Saturday, November 18, 2017

Let Me Know What You Love to Smell. Seriously.

My fingers smell like lavender, you guys.

That's not weird or anything, is it?
Let me back up a bit.

Precocious Daughter and I have a bit of a moth problem in our apartment. We frequently encounter tiny, greyish, tissue-thin moths fluttering about. They're not aggressive, they don't bite or sting; they're just annoying as hell to have around.

No one asked you to join us, you sumbitch.

They're called pantry moths, and they commonly join one's household via packaged grains, dried fruit, pet food, or powdered milk, all of which I have in my home. NO ONE INVITED YOU, YOU STUPID MOTHS.

I did a bit of research and discovered that, once potentially infested foodstuffs have been removed, one of the best natural ways to prevent and avoid future moth propagation is to employ lavender.

It so happens that I love the smell of lavender. Mostly because it reminds me of the scent of sandalwood, and being a hippie soul in a GenX body, I totally dig that shit.

Yes, I was born in the wrong decade,
thanks for asking.

Anyway, I ordered some lavender essential oil from Amazon, and it arrived today.

My plan is to create sachets by infusing cotton balls with the oil and tying them up in mesh drawstring bags, then deploying them in various spots around the apartment.

But having not yet purchased the mesh bags, I did a trial run by dousing a cotton ball in lavender oil and setting it out on a dish.

I'm pretty sure I now understand the effect of catnip on kittehs.

What now who?

I don't know what it's going to do to the moths, but the lavender essential oil on the cotton ball (and my fingers) has got me mellowed out in a way I haven't felt in...months? Era? Who even knows, man?

What a wonderful, therapeutic scent. I'm pretty sure that even if our moth problem intensifies, I simply won't give a shit. Because lavender.

It's entirely possible that the scents that most soothe/entice/arouse me - lavender, vanilla, Calvin Klein Escape for Men (raaaaaawwwwwrrrrr) - don't have the same effect on you.

Just as it's likely that the olfactory stimulants you prefer lack a strong influence on me.

The sense of smell and its connection to our physical and emotional cores is a fascinating subject.

I urge you to explore that connection.

My point is, for me, lavender is a moth repellent with an eminently more complex emotional backstory.

And for you...?

I'd love to learn which scents float your boat, as it were. Maybe I'll learn something new.

Links to sources are most appreciated.


  1. Fresh lime. Basically any fresh citrus. Fresh ginger. Peppermint essential oil.

  2. I thought your favourite smell would be monkey.

  3. Nothing does it for me quite like the smell of vanilla. It's become synonymous with bland and boring but when you think about it vanilla is quite a complex and unusual scent and flavor.
    Supposedly vanilla and citrus are two scents that stimulate the brain. Lavender probably is too. Heck, I think any new scent introduced into your environment is going to stimulate the brain, even if it's just making you ask, "What's that smell?"

