This weekend saw the return of our favourite friend pediculus humanus capitis, aka nits or head lice. We were so pleased to see them again that we treated all four of us, just for the fun of it. (I think only the children had been infected, but I want rid of the buggers already.) I do realise that as long as Jack's school can't get rid of its infestation, probably neither will we, but we are of good will and great spirit, so we battle on bravely.
Hours of manual nitpicking later, I diverted myself by documenting the momentous event pictorially. My new camera plus the two largest motherfuckers I found on Jack's head gave some great results. First I sellotaped them to the windowframe in the kitchen where I'm ashamed to say they still reside tonight. I should probably remove them before I scare off the last few people who will still come to our house.
Here are mummy and daddy louse, for your awe and bewilderment:
(That's centimeters, people, not inches.)
I've called the top one daddy and the bottom one mama. If anyone out there is more clued up on insects than me, please feel free to correct me and provide accurate information on the two. My reasoning was that the dark spots in the mama could either be blood drops, freshly sucked from my progeny, or eggs/nits in the making. I don't know shit about this, though.
I have some excellent close-ups. Here's one of the daddy in which you can see his pincers clearly:
Also look at those eyes - freaky alien alert!
Here's a close-up of mama:
I LOVE my new camera. Just a shame this is what I choose to do with it. I shall now sigh on your behalf. (But - COOL, right???)
I've decided to enter this post into Tara Cain's brilliant Gallery on Wednesday. The topic this week is to paint a picture of the world we live in, and this was just too good an occasion to pass up. These pictures, in my opinion, are a perfect representation of my world at the moment. Ever since I became a mother, my world has in many ways become much much smaller. But also, like these pictures and the insects in them, much more awesome, beautiful, terrifying and gross all at the same time.
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Bloody excellent camera! It's practically a microscope! Can I just ask, is there any school in the UK where children don't get nits? Mine are still too young for school, but if I start campaigning for swimming caps as part of their uniform now I might just have enough time to save myself from this delight.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for the bad dream coming my way tonight. But, truely fabulous camera. V. jealous!
Hey, you might laugh but I SWEAR this works. Use gel in their hair and blow-dry daily (or nightly, depending on bath time), and then once a week rinse with Listerine. It has to be Listerine though. The gel and the heat keep the eggs from sticking, and the listerine just smells like shit and they stay away. REally. Do it all during the lice season and bob's your uncle.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, great camera, too. It made me flinch when I saw those close-ups.
ReplyDeleteI am so itching now - I will be so itching all night - behind my ears - you know the place...
ReplyDeletePimp your camera - what did you get then? Is it luuusssssh? (I'm such a camera geek!)
@fiona - Hey! I'm not sure about British schools, but I'm sure they are the same as Belgian schools in that lice are unavoidable. There are a few "well-known" households where lice don't seem to get treated very well (I pray we're not counted as one of them) and they just keep repopulating all the other susceptible heads.
ReplyDelete@Kori - That sounds like a lot of work. Like more work than delousing every other month. Or even every month. And have I mentioned I'm lazy? I have heard that lavender oil is supposed to help - one drop behind each ear. But that's a daily thing as well. I could just shave both heads...
@MrsW - I have that itch ALL THE BLOODY TIME just now. So that's why I always think I have them too. But I don't. It's just the thought of them.
My camera is a Panasonic DMC-TZ7. It's tiny and easy to use. And I love it. (I am so not a camera geek - but I may end up one, because these tricks are FUN!)
Yeeww! I am so itching right now. Is this what I have to look forward to when LLC gets of school age? Those critters are vile. Get them off your window now! I have to agree your camera is fab.
ReplyDeleteThose are some large lice.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think it's the photographer who is grand!
And here is the only way I found to ever completely eliminate the lice problem:
1. Shave the children's heads.
2. Burn down the house.
Extreme? Yes. But it does work.
Yeuk! I'm used to ticks and fleas now, thanks to my delightful animals, but lice I've yet to experience. Hope they're a long time coming. Excellent pics (and I say this with all the knowledge of someone bound on this earthly shackle to a photographer freak who frequently lectures me at length with camera-speak and close ups of nasty insects).
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ReplyDeleteI am uber impressed with that camera! and these are by far the best up-close-and-personal pix of lice I have every seen! Kudos!!
ReplyDeleteBut honestly, Listerine is da bomb!! it will nuke those fckers dead. I dip a lice comb in a dish of Listerine and comb their hair at night when they're asleep (they're more cooperative when unconscious :) It is not a lot of work, for real. Use vinegar to loosen the eggs and listerine to nuke the adults' nervous system.
I just love the idea of scellotaping hateful bugs to windowsills. I think that idea could take off big time.
ReplyDeleteWow that camera along with your photography skills rock!
oh my god. Don't make me take that camera away from you.
