Each of the six
legs of a head louse ends in a claw. These are used to grasp
the hair with such strength that head lice are difficult to
dislodge.
Each of the six
legs of a head louse ends in a claw. These are used to grasp
the hair with such strength that head lice are difficult to
dislodge.
When moving through hair, they are trapeze artists, able to run
quickly both forwards and backwards and transfer quickly from
one hair to another. This makes them quite difficult to find
since they run away from disturbances and will rapidly move
away from searching fingers. Lice are very clumsy off the
body since their claws are not made for walking.
People become
infected by lice swinging from the hair on one head across to
an adjacent hair from another head. For a brief instant the
head louse would have hairs from two heads within its grasp.
Contact close enough so that hairs touch is required for
transmission.