If your child comes home from school with lice, you will want to kill the bugs quickly. However, over-the-counter shampoos and treatments can be pricey. If money is tight, you may be looking for something cheaper. Fortunately, there are a few food items you likely already have in your home that can help to kill these pests. Here are a few ways to kill lice with food items in your home.

Mayonnaise

One way to kill lice is by covering the head and hair in a thick layer of mayonnaise. This suffocates the lice and eventually kills them. Follow these directions to treat your child's head lice with mayo:

1. Massage mayonnaise into the hair and scalp, coating both in a thick, even layer.
2. Place a shower cap over the head to hold the mayo and bugs in place.
3. Either sleep in the mayonnaise and cap concoction or leave it in place for eight hours.
4. Wash the hair in the morning.
5. Repeat this process in seven to ten days, if needed.

Vinegar and Conditioner

Another way to kill lice is to use vinegar and conditioner. Vinegar works to prevent lice eggs from sticking to the hair, which helps them to fall out. The conditioner helps to smother and kill any live lice that may be lurking. Follow these steps to treat your child's lice with vinegar and conditioner:

1. Coat the entire head with a generous coating of vinegar. The easiest way to do this is to place the vinegar in a spray bottle, section off your child's hair, and spray down each section. After spraying each section, use a fine-tooth comb to comb through the hair and remove any lice eggs.
2. Next, section off the hair again and use a lice removing comb, or a fine-tooth comb if that is what is available, to remove and kill any live lice that you may see in the hair.
3. After combing through the hair, apply a generous layer of conditioner to the hair. Allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes. This helps to smother and kill any live lice that may still be present in the hair.
4. Wash and rinse your child's hair.
5. This process can be repeated daily until the lice are gone.

Unfortunately, super lice are becoming more prevalent and these types of lice may be harder to kill. If you cannot rid your child's lice with mayonnaise or vinegar and conditioner, you may want to pick up a lice removal kit at your local drug store. If that still doesn't work, your pediatrician can help recommend a treatment that will put an end to these lice in your child's hair.