice is professional pest control. It is carried out by special sanitary services using the following methods:

1. Cold fog (disinfectant liquid, split into microns, is sprayed using a fumigator; the method allows you to destroy lice in visible places).
2. Hot fog (the insecticide is split into nanoparticles by a generator with a jet engine; the product penetrates into all hard-to-reach places, destroying adult lice and nits).
3. Complex disinfestation (cold and hot fog treatment).

The safest is the cold steam method, but the most effective is the hot steam method. 2-3 hours after professional treatment of the room, you need to wet clean and ventilate.

How can you get rid of linen lice?

If body lice bites are found on the body, or foreign “signs of life” of their colony are found on clothing, measures will have to be taken immediately. Pediculosis tends to spread quickly, and if it infects other people, the reputation of the carrier of the parasites may also suffer. There are two simple solutions to this problem:

1. Taking action on your own. Requires full control over the condition of clothing and bedding. The activities will take a lot of time. You will need to thoroughly steam or dry clean your home textiles. Change your underwear completely, thoroughly treat your body with disinfectant solutions and specialized shampoos.
2. Total professional processing. Gives a pronounced result, allows you to achieve complete cleaning of a house or apartment from insects at all stages of development. Additionally, experts always give recommendations on the care of clothing and body treatment of personal hygiene items.

Reliable ways to fight

If linen lice have already attacked a house or apartment, settled in bed, on underwear, measures need to be taken urgently. Banal ventilation will help to protect the contents of closets - you need to hang wardrobe items for airing for a period of 4 days. Underwear and personal items (towels, bed linen) should be washed, adding a special anti-pediculosis drug to the usual set of chemicals. To be safe, items treated in this way can be boiled or sent to the dry cleaner.

During treatment, an anti-pediculosis agent is applied to the body and left for at least half an hour. Bite marks need to be treated with special creams and ointments to combat itching and irritation. Antihistamines, decongestants, or painkillers are also used if a person experiences severe discomfort.

What does the SES service offer?

The Sanepidemstation.com sanitary service offers modern and effective anti-pediculosis measures for the appearance of body lice and linen lice. We have a full range of modern tools and methods that ensure complete elimination of harmful insects. Experts use fast-acting chemical insecticides with a prolonged effect that lasts for several weeks. In this case, you can quickly and safely carry out all the necessary manipulations, and most importantly, prevent re-infection when new adults hatch from the preserved eggs.

In their work, our employees use modern technologies - the cold and hot fog method, which allows us not just to spray chemicals, but to apply them to the surfaces of furniture and household items in the form of fine water dust. In case of total contamination of the premises, it is recommended to use complex treatment methods. They give high results regardless of how many pests are at the site.

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Folk remedies for treating lice: will they help?

The use of folk remedies in the fight against blood-sucking parasites should be considered only as one element of a complex effect. They do not have a high degree of efficiency. But in terms of toxicity they are quite capable of outperforming any modern chemistry. Among the leaders of the national hit parade are:

• kerosene - it is used in a mixture with oils of vegetable origin in a ratio of 1:10, in no case should this chemical be used in pure undiluted form, the resulting composition is applied to the treated area and carefully wrapped, it is better to leave the product to act overnight;
• vinegar-salt mixture - a three percent solution of table vinegar and 43 g of table salt are mixed with a small amount (about 5 ml) of medical alcohol, the product is applied to damp hair, renewing the compress as it dries;
• burdock decoction is perhaps the safest of the listed remedies - plant inflorescences poured with boiling water are cooled and used as an alternative to your regular rinse.

However, any folk remedies should be used only if you are aware of the extent of possible liability. And under no circumstances should such experiments be carried out on children.