ReplyDeleteUm, I am going with your world is big and beautiful but I am glad I don't inhabit it with you except from this nice safe distance. I don't think I am up to dealing with that. My gag relfex has remained on high alert since pregnancy and I am seriously worried I will not be able to handle that when my time comes. Burning down the house seems sane enough to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen we had lice our mom washed our hair with kerosene every night. It worked.
ReplyDelete@desmondvoodoo - Yes, that is most probably what you have to look forward to. On the bright side, some children don't seem to catch them at all. (I never did.)
ReplyDelete@Ms. Moon - You made me laugh. A lot. Babes has told me he won't be impressed if he comes home to bald children and a ruin where there was once a house.
@Pueblo girl - Oh, but we have animals, too. At least we have learned to treat them with anti-vermin medicine early in the year now. It was Marie who got the tick last year... Sigh. I just have to remember that the alternative is no running outdoors. Or going to school. Or meeting other children. Or trips to the forest. Which can't be good. Actually - isn't that what computer games are for?
@Geeks in Rome - Okay okay Listerine. I shall do it. But only because you swore. Because that pleases me.
@Countess - I'm looking forward to pictures of your windowsill now! I want to know what beasties on the other side of the world look like.
@Megan - :-)
@GingerB - I suppose we all gag for different things. Strangely, this one is okay with me. It's vomit I don't like. Or poo that doesn't stay contained in a nappy. Oh, and the warts - they creep me out. Children are filthy little creatures. They never tell you that enough in advance.
@Angie Muresan - Now that is drastic.
Lice are unavoidable. We get them here in Canada, too. If it's any comfort, a doctor once told me they prefer clean heads, as that makes it easier to get at the skin for a nice big meal. (So, like, you're not getting them because you're DIRTY or anything...)
ReplyDeleteMy sister swears by vinegar as a preventative. She takes a quarter cup of the stuff and rubs it into the scalp, all over. She says "My kids went to school smelling of salad, but they never came home with nits!" (Not after that first time...)
Amazing shots, though I must admit I had to scroll down quickly before I saw too much!
ReplyDeleteOMG OMG OMG. Aren't they gross? Great, great pix though.
ReplyDeleteI've also heard of a little vinegar now and then. But no one wants to walk around smelling like a giant duche.
ReplyDeleteI want that camera to document our bugs!
ReplyDeleteAlthough admittedly I don't really *need* it, given that our bugs tend to be measured in inches... Touch wood, we have never had lice around here, maybe the cockroaches scare them off?
OMG - I am going to have to show this to the cherubs... and will then document and send their (endless) questions to you to answer!
ReplyDeleteLCM x
Wow, don't know what I find most amazing - the size of the beasts of the power of the camera. Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm just about to go and have my lunch. Lovely. !!
ReplyDeleteCJ xx
Oh goodness. As you know, I am a school nurse and I am very well acquainted with your "friends" and have found conscientious parents are the key to ridding the school of lice. More than likely, there are some repeat offenders who have sorry parents. What's that Gramma used to say? "It's not a shame to get them, it's a shame to keep them." And I firmly believe that. A parent must be inclined to put forth an effort. Tea tree oil and daily styling with heat is an excellent deterrent.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you have this to deal with. Again. But these photos? Awesome. You should totally win a prize.
What a weird thing to post about. I love it. Bring on the bizarre! (Question: are the nits still sellotaped to your window sill - they are, aren't they?)
ReplyDeletePS: why do they have to be so see-through and disgusting looking? Can't they breed a prettier looking nit??
ReplyDelete@MaryP - I have vinegar in the children's hair, too. Not like it really works, though - they're nuclear ones or something. Hand-picked them all out, put vinegar in hair - still came home from school with a new insect friend.
ReplyDelete@Lady Mama - Sorry. Actually, not.
@reluctantmemsahib - Yes. Even though staring at the photos long enough, they kind of lose their grossness a little.
@Kingsmom - Yeah, and it's not like it even works that well.
@Sophie - Oooh, you should do a post on your bugs! I want to see them now.
@London City Mum - My children are SO not impressed with those photos. It's depressing.
@Crystal Jigsaw - :-) I hope I didn't turn you off your lunch.
@All This Trouble - *grabs head in despair*
@Mummy's Little Monkey - Ahem. Yes. Woops.
@Sandrine - Sorry for missing you out. I do love the camera more than the ginormous beasts.
ReplyDelete*shudder* I will now be itching all evening! I'm not looking forward to my daughter getting them which I'm sure she will at some point. Love all the preventative tips on here though. I'll be send her out with a veritable cocktail of stinky stuff on her head.
ReplyDeleteAs amazing as your new canera is, and those are impressive picture! ;o)
ReplyDeleteIn feel all itchy now!
That is just too gross....the pictures, the description and the fact they're still sellotaped to your window!
ReplyDelete