Head Lice Life Cycle

To defeat your enemy, it is always a good idea to know about them. So, it is a wonderful idea to learn about the life-cycle of the head lice bug. This will give you an idea of how to most effectively battle against them by knowing how they live and their breeding practices. 

There are five stages to the life-cycle of head lice from birth to death. This process takes between 21 to 27 days to complete. They are as follows:

Stage One: They are inside the NIT (egg sack) and hatch 

Stage Two: They grow and shed their outer skin (molt). This is called the First Nymph Stage.

Stage Three: They continue to grow and mature. This is called the Second Nymph Stage.

Stage Four: Continual growing and molting goes on. This is called the Third Nymph Stage.

Stage Five: The process of growth is complete. The head lice bug is now an adult, or “head louse” and fully mature. It can now reproduce and lay Nits.

Adult, or Louse, head lice can live anywhere from 30 to 40 days after becoming an adult.

Within that time frame, a female head louse can lay anywhere from 50 to 150 Nits onto any given host.