Tar soap for lice and nits: does the method help and is it possible to remove cockroaches

In folk medicine, tar soap for lice began to be used in the 20th century, although it has been used for other skin diseases for much longer. Due to the absence of side effects and low price, the popularity of this remedy is extremely high. But is it a panacea, in any case, can it become the main one in the treatment of head lice - you will find the answers to these questions below. But first, let’s find out where ectoparasites come from in a person who does not lead an asocial lifestyle.

Causes of lice

Pediculosis is a contact infectious disease, but most often it occurs in children. You should understand that there is nothing shameful in this, since anyone can become infected.
Every year in Russia, more than a hundred thousand children and adults suffer from these parasites, which were transmitted to them through contact with other people, which is as natural as infection with ARVI or herpes, so do not panic.
This has nothing to do with social status or even hygiene. One louse lays about ten eggs per day, attaching them slightly above the hair root. The problem is that nits with embryos are very difficult to notice. Such deposits turn white only after the larva hatches. A person can be a carrier for some time without even knowing it.
Checking for head lice in children is carried out in kindergartens and even in elite schools. Sometimes wealthy parents are outraged that their child is being tested for a “proletarian disease” and thereby increasing the risk. The louse does not distinguish between class affiliation and settles on the head of both the homeless and the oligarch.
The cause of infection can sometimes be a visit to a public bath. Entering the steam room, a person sits on the shelf where the wearer previously sat. Therefore, it is recommended to lay a towel.

Important : pediculus humanus corporis (linen louse) is more common in places of detention where bedding is not washed properly. But phtyrus pubis (pubic) is most often the result of promiscuous sexual intercourse. But the most common can be called pediculus humanus capitis (head), and they can be everywhere: at home and at work, in preschool and educational institutions.

Tansy

In all respects, a “worthy competitor” for wormwood. In any form, it successfully “drives out” not only bed bugs, but also any other insects with a sensitive sense of smell from a house or apartment. It can also be used to prevent the appearance of unwanted “neighbors”.

The main advantage of tansy in the fight against bed bugs is the persistence of the odor. At the same time, it is practically imperceptible to humans. In addition, tansy secretes specific substances that affect the nervous system of insects when inhaled, causing convulsions and paralysis.

Symptoms of the disease

The infection is characterized by very severe itching of the skin at the bite sites. It is accompanied by the appearance of red papules or small spots with a bluish tint. White larvae are seen on the hair of the head or pubic area - these are eggs, also called nits.

Symptoms cause a person to become irritable and insomnia. In addition, if the disease is neglected, there may be complications. Lice are carriers of Volyn fever, typhus and relapsing fever. Another infection not related to insects can get into the scratching areas.

If you suspect an infection, you should contact a dermatologist who will conduct an examination. This includes asking the patient about his family and team (whether there are any people with lice there). A visual inspection is also carried out under a Wood's lamp, which makes it possible to detect live nits. The doctor will write a prescription and give a number of tips on the use of medications.

Where do bedbugs live in an apartment - habitats

Before you remove bedbugs from your apartment forever, you need to find the nest of parasites. Most often they hide in the following places:

sofa, bed, chair - in mattresses, under furniture upholstery, in seams and joints, wooden bases;
household appliances - inside a TV, computer, microwave oven;
walls - under wallpaper, behind carpets, paintings;
under baseboards;
in books;
for pieces of furniture;
under carpets and rugs;
in clothes that hang in the closet for a long time;
in electrical outlets;
in ventilation shafts.

Bedbugs are nocturnal. During the day they hide in secluded corners, at night they become active and go in search of food - the blood of a person or a warm-blooded animal.

You can determine the presence of bed bugs in your home by the appearance of small red dots on the skin - bite marks. Also in the habitats of insects, their excrement, particles of chitinous shell, and eggs are found.

When there are a large number of bloodsuckers in the room, a characteristic odor appears, reminiscent of almond, cognac, or the aroma of sour berries.

