Can Head Lice Live on Furniture?
WouterIf you suspect your child has head lice, you’ll want to make sure everything is clean, including bedding and pillows. While you can’t wash these items in high temperatures, you can run them through a wash cycle to kill the lice. After the wash cycle is complete, make sure to dry the bedding and pillows. Vacuuming these items should remove most of the head lice and nits, so you can use a lint roller to remove the rest. You can also dispose of the items you haven’t cleaned with a vacuum to keep them from spreading.
If you’re unsure whether your child has head lice, it’s best to consult with a doctor before trying any home remedies. Proper treatment will remove the lice and eliminate the infestation once and for all. Furniture and couches are frequent surfaces used by families, so it’s unlikely that your child has infected furniture or bedding.
Despite being so common, head lice live only on human heads. Lice cannot live on other items and are spread by close contact. This includes clothing and items shared with family and friends. Also, contact with infested furniture will spread the lice. As head lice are wingless, they cannot jump or fly. If they come into contact with a piece of furniture, they will remain there for one to two days.
During this time, female lice can lay as many as six eggs a day. Adult head lice can live for 30 days on a human’s head. However, lice will not survive on a pet’s hair.
