Dealing with a lice problem isn’t easy. This is why we will be discussing how long lice live on stuffed animals and how to exterminate them.
One of the things people worry about is how best to get rid of lice. Because it’s mostly associated with kids, it’s common to find lice on toys being used such as stuffed animals.
There’s always a possibility that lice end up on stuffed animals.
Stuffed Animals And Lice
We’re interested in finding out how long such lice live on these toys. This piece of information is crucial to comprehensive treatment.
You want to not only focus on the scalp or body when treating lice but also on anything or item, these parasites may have dropped onto.
Life Cycle of the Head Lice
To better comprehend the amount of time head lice will live off the scalp, you’ll have to consider their lifecycle.
Basically, there are three stages of development; the egg, the nymph, and the adult stages.
Within the nymph stage, the lice develop from its first stage where it is tiny to the third stage before molting into an adult.
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Eggs
Lice eggs are nits that are difficult to distinguish with spray droplets or dandruff.
These are attached close to the base of hair shafts and take about a week to hatch.
When eggs are dislodged and fall on stuffed animals, they can’t develop further and pose no problems at all.
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Nymphs
Nymphs emerge from hatched eggs and are comparable in size to a pinhead. The development stage into adulthood takes around 7 days from the time of hatching.
When nymphs fall off the scalp, they won’t last beyond a few hours.
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Adults
This is the last stage of lice development. However, this could be interrupted when lice fall off the scalp and onto items like stuffed animals among others.
Here, they hardly survive beyond a day or two.
Bagging Stuffed Animals is Out of the Question
When faced with a lice problem, all items including stuffed animals naturally become a target. This is because lice are likely to be found on such.
Although bagging up stuffed animals may seem like a great way to isolate and kill these parasites (lice), it’s not so necessary as there are alternative ways of getting rid of them.
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Lice Won’t Survive for Long Off the Scalp
For head lice, the scalp area is a prime target as it guarantees access to food (blood) from the scalp. Lice nits are also attached to the base of hair shafts. The warmth provided by the human scalp is also an attraction for lice.
Now, all of these are non-existent on stuffed animals.
In other words, lice may fall off the scalp and onto stuffed animals but won’t survive for long. This is due to the lack of nourishment usually derived from a human host.
As such, they hardly survive beyond a few hours. Taking away your kid’s toys will certainly be displeasing to them.
How long until lice die-off on stuffed animals. At most, lice may live off the scalp for about 1 to 2 days. They cannot live beyond this period unless they’re properly positioned on humans.
This is great news because you won’t have to worry so much about how to get rid of them.
Nevertheless, taking action will be beneficial. So, what type of treatment is recommended for lice on stuffed animals? This takes us to the next point.
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Treating Lice Stuffed Animals
Below is how to get rid of lice on stuffed animals.
One of the most effective ways of ridding stuffed animals of lice dislodged from the scalp is through vacuuming.
Vacuuming does a lot of good as it helps remove lice not only from stuffed animals, but also from upholstered furniture, car seats, and carpets.
Another effective way to rid lice on stuffed animals is by placing them in your dryer, turning the heat high enough.
Stuffed animals should remain in the dryer for about 30 to 45 minutes. This is a much better option than bagging up such toys and keeping them away from kids for 2 to 3 days.
Lice are unable to survive the heat coming from your dryer. Plus, 30 to 45 minutes is sufficient time to eliminate these parasitic insects.
Treatment of Stuffed Animals May Not Be Necessary
Treatment of lice on stuffed animals is simply a precautionary measure. While head lice can return to the scalp after falling off, it rarely occurs because these parasitic insects hardly live for long.
They may be long dead before your kid returns to such toys.
Basically, the absence of the right conditions (warmth and blood) found on the human scalp makes it unfavorable for lice to stay on stuffed animals. Plus, nits dislodged from hair shafts aren’t contagious.
In other words, they are unable to hatch due to the absence of the right conditions.
Nevertheless, it won’t hurt to implement all preventive strategies as discussed above. Without killing off lice on stuffed animals, there’s still a possibility (however little) of lice getting back to your scalp.
Adopting Broad Preventive Strategies
The most comprehensive way to resolve a lice problem is by adopting more reliable treatment actions.
Here, we’re not only focusing on treating stuffed animals but also adopting a wide range of measures. Remember, lice on stuffed animals are one of several possibilities.
As mentioned earlier, these pests could be on carpets, upholstered furniture, bedding, and clothing among others. As such, you’ll also need to worry about getting rid of such.
Luckily, these pests won’t live for long on such items. Still, taking precautionary action is best.
Verminkill provides a guideline for containing lice problems. These are preventive actions that checkmate the spread of lice from one person to another.
Apart from treating stuffed animals, avoid sharing or clothing such as uniforms, scarves, and coats.
Other personal items that shouldn’t be shared include towels, combs, and brushes. These should also be soaked in hot water to destroy nits and kill off lice. Also, avoid lying on beds used by an infected person.
More important is the need to avoid the usage of fumigant fog or sprays on the scalp as they’re toxic.
The life cycle of the head lice is interrupted when it’s off the scalp. Whatever surface it falls on (including stuffed animals), it only lasts less than a day or two.
