How Old Are Head Lice When They Lay Eggs?
WouterLice are tiny, round insects that live on human heads. They feed on the blood of the host several times a day. The life cycle of a head lice nymph is 16 to 32 days, and they lay three to eight eggs a day. Then, they die. They go through two molts. Two days after their first molt, they will lay their first egg. The female head lice lays its eggs two days after mating.
The eggs of head lice are small and oval. They are laid on the hair shaft by a female adult. The eggs will take between six and nine days to hatch. They need warm scalp conditions to incubate properly. When they hatch, the baby lice, or nits, crawl to the scalp to feed on blood. Once the eggs hatch, they go through their first moult and a second moult after five days.
While head lice cannot fly or jump, they can be spread between people through direct head-to-head contact. Clothing and personal items can be shared, but they are rarely spread by household pets. It is important to wash all of these items regularly to avoid the spread of the infection. A thorough treatment can kill all the lice.
The age at which head lice lay their eggs is usually determined by whether the nits are in the hair or not. It is possible to remove the nits by using your tweezers or nails. Baby lice can be hard to identify because they are almost translucent. In a week or so, they mature and turn red or gray. After that, they mate and lay their eggs again.
