In the Provençal and Languedoc countryside, burning a bundle of dried lavender under the bedding of shepherd dogs and in kennels was as common as replacing the straw. It wasn’t decorative. It was a targeted intervention against fleas, ticks, and mites living in the bedding.
Linalool and linalyl acetate—the main components of lavender—are released in gaseous form during combustion. In semi-enclosed spaces, these molecules disrupt the nervous system of arthropods with octopamine-dependent receptors. Mammals do not have these receptors: dogs, cats, and cattle are physiologically unaffected at these concentrations. This selectivity is not accidental—it is a documented chemical property.
🌿 The traditional method:
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