Can bleach be used for lice control? Here are the pros and cons of using this agent.

If you’ve had to deal with a lot of pest problems in the past or currently do, you might have heard about available solutions from the most unexpected of products.

These are mostly household products meant for other uses such as cleaning, cooking, and disinfectant products. Some baking products have been promoted as having pest extermination properties too.

Will Bleach Kill Lice?

One of those we’ll be looking at is good ole bleach! Apart from its laundry uses, a lot of people swear by this product as having pest repellent and extermination properties.

Is this true? To find answers, let’s narrow down our focus by looking at an embarrassing pest problem that a lot of people deal with.

Lice infestations are terrible.

Let’s be clear…

Bleach is a specially formulated product designed for laundry use.

You’ll not find pest control included among its uses. So, you must manage your expectations when it comes to any other uses outside of their intended purpose.

In other words, you shouldn’t expect much from bleach as a pest killer.

It is not a product recommended for lice house cleaning.

Bleach as a Potential Lice Killer

When it comes to lice extermination, a lot of treats simply don’t seem to work. Even some of those treatments that may kill these parasitic insects may not be as effective.

Is bleach one of them?

Bleach will kill lice, but it’s never as effective as most people expect.

Because head lice are the most difficult to deal with (compared to the body and pubic lice), you want a more comprehensive solution to the problem.

Using unreliable treatments like bleach will only give slow results if any at all.

This is because you’ll have to apply this treatment most effectively.

  • Bleach Won’t Kill Lice Eggs

There are different stages of lice development ranging from the eggs, nymphs (baby lice), and adult lice stages.

The efficacy of bleach as a lice killer is restricted to two stages; the nymph and adult stages. It has no exterminating effect on lice nits or eggs.

This poses a problem to your lice extermination efforts.

It will take between 7 to 10 days for lice eggs to hatch.

To make matters even worse, a single louse can lay as many as 150 to 300 eggs! This makes matters worse because these parasitic pests are prolific breeders.

You’ll have to look elsewhere for solutions as bleach has glaring limitations. Delousing your hour and infested areas using bleach may work, but scalp treatments simply won’t work.

You may just be wasting precious time while eggs hatch to further worsen the problem.

Types of Bleach Used for Lice Control

Bleach is a generic name used to call a chemical product that’s specially formulated for laundry use. It’s used to remove stains and whiten.

Liquid bleach is a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite. Although there are different brands and types, Clorox bleach tends to be among the most popular.

This can be used for your lice control needs. Because bleach isn’t a reliable solution for your lice problems, you must know how to apply if you must use such.

How to Use Bleach for Lice Extermination

When dealing with a lice issue, how well you treat the problem will determine the results obtained. This includes home remedies like bleach treatments.

So, is there a certain way to go about lice treatment using bleach? There is.

To increase your chances of improved lice extermination, you’ll need to carry out treatment as follows;

Making a bleach insecticide will be necessary. However, such treatment must be only applied on surfaces and not on the human scalp. You’ll need a safer treatment for lice problems on the scalp.

You’ll need about 2 tablespoons of bleach added to 2 cups of water and emptied into a spray bottle. Mix and spray on fabrics and furniture as well as carpets.

Before applying, it’s important to first vacuum the area to pick up any loose lice. Now, test your bleach insecticide on a small patch to make sure it doesn’t discolor fabrics.

When it’s deemed safe for wider application, spray a fine mist of this homemade lice treatment around surfaces to get rid of these parasitic pests. However, you should remember that this will have little to no effect on lice eggs as they cannot be destroyed with bleach.

Nevertheless, as long as lice nits are off the scalp, they can hardly survive. So, while your bleach treatment kills lice nymphs, and adults, nits are unable to hatch.

Now, allow the treated area to dry before another round of vacuuming and lint rolling the area.

Why You shouldn’t Apply Bleach on Scalp

Remember that bleach treatments for lice have many limitations. First off, it’s not designed for that. Also, it won’t kill lice nits. Plus, it could result in adverse reactions.

So, you’re better off avoiding scalp lice treatments on the scalp.

This treatment can be applied anywhere else but your child’s scalp. With the scalp area being the ground zero of head lice activity, you’ll need to go for a more reliable treatment.

Visiting a health professional will be a great start as reliable medications are recommended.

What Other Home Remedies Work

Apart from the use of bleach for flea extermination, there are other home remedies you can apply for your lice control needs. These tend to be more reliable and include the use of anise oil, olive oil, and coconut oil treatments.

Other treatment options include tea tree oil, mayonnaise, and petroleum jelly treatments.

We won’t be getting into the specifics of each treatment type due to our focus on finding answers on bleach control for lice infestations.

Go for Proven Treatments

Head lice infestations are known to be difficult to deal with. Given this, spending time, effort, and resources on treatments that don’t work or aren’t reliable is simply a waste of time.

It’s better to go with a strategy that works. This is where the services of a health professional come in handy.

Bleach will kill lice, but the results obtained won’t be as reliable. We’ve seen the many downsides to bleach use as well as its limitations.

If you must have comprehensive results, go for a proven treatment that works.

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