How Long Lice Can Live on Your Couch and Other Furniture
Learn precisely how long lice can live on your furniture and how to clean your couch after a head lice infestation.
Question:
How long can lice live on our couch? How do I clean my couch and other furniture after lice?
Answer from a Lice Expert:
After spending hours treating your child with lice the last thing you want is to get it back from your couch!
Before going into this article, you should know that there is a FREE, all-inclusive LICE CLEANING CHECKLIST available for you to take with you from room to room as you clean and it covers clothing as well.
In this article let's dive specifically into how to long lice can live on your couch and how to clean 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.
How Long Do Lice Live on Couches and other Furniture?
Head lice are called head lice for a reason. Generally speaking, head lice stick solely to the hair and scalp of humans, they do not live long on furniture. They cling tightly to the hair strand and do not usually fall.
But, if lice do fall out of your hair and onto your couch...
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….
Lice bugs are immune!
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.
Lice eggs hatch!
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.
How long can lice live on a couch?
Two days. Most lice die within 24 hours of being off the head away from a human blood meal. But, when studied in labs under precise temperatures, the longest lice can survive is around 48 hours.
How likely is it that lice will be on your couch?
Not very likely, but possible. A study was conducted using pillowcases to determine the likelihood of lice transferring to bed linens. Scientists examined the pillowcases of 48 people with head lice after a night’s rest. 2 out of the 48 pillowcases had live lice on them, which is roughly 4%.
This pillowcase study seems to reflect the chances of lice being on your couch as many people rest their heads on couches.
Should I use lice sprays on my couches and other furniture?
Do not waste your time, money, or health on pesticide lice sprays or lice bombs. If you have tried a bunch of pesticide treatments that have failed, you are not alone, and it’s not your fault. The latest stats say that most parents that use over-the-counter kits still have lice even after multiple treatments!
Just like pesticides are an ineffective treatment on the head, they are even more worthless when sprayed in the air or on your couches.
Additionally, they are EXTREMELY toxic and dangerous to you, your children, and your pets. If they actually killed lice, maybe you could rationalize the risk of breathing problems, sickness, or even cancer, but they don’t actually kill lice! The chemicals in lice sprays and bombs are the same pesticides that 98% of lice are resistant to, so you end up just spraying poison all over your brushes for no reason.
How do I treat lice on my couch?
Do not use a pesticide spray on your couch like the ones that come in a lice kit. Lice are resistant to these sprays, so it will not kill them. Additionally, these pesticide sprays are toxic to humans, children, and pets, putting your family at an increased risk of cancer, breathing problems, seizures, and poisoning.
The easiest way to get lice off your couch is by vacuuming it with a handheld vacuum or hose. If the pillows of the sofa are removable and can go into the dryer, then put them in the dryer on high heat for 40 minutes. Otherwise, vacuum the pillows as well.
How do I clean my couch after lice without a vacuum?
For those without a vacuum, the next best thing is a sticky lint roller like this. The link roller’s adhesive tape is strong enough to pick up lice off surfaces.
Roll each surface of the couch, replacing the roller sheet as the stickiness wears off.
A quick disclosure: all items in this article are affiliate links, and I do earn a commission from qualifying purchases; however, all of my reviews are based on the quality of the product.
What about a Leather Couch?
For those with leather furniture such as suede or faux suede fabric, either vacuum or lint roll your furniture. For those with vinyl-leather furniture that is not easily vacuumed, wipe down the leather with a wet cloth, this is sufficient to remove lice.
The Never-Ending Cycle
Most people that use lice kits and home remedies get caught in the horrible "Never-Ending Cycle of Lice"
First- You Have Lice
When you first discover lice you have adult lice bugs, baby lice bugs, and lice eggs (also known as nits)
You Think You've Gotten Rid of It.
But...
After using an over-the-counter treatment or a home remedy, people think they've taken care of the problem because they aren't finding lice bugs for a while.
But the bigger problem is the lice eggs that are left in the hair. Lice kits and home remedies don't kill eggs, and each of those little lice eggs has a bug inside just waiting to hatch and re-infest your child again.
Then- Those Eggs HATCH!
Just like lice eggs are tiny, when lice first hatch they are teeny-tiny. In fact, they are almost invisible to the naked eye! So, it typically takes a few weeks for them to grow big enough for you to see them.
And by the time you notice your head is infested all over again!
And Lice Is Back Again!
How to Avoid the Never-Ending Cycle
If you want to avoid this never-ending cycle and get rid of lice fast then check out my Step-by-Step Video System. Follow along with the videos and you can be completely done with lice in ONE DAY, no retreatments necessary.
How to be lice-free by the end of the day...
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 prefer to stay on the head and rarely come off. Lice can live up to 2 days on your furniture, before dying of dehydration. It is unlikely for them to be on your couch, but not impossible. Always avoid pesticide lice sprays, because they DO NOT work.
The most important thing about getting rid of lice isn’t cleaning inanimate objects--it’s making sure you’ve gotten rid of lice! If you want to get rid of lice fast, then check out the step-by-step video system and get rid of lice by the end of the 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.
