Lice finding biz

[MarblesMom]

This was just on my FB feed.  Not a career I would choose....

"I want to know anyone's thoughts if I was to start a lice picking business"

...I think I need to remove a lot of connections on FB....

If this needs to be moved somewhere, please do so.  I am going to take a shower in bleach in the meantime.

[MatthewDuggar]

I actually came across a job posting on a random career site for a "Mobile Lice Detection and Treatment" business opportunity.  A discreet service where you go to people's homes and help them gt rid of lice infestations.  At first, I thought it was a rather odd but brilliant idea if you aren't the type of person that gets creeped out about stuff like that and you truly enjoy helping people.   But I'd never post about it on FB....

[PraiseDog]

Monkeys could do that job, way better than any humans. Not joking.  
I know, it sounds like a joke when some of us claim that about our different low-paying jobs - but actually, many species of primates have the ability to detect, kill and eat parasites, way better than any human could claim to do it. Not only are small primates really quick at grooming, and grabbing parasitic insects, they are 100% green because those insects are a natural part of their food source.

Are Fundies really trying to compete with small primates?  If so, they will lose.     

[Karma]

There's a hairdresser near me which advertises itself as life removal specialists.  Actually, I'd be kind of tempted to use them if my kids were little again.  Number 2 clippers were effective for DS, but I spent hours combing thru DD's long blond hair when she had them a couple of times.  Actually, it would have been handy that time I got them from DS.  Ugh.

They also advertise that they do "pamper parties" for primary school aged girls.  I don't think I'd want to have a party in a lice removal hairdressers...

Excuse me while I just go run my Robi comb thru my hair.  

[aquitana]

We actually used a service like this when my daughter got lice in elementary school. The school had them on file and referred them to us. They used natural products and were much quicker and more effective than I could do myself. We have very thick, long hair. They were very patient and answered all my questions. The service was Caribbean and Orthodox Jewish women from Brooklyn.

I think it's not a bad job. I couldn't do it. But if it pays o.k. and this kind of stuff doesn't bother you, why not?

[unsafetydancer]

It's an unusual job but if there's a market for it then why not? No one likes to be itchy.

[SoybeanQueen]

It can pay quite well, particularly if you're the owner of the business. People don't want to deal with lice, and some are willing to pay a lot not to deal with them, right from the start. Others become willing if they have a super-lice infestation that is resistant to typical OTC pesticides. Studies show that none of the other home remedy crap works (it's the combing that works) with the exception of blow-drying them for a long time, so I would guess lots of parents turn to professional lice help after they try to smother the lice with mayonnaise or whatever is being touted as the natural remedy of the week.

Some of the air comb treatments are $150 or more, I believe. Prescription lice killer can be $300 if insurance won't cover it. I know these things because super lice has been infesting people here. I have an arsenal of resources at the ready because my daughters don't want to cut their long, lovely, thick hair. My boys, well, they'd just get a buzz cut and a comb-out.

[August]

Lice picking is not low paying. It costs about $100 an hour.

[SnazzyNazzy]

I would pay for this, if it came to my own hair. When my kids got the cooties last summer, I ran crying to my mommy, to check my hair, because MrSnazzy, was as useful as tits on a bull, when it came to checking my hair. I spent about two hours (on each kid) the first day, nit-picking the boys heads, then did a morning check and a night check, every day for two weeks.

I do a weekly cootie check on my boys, since baseball season is upon us, and those lice motels (aka batting helmets), are passed around like crazy.

If someone paid me $100 to nit-pick a head of hair, I would suit up in a minute and do it. It's a job, that kind of compliments my mild OCD tendencies (like going over the same area 20 times "just in case I missed something").

[Chocolatedefrauded]

These services can save a parent's sanity. Around 2010 we drove a couple of hours to go to a lice removal place  in the Boston area. My daughter has long, thick blond hair, which makes it tough to see & remove the nits. She could not go back to school until the nurse certified she was nit-free. I used the chemicals once but couldn't tell if the combing removed the nits & they came back 3 times! The chemicals are not good for kids. The technician taught me how to comb her hair properly & used natural stuff (conditioner & baking soda.)  We combed her out a lot at home afterwards & it was much easier knowing how to do it. The combing is what removes them, the other stuff just helps.

i know way too much about lice. It was a month dealing with it. I got scabs on my scalp from those suckers but had short hair so removal was easier.

 

 

 

[Fundie Bunny]

Kids not being allowed to go yo school with lice is ridiculous. It's a pain in the ass, but they are not deadly

[SnazzyNazzy]

Lice are gross but tolerable. My kids have the school policy of "have lice? STAY HOME!", and I'm quite ok with it.

My biggest parasite fear.....bed bug infestation. I would take a head full of lice, over finding one bedbug in my house.

