Body Lice Identification & Treatment
-- Not as common as head and pubic lice --
Summary: Body lice, Pediculus humanus humanus, are small ectoparasitic insects that feed exclusively on the blood of humans. Unlike head lice and pubic lice, body lice spend most of their lives in the hosts clothing, where eggs are laid. For this reason body lice tend to occur most frequently in crowded and unsanitary conditions where clothes are not regularly washed. Itching and rash are common symptoms of body lice bites. Body lice infestations can also spread disease such as epidemic typhus and relapsing fever.
Difference between body lice and head lice
Body lice are small (1-3 mm; 1/16"-1/8") blood-sucking insects that closely resemble head lice, to which they are related (see What are Head Lice? for a photograph of an adult louse). Body lice, unlike head lice however, live in clothing and lay their eggs (nits) on cloth fibers. Body lice move from clothing to the skin surface to feed. Because body lice eggs are attached to clothing, these lice are generally not a concern where clothes are routinely washed.
Severe outbreaks of body lice, and associated louse-borne diseases, have historically occurred during wars, in prisons, on crowded ships, and under similar crowded and unsanitary situations but are less common today.
Body lice eggs, or nits, are laid in clothing
Eggs, or nits, of all human lice (head lice, body lice and pubic lice) are about 1 mm long. Nits of body lice are laid in clothing, attached to cloth fibers, whereas head and pubic lice attach their eggs to hairs (see photo above).
Nits need body heat in order to hatch which generally takes seven to ten days. If infested clothes are not worn, body lice eggs won't hatch and may die. Lice molt through several immature stages before becoming adults.
How to get rid of body lice
Body lice can be completely eliminated with regular washing of clothes in hot water and detergent. There is no need for insecticides. During conditions of war or natural disaster, however, "de-lousing" with insecticides like malathion and DDT has been used to curb outbreaks of typhus and other diseases that are spread by body lice.
Symptoms of body lice and typhus
Body lice bite to get blood and the bite leaves a red, itchy lesion. Body lice infestations have also been associated with a form of typhus called epidemic, or louse-borne typhus, which is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia prowazeki. Disease-causing bacteria can be found in louse droppings which may then be scratched into the skin causing infection. Symptoms of epidemic typhus include severe headache, a high fever, cough, rash, muscle pain, chills, falling blood pressure, stupor, sensitivity to light, and delirium. In addition, chronic body lice infestations, alone, can lead to malaise and feeling "lousy".Supplies
Professional-level pest control supplies are generally not available in home and garden stores but can be found at DoMyOwn, our affiliate.
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