If you find the above signs, you need to immediately begin the fight against bedbugs. Insects reproduce very quickly, so in a short time they can completely infest the entire apartment.

Does tar soap for hair help against lice?

The use of tar soap is perhaps the most famous and popular treatment method in folk medicine. Tar, as a component, does not have a pronounced ability to destroy parasites. But alkalis that are added during the production process have such qualities. Keep in mind that you will not be able to get rid of lice quickly, as is possible with the use of medications purchased at the pharmacy.

In order to remove parasites, in addition to tar soap, they also use laundry soap, which also contains alkalis, and in this case they are the main antiseptic.

Important : almost all doctors agree that the use of tar soap for head lice is quite effective, but only if it is combined with other products purchased at the pharmacy.

Advantages

Tar soap against lice has a number of positive qualities that are sometimes absent in other drugs:

this soap is used as an effective means for cleansing the skin and in this case promotes the rapid healing of scratches;
it is used not only for application to hair, but also for masks on any part of the body to improve skin health: rashes, acne, pimples, dermatitis and even psoriasis;
foams well, especially when applied to the hair;
can be used to prevent fungal diseases;
strengthens the roots, adds shine to the strands, eliminates dandruff - this is achieved by regularly washing your hair 2-3 times a week, and in some cases daily;
most women know that tar soap helps not only against lice, but also in the treatment of thrush and increased sweating;
regular use serves as a prevention of certain gynecological diseases;
you can remove lichen and parasites from pets - you will not just have to bathe the dog or cat, but give it a half-hour mask on the affected area;
Regular use of tar soap will allow you to give up other cosmetics and prevent lice infestation.

Flaws

As with other drugs, when using tar soap for lice and nits, a number of negative features can be identified:

a specific persistent odor arising from the contained components;
it dries the skin and in some cases you have to compensate for this with creams;
After washing your hair, you will need conditioner for your hair;
it is not used as soap for lice and nits - dead larvae will have to be selected manually (with fingernails).

Preparing the room for baiting bedbugs with baking soda

It is recommended to follow the standard steps for using any type of product (and soda-based solution):

In order to thoroughly treat the apartment, it is necessary to ensure that no food, hygiene items, or personal belongings are left on the premises. Everything that should not come into contact with chemicals is taken outside the room and covered with film.
Closets are emptied of things.
Furniture is moved away from the walls, allowing access to back walls and baseboards.
The mattress needs to be removed from the bed. The sofa and chairs are dismantled whenever possible.
Children's toys should be washed at high temperatures, dried and covered with polyethylene. The same must be done with bedding and clothing.
All large textile items that were stored at home when infected with parasites must be treated with a steam generator, taken out into the cold or taken to dry cleaning.
If there is an aquarium at home, it is moved outside the room or closed.
The carpet is also removed from the room. It is subjected to heat treatment.
The curtains need to be removed. They are washed at high temperature.

If possible, carry out minor cosmetic repairs: restore the integrity of the wallpaper, fill cracks in the floor and walls with cement mortar, check how tightly the baseboard adheres to the surfaces.

Furniture is moved away from the walls

Methods of application

Tar soap for lice can be used as a standalone preparation for treating insects, or in combination with medications. Laundry soap is also used to get rid of parasites, and tar shampoos have appeared on the modern cosmetics market.

Important : we should not forget that this option allows you to remove lice, but the nits will remain in the hair and will have to be selected manually. Even a fine comb will not remove all the larvae, which usually cling closer to the root.

Tar soap for lice

The first option with soap alone is more suitable for those people who prefer natural remedies, but the procedure will have to be repeated daily for a week.

Sequencing:

Wash your hair with your usual product to remove sebum from your hair. If necessary, do this twice and rinse thoroughly.
Do not dry your hair, and if it is long, wring it out. Lather with tar soap (shampoo), lather it well and distribute evenly over the entire surface.
Put on a rubber swimming cap or a plastic bag and tie it with a terry towel - this will allow you to retain natural heat from your body.
After an hour, free your head and rinse your hair with warm water. Dry but do not blow dry. Then comb them with a special fine-tooth comb, which can be purchased at any pharmacy.

