Homemade Lice Spray (DIY Prevention & Treatment for Hair, Bedding & Furniture)

Lice outbreaks can happen fast—and once they do, they’re a huge hassle to deal with. From washing endless loads of laundry to cleaning furniture and combing through hair, it’s something everyone would rather avoid altogether.

This DIY lice spray is a simple, natural way to help protect your family and make lice easier to deal with if they show up. You can use this homemade lice spray on hair for daily prevention, and also on bedding, furniture, and other surfaces where lice can linger.

Unlike conventional treatments that rely on harsh chemicals, this spray uses essential oils that have been studied for their ability to repel—and even kill—lice.

Whether you’re trying to prevent lice from showing up in the first place or get rid of them, this easy spray can be a helpful part of your natural lice care routine.

Dealing with lice is not fun as you need to:

• wash EVERYTHING in your home
• comb painstakingly through your affected hair with a fine–toothed comb (you‘ll likely lose a lot of hair in the process)
• wash and/or freeze all bed linens, stuffed animals, helmets, etc., and
• vacuum and possibly deep clean carpets and furniture

No thanks!

Some people even recommend using Bleach and Lysol! Not the best things to apply directly to the skin.

Prevention is definitely the best plan of action when it comes to lice.

You could go around and just be nervous about lice all the time, but when you have something as natural as essential oils that can do the job for you, and they smell good too, why not use them?

We homeschool, so the lice threat is not as big of a problem for us, but we are not immune.

You can use this spray as part of your natural lice treatment plan, but again, using it regularly to prevent lice in the first place is the best option.

How to Use DIY Lice Spray (Hair, Furniture, and Bedding)

This DIY lice spray can be used both on hair and around your home to help prevent lice and reduce the chance of spreading.

For Hair

Lightly spray onto hair, focusing on the scalp and behind the ears. Use daily during high-risk times, such as school outbreaks or camps.

For Furniture and Bedding

You can also use this homemade lice spray on couches, mattresses, pillows, stuffed animals, and even car seats. Lightly mist surfaces and allow them to dry completely before use.

For Prevention vs Treatment

Use daily as a lice prevention spray, or more frequently as part of a lice treatment routine alongside combing and cleaning.

Best Essential Oils for Lice (What Actually Works)

• Tea Tree Oil
• Lavender Oil
• Anise Oil
• Ylang Ylang Oil

Some say that these essential oils work to prevent lice because they mask the human scent that lice are attracted to.

Essential oils are also rich in what are called monoterpenes, chemical compounds with various beneficial characteristics, including, in the case of tea tree oil, insecticidal properties. In fact, the two main constituents of tea tree oil, 1,8-cineole and terpinen-4-ol, have demonstrated anticholinesterase activity.

Cholinesterase (ko-li-nes-ter-ace) is one of the many enzymes needed for the proper functioning of the nervous systems of insects (as well as humans and other vertebrates), so when you use these small amounts of oils on small insects, they take action on their nervous system and kill them.

And, there is real evidence that these oils do kill lice.

Does DIY Lice Spray Really Work?

#1: Tea Tree Oil: At 1% concentration, tea tree oil killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes. 

#2: Lavender and Tea Tree Oils: 97.6% of lice were dead using these essential oils, compared to only 25% from using chemical treatments.

#3: Anise and Ylang Ylang Oils: demonstrated 92% success rate against head lice.

Other essential oils that are somewhat effective against lice are:

• Rosemary
• Peppermint
• Clove

However, there are limitations in the studies done on those oils, so they might not be very effective.

The tea tree and lavender plus tea tree options are the most effective, plus they use oils that you are more likely to have around the house. Given that the lavender blend smells better, that is likely the one most people would prefer using.

Tea Tree Oil Safety

For children under 10 years, use only a 1% dilution rate to a 2% dilution rate of tea tree oil, and for children 2+, this oil should only be used “as needed”.

For adults, do not use above a 5% dilution rate.

 

Don't feel like DIYing Your Own Lice Prevention Spray?

If you just don't have time to make this spray, this lice prevention spray from Poofy Organics is a natural option that has great reviews, and the company has a great lice shampoo too. Code WNM gets 10% off your first order.

Here's one great testimonial:

I trust the stuff! My daughter's BFF got head lice this past fall. She had stayed the night like a week prior to me finding out. I freaked out, maybe a little too much! So I sprayed her down before school, and made her wash her hair everyday with the lice prevention shampoo. Plus I had her rinse with ACV. Needless to say no lice. We continued to use this through the fall. I really like the smell too!

Either way, I hope this helps you keep the buggers away.

Have you had lice?
What did you do to get rid of them?

Photo Credit: Naomi Huzovicova