According to a recent study published in New Scientist , spraying a pen full of pigs with lavender oil made the pigs less aggressive and appear calmer, suggesting that there is a biochemical reaction to something in the lavender oil. If you buy a lavender sachet to put into your pillow to help relax, you might feel calmer simply through association. The placebo effect (probably) doesn't work with pigs.
Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue Sadly the study didn't say how much lavender oil was needed per pig, nor exactly how less aggressive they became, which means that filling my pump-action water pistol with lavender-scented water and squirting it at the next feral boar that decides to chase me probably won't calm it down. It might even annoy the pig further.
Why do I have a pump-action water pistol? It's to deter snakes from around the house and goannas from the chook shed. I keep the water pistol in the fridge, and squirt any snake sleeping on the paving around the house, or egg-stealing goanna in the chook house. According to yet another study, cold water is painful for reptiles, though that doesn't stop red bellied black snakes swimming in our ice-cold creek on hot summer days.
Tonight there'll be a.