[Ali]

18 hours ago, Fundie Bunny said:

Kids not being allowed to go yo school with lice is ridiculous. It's a pain in the ass, but they are not deadly

Young children, especially girls, can spread lice to each other really easily. If the schools are not aggressive, the kids can keep passing it to each other and it can make it almost impossible for parents to get rid of them.

My daughters school will not allow kids to return until the are nit free. If a child in a class has lice, all children in the class will be checked and anyone infected will be sent home. They bag all backpacks and coats to prevent any possible spreading after they know there is an outbreak. That night they will thoroughly clean the classroom to make sure that it is free of lice. Parents receive notification any time there is an outbreak in the school and are encouraged to check their kid's hair. It may seem excessive, but as a parent who recently dealt with lice and never wants to deal with them again, I one hundred percent support this policy.

[smittykins]

On June 2, 2016 at 7:49 AM, SnazzyNazzy said:

 

My biggest parasite fear.....bed bug infestation. I would take a head full of lice, over finding one bedbug in my house.

Ugh.  There was a bedbug infestation at my former apartment building two years ago.  I hope to never go through that again.

(I also ended up losing my job because I was blamed for bringing them into work.  Not that I'm bitter or anything...)

[Four is Enough]

Baltimore area lice removal service? About $150 per head. The parents in the rich schools use it all the time. 

[MatthewDuggar]

Here's the company link I mentioned upthread.  It pays $25 per hour plus travel expenses in my area.  Not a bad gig if you can handle nit-picking.

http://www.licedoctors.com/get-job-as-lice-technician.html

[Kailash]

I think Lice Freee (three E's) is a miracle product for headlice. After trying several other medicines and still having lice, I used Lice Freee on my daughter's hair (super long and super thick, to her rear end) ONCE, no combing out necessary, and it killed everything. Amazing.

[GreyhoundFan]

I live in an expensive area. The Washington Post did an article about a woman who does lice removal in her home. Cases take an hour to 90 minutes and cost $90 an hour. Geez, if I were more patient, I would consider doing it. Wait, scratch that, I'm not good with kids...

[Nonyabznoch]

On 6/2/2016 at 0:04 AM, Fundie Bunny said:

Kids not being allowed to go yo school with lice is ridiculous. It's a pain in the ass, but they are not deadly

Nooooooooo!!!!!!  Not OK with me at all.  I am a teacher and I am totally no okay with being exposed to parasites at work.  I'm not ok with children dealing with itchy heads, social issues, and the traumatic experience of being infested with bugs. If parents take action there is no reason for a child to miss more than a day or two of school. 

I think students and teachers have enough to be getting on with, without adding lice into the mix!! 

*teatree oil shampoo, buns, and hairspray all help. I called it my lice helmet.  And boy shucks was it a bad look for me, lol

[Howl]

My scalp is starting to itch and it feels like bugs are crawling on it! Creepy.  

I don't recall that I or any of my fellow classmates had lice.  Pink eye and ringworm, on the other hand....One poor kid with ringworm had his head shaved, and had to wear some type of weird little cap made out of a nylon stocking.  

[libriatrix]

On June 2, 2016 at 0:04 AM, Fundie Bunny said:

Kids not being allowed to go yo school with lice is ridiculous. It's a pain in the ass, but they are not deadly

Not deadly but absolutely a huge danger of spreading. I think it's completely comparable to requiring kids with contagious disease to stay home, and very reasonable. 

[Howl]

Lice have co-evolved with humans and primates, who they need to complete their life cycles.  They are very, very good at getting a ride on heads and not easy to get rid of.  So yes, anything that interrupts the transmission cycle is necessary, including keeping kids home from school. 

[August]

On 9 June 2016 at 0:15 PM, libriatrix said:

Not deadly but absolutely a huge danger of spreading. I think it's completely comparable to requiring kids with contagious disease to stay home, and very reasonable. 

But still ridiculous. A week or two off school for a non-painful, non-dangerous infection which is easily treated out of school hours is insane. How on earth can the parents get that much time off work?

What really irritates me is that our school refuses to tell people to comb or how to comb. All they will do is say there are lice in your child's class. So you get parents who are too lazy to google using some shampoo and thinking they're good. Then they just act as reservoirs for everyone else.

 

[Ali]

1 hour ago, August said:

But still ridiculous. A week or two off school for a non-painful, non-dangerous infection which is easily treated out of school hours is insane. How on earth can the parents get that much time off work?

What really irritates me is that our school refuses to tell people to comb or how to comb. All they will do is say there are lice in your child's class. So you get parents who are too lazy to google using some shampoo and thinking they're good. Then they just act as reservoirs for everyone else.

 

My daughter only missed two days of school when she had lice and we possibly would have been able keep it at one day of missed school. The principle included a link to information about lice in every email he sent out to the parents.

[FloraKitty35]

A fundy with a lice picking business, trying to compete with the other primates.   (How would Sarah Maxwell shill for it?)