Anyone who’s ever faced the battle against head lice knows how exhausting, frustrating, and time-consuming it can be. It’s no wonder that the mere mention of lice sends a wave of dread through parents, especially when their children are headed back to school after the holidays.

Lice outbreaks tend to spike right after vacation periods, when children have spent time around other kids during summer activities. It usually begins with one or two kids scratching their heads—then, before anyone realizes, it spreads through classrooms and into households, forcing families into a full-blown lice crisis.

Getting rid of lice is no small task. Lice treatments can be irritating to the scalp, time-consuming, and costly—not to mention, there’s never a guarantee that the pesky critters won’t return.

“Lice can’t jump or fly,” explains the Care Guidebook. “They spread by crawling from one hair strand to another.”

Contrary to popular belief, sharing combs or hats isn’t the primary way lice spread. Once lice fall out of hair, they quickly lose strength, making transmission through inanimate objects less likely than once feared.

The primary drivers of lice infestations are children themselves—especially during warmer months. And once school begins again, these environments give lice everything they need to thrive: close contact, shared spaces, and plenty of opportunity to move from one head to another.