forget the "natural" stuff; some people have tried mayonaise (with the assumption the oil saturating the lice will suffocate them, but I tried this and it didn't work)...you can google head lice and a picture will appear. These buggers prefer to find a host, usually human hair, but will settle (& multiply) on clothing, bedding, carpets, pets, etc. It is impossible to treat one time...you can kill the live ones but they lay eggs that "hatch" in about 3 to 7 days (I think) so a 2nd application is imperative to get the hatching eggs. Because they can jump/transfer to other objects, wash the bedspreads, sheets, jackets, hats, combs, brushes (do NOT share any of these, to prevent spreading). For larger articles, throw them in a hot dryer on high for 10 to 20 mins. There are head lice kits available at Wal-Mart that includes the shampoo, fine tooth comb, an aeorsol can of stuff you can spray on furniture, etc. While this may sound maddening, what's maddening is after you thought you got them and they're back, again and again. Everyone in the house should be treated initially because if your son has lice, they have no bounds. They do not discriminate between sex, race, economic status, dirty home vs clean home, they don't care! Usually they start out behind the ears and nap of the neck (right above the hair line) before they become an infestation. A great idea is to take your son to the school nurse or principal (or write a note to them) and ask them to discretely check your son. They can tell in a heart beat. The only drawback is if he does indeed have lice, they will not let him back in the classroom and will send him home. The rest of the school gets a note saying a case has been diagnosed and for parents to check their children. Most kids can put two and two together and because your son didn't come back, they figure it's him then taunt him as having head lice (kids can be cruel sometimes). Funny thing...where did he get it? Probably school to begin with! Hope this helps...have had to tackle this problem numerous times and now if I see little white anything behind my son's ears, I start analysing before it becomes a problem.