Analogue in the form of shampoo

It is possible to add oils to tar shampoo - unrefined sunflower or essential oils, and they will improve the effect. The first will moisturize the skin and make it easier to comb your hair after washing, and the second will add a pleasant aroma and you won’t have to use conditioners.

The sequence and method of using shampoo is identical to the actions with tar soap; there is no point in repeating it. But for those who need quick relief, this remedy is combined with medications of any name.

Sequence of actions:

Apply anti-pediculosis medication to the head or pubis.
The instructions for use indicate the time required for the procedure. After it expires, rinse off the composition with warm water.
Rub your hair with tar shampoo or soap, put a rubber cap or plastic bag over it, and tie it with a terry towel to keep warm.
After 30 minutes, rinse off the foam and rinse your hair. Wipe them, but keep them damp.
Comb out nits with a special fine-toothed comb - you can buy it at the pharmacy.

Important : if you start using medications, the time the foam stays on your head will be reduced from an hour to 30 minutes! Don't forget this.

Laundry soap

Using 72% soap against lice also leads to good results. It neutralizes parasites with alkalis contained in the composition. The procedure is carried out every day for a week. In this case, alkalis dry the skin in the same way as after tar soap, so you should not overexpose the foam on your hair to increase the effect.

Instructions for use:

Wash your hair with the laundry soap you will use for treatment to remove sebum from your hair. If necessary, do this again and rinse thoroughly with warm water.
Now lather your hair with anti-lice laundry soap, rubbing it into the hair roots and creating as much foam as possible. Pull on a rubber cap or plastic bag, tying a terry towel around the top to keep warm.
After an hour, rinse the foam thoroughly with warm water, but do not dry your hair with a hairdryer, just pat it dry with a towel.
Comb out parasites with a special thick comb over a spread sheet or newspaper.

Important : using a hair dryer is not recommended for two reasons. Firstly, it is more difficult to comb insects out of dry hair than from wet hair. Secondly, laundry, tar soap and shampoo dry the skin with alkalis; this effect should not be enhanced by hot air.

Folk remedies

But rumors about the effectiveness of many folk remedies are clearly exaggerated. These remedies are not so effective as to cope with the entire colony of bedbugs in the apartment. For example, extreme temperatures. For bedbugs to die from frost, the air temperature must be below -20°C, and you need to leave an object infested with bedbugs in this frost for 10 days, then, perhaps, all insects, in all stages of development, will die.

Boiling water or hot steam is even less effective if you use it on furniture: you can't pour boiling water over your entire sofa, can you? And hot steam will only reach those insects that are in the upper parts that you will process. And after that the furniture will have to be dried - will it withstand all this? Sometimes it seems that it’s easier to throw it away... And what to do if there are bugs behind the wallpaper, in the cracks behind the baseboards?

Clothes, blankets, pillows, etc. can be washed in a washing machine at high temperatures (50°C or higher), which will kill both the eggs and larvae. But not all clothes and utensils can be treated in this way. Sometimes you also have to throw it away.

Contraindications and side effects

In fact, contraindications exist for any drugs, and tar soap and shampoo are no exception. You will have to stop using these medications if you have:

hair is too dry;
have any kidney disease;
allergic reaction (intolerance) to the smell of tar;
age limit up to 3 years;
dyed hair - the dye is washed out unevenly by alkalis, leaving stains;
Use during pregnancy is permissible only after consultation with a doctor.

Smell repellent

Bedbugs have an amazingly sensitive sense of smell. It is this that allows them to unmistakably find a person in the room in the middle of the night - the source of their nutrition.

Therefore, any strong odors are effective against these insects.

Among the aromatic herbs, wormwood, chamomile and tansy work well.

True, wormwood and tansy are quite poisonous when eaten, so it is better not to use them if there are pets or small children in the house, which are so difficult to keep track of.

