DISINFESTATION 45 



the lice themselves are so deeply embedded in 

 seams of the clothing that they cannot be reached 

 by means of the fingers. 



Brushing. Brushing the clothing with a very 

 stiff brush has been recommended, especially in 

 localities where the nights are very cold. In such 

 places if the clothing is discarded during the night 

 the lice are torpid in the morning and many can 

 be removed by means of the brush, but the eggs 

 are not affected. The operation has therefore to 

 be carried out daily and over a long period of time, 

 and precautions have to be taken that the lice 

 do not fall where they may again have the oppor- 

 tunity of creeping on to people. These mechanical 

 means of disinfestation for body-lice are tedious, 

 unsatisfactory, and not to be recommended if 

 other methods are available. 



Ironing. An advance on hand-picking is the 

 method of killing the vermin by means of heat 

 applied locally to the clothing by means of hot 

 irons. This has been used to some extent in the 

 armies in the field. The irons should be heavy 

 ones and should be as hot as possible without 

 scorching the clothing. They should be passed 

 slowly over the whole surface of the garments, 

 inside and outside, and should linger along the 

 seams to allow the heat to penetrate. The Ger- 

 mans have modified this method by providing iron 

 sheets, heated from inside, against which clothing 

 may be pressed. It should be obvious that 

 it is difficult to free of vermin a set of garments 



