It is always nice to have a clean home. However – it does not influence the head lice. They live in the hair on the head and stay there. A head louse that falls off the head is either dead or dying, thus posing no risk.

Head lice are blood-feeding insects. They spend their entire life on the human scalp and feed exclusively on our blood.

A common myth is that children get head lice from playing in the playroom of the kindergarten only because a lot of pillows and hairy teddy bears lay around. Children do not get head lice from their surroundings. If children are infested in the playroom, it is because they often have more head-to-head contact in the playroom – a perfect opportunity for the head lice to crawl from one head to another.

No, head lice feed on blood and not dirt. Just as many head lice are found in clean hair as in dirty hair.

Far more than a thousand! The average number found is much lower though: 10-12 head lice per head lice-infested head.

No, most animals have their own kind of lice, but they cannot survive on humans. Conversely human head lice cannot survive on animals.

No. Even when head lice are under water, their spiracles will keep the water out. In fact, head lice can endure several hours in water without problems.

Yes, but not always. When head lice suck blood, they inject saliva to prevent the blood from clotting during the blood sucking. This saliva may cause itching for some people, but not for everybody. Thus itching in itself is not a diagnostic marker for head lice infestation. You need to comb the hair with a good head lice comb to make a right diagnosis.