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Home / Resources / Camp & Sleepover Lice Checklist
For parents, camps and sleepover hosts

Lice at camp and sleepovers: a checklist for Seattle families and camps

Summer is one of our busiest lice seasons, busier than back-to-school. Camps, sleepovers and long car trips put kids head to head for days, and nobody is checking. These checklists stop most cases before they start and catch the rest early. Camps and parent groups are welcome to share them.

How lice actually spread
It's heads touching, not hats.

Head lice crawl. They can't jump or fly, and they don't live long off a head. Nearly every case comes from direct head-to-head contact: sharing a pillow, leaning in for a selfie, a cabin full of kids in sleeping bags side by side. Shared brushes and hats are a much smaller risk. That's why camps and sleepovers matter so much, and why the fixes below are about heads, not deep-cleaning.

For parents
Before and after camp.
Before your child leaves
  • Do a wet check (conditioner and a metal lice comb) three to five days before camp, not the morning of, so there's time to treat if you find something.
  • Pack their own pillow, pillowcase, brush and hair ties, and ask them not to share.
  • Long hair goes in a braid or bun. Loose hair is the easiest way for a louse to cross over.
  • Talk to them about selfies and huddles: heads apart.
When they get home
  • Wet-check within two days of getting home.
  • Check again a week later. Lice eggs take about a week to hatch, so a clean first check doesn't rule everything out.
  • Wash the pillowcase and anything worn on the head on hot, and run the sleeping bag through a hot dryer for 20 minutes. There's no need to bag up the whole duffel or spray anything.
  • If the camp emails about a lice case, check the same day, even if your child isn't itchy. Many people with lice never itch.
For camp directors and nurses
A lice plan for camp.
  • Ask families to check at home in the week before camp. Put it in the packing list email.
  • Screen on arrival day for overnight camps, privately and by trained staff, before kids go to cabins. A five-minute check at the start beats a cabin-wide outbreak on day four.
  • Set up bunks head to toe and keep pillows a few feet apart where the space allows.
  • Decide your response before you need it: who checks, who calls the parent, whether the camper stays or goes home, and what other families are told. Keep it private. A child with lice shouldn't be singled out in front of the group.
  • If you find lice, check the camper's cabin mates and close friends the same day, and let their parents know to check at home too.
  • Skip the pesticide sprays. Health agencies don't recommend fumigating or spraying cabins. Washing bedding on hot is enough.
For sleepover hosts
Sleepovers without the souvenir.
  • Lay sleeping bags out with space between heads, or head to toe.
  • Everyone brings their own pillow.
  • If a guest turns out to have lice afterwards, tell every family that was there. It's awkward, but it's the only way the next sleepover doesn't restart it.
  • Getting a lice text from another parent is a reason to check, not to panic. Most exposures don't turn into a case.
Found lice?
We come to you, anywhere in the Seattle area.

Our technicians treat the whole family at home in one visit, with no pesticides, across Seattle, the Eastside and South King County. Or come to our Renton clinic. Every treatment carries a 60-day guarantee. Call 253-663-2579, 7am–8pm, 7 days a week.

Camps, schools and parent groups may link to or share this checklist freely.