Alexander I. Disinfestation expert

Substances with strong chemical odors - various solvents, turpentine, kerosene - are also used to repel bedbugs. However, it is better to poison insects in this way if it is possible to then leave the room for a while, since these substances are toxic and will make a person sick from them.

An alternative to these dangerous mixtures can be ordinary table vinegar, which, although it does not smell very pleasant, is still not harmful to health.

Prevention of head lice

It is very important to understand that eliminating the consequences of something is much more difficult than preventing them. Therefore, lice prevention is appropriate for all people, regardless of lifestyle.

This includes:

regular washing of the head and body (shower, bath) with hot water and detergents (soap, gel, shampoo) at least once a week;
weekly change of bed linen and underwear, and if necessary, more often as they become dirty.

If there is a risk of infection:

things should be boiled and ironed with a hot iron;
cut and comb hair regularly;
examine each other once every few days;
do not use other people’s underwear and clothes, hats, caps and personal hygiene items (razors, combs, brushes, etc.);
regularly carry out wet cleaning of the premises.

Temperature changes as a method of combating bedbugs

Insects cannot tolerate extreme cold and heat. Such conditions can not only repel pests, but even destroy them. The answer to the question whether bedbugs are afraid of frost and heat is positive, but you can get the desired result if you understand to what extent the air temperature should be raised/lowered:

+45°C – death occurs in 45-60 minutes;
-17°C – it takes several days for the pests to die.

In stronger heat, insects will die in a few minutes (+50°C). If it’s frosty outside (-25°C), the result will be the same - the pests will die, but this option is difficult to implement in an apartment.

Application against cockroaches and bedbugs

The use of this remedy against cockroaches, bedbugs and other ectoparasites is due to the composition of its components. As a rule, such insects are active at night, and during the day they hide in the cracks between floorboards, under baseboards or in furniture secluded grooves. It is almost impossible to track their daytime places, so you will have to treat the entire house or apartment with tar soap against cockroaches.

Your actions:

For 2 liters of warm water, grate a heaping tablespoon of tar soap on a coarse grater and dilute it until completely dissolved. To speed up the process, you can use hot or even boiled water - this will not affect the composition.
Wash floors and furniture with foamy liquid, trying to get as much of it into the grooves and crevices as possible.
Do not wash off the composition for 1-2 hours until everything is dry. After important wiping, the foam will remain in the cracks, and this smell will partially destroy the insects and simply drive the rest away.
This method contains one “but”. If tar soap for bedbugs definitely works, then some mutated species of cockroaches are no longer afraid of alkalis and the smell of tar. They will remain exhausted for some time, but then they will come to life. In such cases, other special means will be needed.

Tip : to get rid of bedbugs and cockroaches, in addition to tar soap, you can also use dust soap.

Properties of laundry soap

Soap for household use is made from technical animal fats. The production method involves boiling the raw material with alkali for a long time.

Briquette of laundry soap

The product has specific properties:

Industrial fats have a sharp, unpleasant odor, which is largely retained in the resulting soap (Cheap varieties smell sharper than expensive ones);
The resulting soap has slightly alkaline properties.

A foul-smelling solution with an alkaline reaction can have a repellent, destructive effect on insects. Laundry soap against bedbugs can be effective. Remaining alkali will damage the integument, and the smell will drive away insects.

Previously, we published an article - Tar soap for fleas in pets - a cheap and effective method

Pyrethrum

A popular industrial “raw material” for the production of bio-insecticides, obtained from the flowers of common chamomile. You most likely won’t be able to purchase it in stores; you’ll have to order it online.

This powder is completely harmless to humans and pets. But in adults and larvae of bed bugs, when they enter the body within a few hours, paralysis occurs; the insects cannot breathe or move, and as a result, they die.

The processing procedure is extremely simple. Pyrethrum powder is scattered near the discovered nests of bed bugs, places potentially suitable for their habitat, along the “routes of movement” of the insects. The product is suitable both for combating them and for prevention.