How Lice Spread: Do Lice Jump?
Do Lice Fly or Have Wings?
Question:
How do lice spread so quickly? Do lice jump? Do lice fly or have wings? How are they so contagious?
Answer from a Lice Expert:
With 12 million cases of head lice in the United States every year, it is an understatement to say that lice are contagious, lice are EXTREMELY contagious! Lice are the second most prevalent childhood ailment in the US, second only to the common cold.
What makes lice so contagious is that they have a few "superpowers" that make it so that they can spread really quickly. One of their superpowers is their legs! Check out the video below to see their legs in action, learn how lice spread, and how you can arm yourself against getting them.
Let me introduce myself...
Hi there! I'm Theresa, I'm a lice expert, lice coach, and Registered Nurse. I help people with lice every day! You can get rid of lice in ONE DAY at home by using the same proven professional technique that I use in my lice center.
Just follow the step-by-step videos and be done with lice by the end of the day.
In this article:
Do Lice Jump? Video!
What are Lice?
Lice are small insects. They range from being almost invisible at birth to about the size of a sesame seed as adults. Lice require a human host as they need to feed on human blood frequently. Three types of lice live on humans: head lice, body lice, and pubic lice. While each type of lice has the same body structure, they have adapted to different areas of the body. Head lice are the most common by far and are the focus of this article.
The fourth type of lice that is making big news these days is a new strain of head lice, super lice.
Parents around the world are all asking me the same question…. Why is it so hard to get rid of lice nowadays?
Why Is It So Hard to Get Rid of Lice?
Now that you know what you're looking for I want to talk briefly about your biggest worry (that your child actually has lice) and the question I get asked by parents around the world that have been battling lice….
Parents around the world are all asking me the same question…. "Why is it so much harder to get rid of lice now?"
Lice have become immune to everything that used to work in the past. Perhaps you remember your mom using a typical lice treatment or mayonnaise and that doing the trick. The new strain of head lice is no longer killed by those treatments, that’s why lice today are termed by people, “super lice,” because they are immune to those treatments.
I’ve cured thousands of people of lice in my lice center and let me tell you, I don't do it with over-the-counter lice treatments.
Most people struggle with lice because they focus all of their attention on killing lice bugs and not enough attention on GETTING RID OF LICE!
If you want to get rid of lice you have to address all 3 of the problems of lice:
- Lice Bugs
- Lice Eggs
- Getting Lice Back
The best way to get rid of lice is to tackle all 3 of these problems at the same time, which is what I teach in my step-by-step video system.
So, if you discover your child HAS lice, don't panic. Just head over to the video system. Follow along with the videos and you'll be done with lice by the end of the day.
Do Lice Jump? How Far Can Lice Jump?
With as contagious as lice are you’d assume that they jump long distances to get from head to head. How else could they spread so quickly in a classroom? But, believe it, or not head lice DO NOT JUMP! But beware! Even though lice don’t jump, they are very good at moving quickly. When lice decide to infest a new head, they don’t just meander; they are determined to get there as fast as possible using their best traveling techniques.
Lice move deftly through hair and can make a Tarzan-style transfer within seconds. Lice use their claws to grip hair, enabling them to transfer from one hair to another quickly and without a chance of falling off. All it takes is one of their little claws grabbing a strand of your hair, and soon enough, you’ll have a full head lice infestation.
Can Lice Jump?
Head lice are incapable of jumping due to their anatomy. While their legs are perfectly designed with claws to grip and move through hair, they do not have hind legs with the capability of jumping. Most people think of head lice and fleas as the same or at least very similar bugs. After all, they are both small insects, and both suck blood. However, lice and fleas have significant differences regarding their anatomy.
A Fleas hind legs are perfect for jumping, but they don’t have the same skills of moving and transferring in hair well. So, when fleas transfer, they move by jumping. Head lice, however, do not have hind legs; instead, they have perfectly equipped claws for transferring within the hair.
If there are bugs in your child’s hair or on your carpet that are jumping, those are fleas. Children can have fleas on them from pets, but usually not a “flea infestation,” because fleas do not generally stay on a human head for long.
Can Lice Fly?
One would think that with as contagious as lice are, they would fly like mosquitoes. But, no, lice CAN NOT and DO NOT fly. They must rely on their claws to transfer quickly into the hair. But, similar to mosquitos, their goal is to feed on your blood. And, just like mosquitos seem to prefer some people’s blood over others, lice also seem to have preferences. That is why some people are more susceptible to lice. Want to learn how you can avoid lice? Keep reading…
Do Lice Have Wings?
It’s not uncommon for head lice to appear to have wings on them at first glance. However, head lice do not have wings. They have to rely on their claws to move from head to head. Head lice can “appear” to have wings because their body is often translucent and has a dark squiggly line down the middle of it. That line is a lice bug’s stomach, but it can give the appearance of a separation of two wings on a glance. If you hold the belief that lice have wings, then your mind will see what it thinks it should see.
