Head lice are blood-feeding insects. They spend their entire life on the human scalp and feed exclusively on our blood.

Far more than a thousand! The average number found is much lower though: 10-12 lice per lice-infected head.

Yes, but not always. When lice suck blood, they inject saliva to prevent the blood from clotting during the blood-sucking. This saliva may cause itching for some but not for everybody, thus itching cannot be used as a diagnostic symptom for head lice infestation.

Studies have shown that combing is four times more effective to detect head lice than using the fingers to part the hair and look for them. You need a prober and well documented fine-tooth comb in order to catch the lice and their eggs.

No, lice feed on blood and not dirt. Just as many lice are found in clean hair as in dirty.

No, dogs, cats, horses, and birds - in fact lots of animals have their own kind of lice, but they cannot survive on humans. Conversely human lice cannot survive on animals.

It is always nice to have a clean home. However – it has no influence on the head lice. They live in the hair on the head and stay there. A lice that falls off the head is either dead or dying.

No. Even when lice are under water, their spiracles are not penetrated by the water. In fact, lice can endure several hours in water without being affected.

It is often speculated that children get lice from playing in the playroom of schools because a lot of pillows and hairy teddy bears lay around. Children do not get head lice because there are head lice in the room itself. If children are infested in the schools, it is due to the fact when they play they often have more head to head contact – a perfect opportunity for the lice to crawl from one head to another.

No; studies show that when lice are found on a child, they have typically been there for several weeks and as such is not an acute problem. However, it is important to inform the parents. The child must be under treatment before they are back to school.

Some recent studies have found head lice resistance towards the traditional insect poison products in some countries. Today a broad range of products are available which act physically (and not through the nervous system). Head lice cannot develop resistance towards these products, which makes them very effective; and they kill insect poison resistant lice as well.

Humans can be infested with three lice species: Head lice, body lice, and crab lice. Crab lice can be found in chest hair, eyebrows and beards but usually this kind of lice is found in pubic hair (in the crotch or armpits). However, in the western world crab lice are a species of lice in decline; probably due to the common shaving of pubic hair. Head lice cannot live in chest hair eyebrows or beards.