They are little blood suckers the size of a sesame seed that can bring a world of pain to children, their parents and entire schools.
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It's head lice season and the memos are being sent out en masse to the parents of school children across Maitland.
However, advice from NSW Health and NSW Education indicates that there is no need for students to be sent home or excluded from school because of head lice.
NSW Health said observing students scratching their heads is not a reliable or efficient means of assessing head lice prevalence in the school.
Where one student has head lice this serves as a warning light that there is likely to be an infestation in either specific classes or across the whole school population, including staff.
A spokesperson for NSW Education said the school will send a letter home to parents when infestations of head lice occur and request that parents examine their child's hair and undertake treatment where eggs or lice are identified.
Cessnock woman Roz Williams reckons she can stop the itch from nits with a natural product she has created.
Ms Williams, of The Body Ark Hair and Beauty Salon, has founded Nit Busters with her chemical-free product that kills head lice and their eggs before they hatch.
Health laws do not allow hair to be cut or treated in regular hair salons when a client has head lice so, after having to turn away more than 200 clients over three months, Ms Williams decided to concoct her special potion, which contains a secret ingredient she will not reveal.
"After turning away hundreds of clients we were losing a lot of money," Ms Williams said.
She sought council approval to start Nit Busters from her salon and it has been operating successfully for six years.
She said nits had reached epidemic proportions in the Hunter and, after some recent advertising, people ranging from grandmothers to infants had sought her help.
She claims her product asphyxiates the head lice and stops oxygen getting into the eggs so they don't hatch.
Head lice, nits or cooties, is a human medical condition caused when the parasitic insect Pediculosis capitis colonises the hair and skin.
Head lice feed on human blood and itching from lice bites is a common symptom.
Head lice infestation is common, especially in children.
The itching intensifies three to four weeks after the initial infestation.
About 23 per cent of primary students have head lice at any one time.
Anyone can catch head lice regardless of their age, sex, or how clean their hair is.
Head lice move from one person's head to another via hair.
Head lice do not live on furniture, hats, bedding or carpet.
Head lice have built up some resistance to head lice treatments.