If you find a bug in your child’s hair and confirm that it has wings then it is not head lice. There are no “queen lice” with wings as there are for ants and other insects.
How Does Lice Spread?
Head lice are spread predominantly from DIRECT head-to-head-contact. Scientists estimate that about 90% of head lice pass this way. Because lice do not jump like fleas and they do not fly like mosquitoes, they have to rely on their claws to grip onto hair and spread directly from one person to another. But, then how are they so contagious?
Remember that if lice are within reach of a hair strand, they can do a Tarzan-style transfer from one hair strand to the other very quickly.
I’m sure that it doesn’t seem like your head touches other people’s heads very often. But, you’d be surprised how often humans touch heads. Take a small child; for instance, below are some examples (you'll be surprised).
How Lice Spreads Head to Head...
- Hugging when greeting or leaving someone
- Snuggling on the couch watching a movie
- Snuggling while reading a book together
- Resting your head on someone’s shoulder
- Whispering close to someone’s ear
- Looking over someone’s shoulder
- Standing back to back in PE class
- Looking at the same device like a tablet with heads touching
- Sleeping on the same pillow or in the same bed at sleepovers
- Taking “selfies” and other pictures that require people to get close
Head lice also spread via inanimate objects, but it is less likely. The main items to be cautious of are those that have frequent and close contact with hair. Stray hairs may come off on the object with lice attached to it. If another human head comes near, then those lice will likely transfer to a new head. Here are a few more examples of how lice may spread...
How Lice Spreads on Objects...
- Sharing hats
- Sharing hairbrushes, bows, combs, or accessories
- Sharing jackets or clothing
- Sharing pillows or blankets
- Sharing fuzzy headphones
- Sharing sporting helmets like baseball, riding, football
Why Does Lice Spread?
What is it that makes lice want to transfer from one head to another? Blood. Just like sharks, lice have a keen sense of smell. If your head is near and they smell your blood, then they instinctively sprint over to your head and start a lice infestation. But, fortunately, they can only transfer to your head if your hair is within reach because lice can not fly or jump. They only move well in hair, not on other surfaces. And, they do not like to leave the safety of a head of hair to go onto an object that is not hair. Living on a human head is essential to their survival. They must frequently feed on human blood. If they are off of a human for more than 48 hours, they will die.
How Do I Prevent Getting Lice?
Lice prevention begins by minimizing head-to-head contact with others. Many people do not have symptoms of head lice until having it a full month, which means that within that month, they’ve been hugging and snuggling people and spreading lice around. You don’t want to be one of those unsuspecting people.
Next, implement a “no-sharing” policy when it comes to items that could transfer head lice. Anything that comes in contact with hair regularly shouldn’t be shared.
More on Lice Prevention
I’ve outlined just a few ways you can prevent head lice. But, if you want to know more about ways to protect your family from lice, 21 Ways to Prevent Head Lice.
Make Your Head Smelly to Lice
One of the best forms of prevention is making your hair undesirable to lice. You can use lice’s powerful sense of smell against them by putting scents in the hair that repel lice. There are 19 Fragrances that lice hate, and if you have those scents in your hair, then lice are more likely to leave you alone.
Scents that deter lice are often called lice repellents. You can make your own lice repellent spray using my DIY tutorial. But, don’t just buy any repellent thinking they’re all excellent.
How to be lice-free by the end of the day...
In the unfortunate event that you have lice, I am sorry. Dealing with lice is the worst! It is especially difficult these days because the new strain of super lice is resistant to almost all over-the-counter products. Lice treatments that were effective 20 years ago no longer work on today’s head lice. If you have tried an over-the-counter treatment and you keep getting lice back then, you most likely have super lice. Here's how you can be lice-free by the end of the day in three simple steps.
GET THE VIDEO SYSTEM
Get rid of lice the same way the experts do. Your personal lice coach walks you through each step of doing a professional lice treatment at home in a series of videos.
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow along with the videos on your child in your home. No lice kits or toxic chemicals involved!
BE DONE WITH LICE!
When you're done with the videos, you're done with lice. And it's gone permanently!
Summing It Up…
Head lice don't fly or jump, but they do move from head-to-head very quickly which is why they are so contagious.
If you want to get rid of lice quickly then follow along with my Step-by-Step Video System and get rid of it in ONE DAY.
All the best!
Theresa is a Registered Nurse and lice expert with years of experience curing children of lice. She owns a lice treatment center in the US which is where she perfected the Step-by-Step Video System proven to get rid of lice. She also works with government agencies and schools helping those with the worst head lice cases in America.
Her greatest passion is empowering parents by teaching parents online how to do a professional lice treatment on their child at home. She is the Lice Coach for the My Lice Advice Step-by-Step Video System.
