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Old 25-07-2011, 15:03   #1
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Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

Everyone has an opinion but most are against the law. Bear spray, guns etc etc. One thing is not illegal in almost everywhere is Wasp and hornet spray. Here in Florida the wasps love to try to build their mud nests in my furled sailes. Wasp spray sprays farther and more accurately than bear spray and is considerably cheaper. Works wonders for a persons vision. Can easily be removed by going to the doctors office and getting their eyes washed out with solution. But it will not wear off in the middle of their trying to mug someone. And like I said, it is legal everywhere. Just my 2˘ worth.
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Old 25-07-2011, 15:17   #2
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Re: RE "The almost perfect solution"

Wasp and hornet spray sounds like a good idea as long as the attacker isn't on crack. Tasers sometimes don't have enough kick for the crack heads. As for wasps and mud nests...wasps don't make mud nests...their nests are honeycomb type construction with thin paper like caps over each cell. When we were kids we would knock them down and when the wasps quit buzzing around, we would pull the little caps off. If the timing was right, a brand new wasp would come out of each cell. The critters that make the mud nests...we call 'em dirt dobbers. They are not agressive like a wasp. In fact I have always been told they don't have a stinger. Have fun!
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Old 26-07-2011, 14:55   #3
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

Off topic, but, Wasps nest in a variety of locations including but not exclusive to holes in the ground, holes in walls of buildings, folded up material (such as main sails) and paper nests. Wasps are parasitic or predatory and only the females sting as the stinger is used for injecting venom and eggs.

Maybe certain species aren't aggressive but the ones we have around here are, especially in the fall or if their nests are disturbed.
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Old 26-07-2011, 15:02   #4
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

Wasn't there a posting on the last thread like this that said someone got a facefull and just washed it off????

My feeling is that a faceful is going to make the theif on your boat who just wanted your stuff to change to someone who now wants to hurt you!
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Old 26-07-2011, 15:27   #5
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

I hope Cruisers' Forum doesn't just become people brainstorming juvenile fantasies of "new" methods of how to kill and hurt poor people in foreign countries. Learning about wasps is more constructive; my boat had some nests on it when I bought it. They never made me feel like I had to maim anybody, though.
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Old 26-07-2011, 15:33   #6
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

As long as your attacker is a winged insect you have the perfect solution.
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Old 26-07-2011, 15:51   #7
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

"Wasp spray sprays farther and more accurately than bear spray and is considerably cheaper. Works wonders for a persons vision. Can easily be removed by going to the doctors office and getting their eyes washed out with solution. But it will not wear off in the middle of their trying to mug someone. And like I said, it is legal everywhere"

None of those things are true, at all. Not remotely, except maybe for the spraying far part.

This is a myth that is doing the rounds of the internet right now.

Bear spray contains an extract of pepper, designed to cause severe and rapid irritation to the eyes.

Wasp spray is an insecticide, often Pyrethrin or sometimes even an organophosphate. It's likely to cause little or no immediate irritation, but maybe long term damage including blindness and nerve damage.

So if you want to have no effect on the bear / person except to damage their health long term, it's just what you need. So after you have annoyed the bear, and the bear has eaten you, you can rest assured that it will feel unwell for a while.
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Old 26-07-2011, 17:56   #8
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

for what it's worth; I know first hand that wasp spray has zero effect on spiders. Especially big, hairy ones. It just makes them mad.
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Old 27-07-2011, 14:23   #9
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Re: RE "The almost perfect solution"

Quote:
Originally Posted by rhr1956 View Post
Wasp and hornet spray sounds like a good idea as long as the attacker isn't on crack. Tasers sometimes don't have enough kick for the crack heads.
Wasp spray for self defense is a bad idea. It is a myth! Stick with the Pepper Spray. Wasp spray is unproven and has never been tested on humans. Wasp Spray will NOT work on those who cannot feel pain i.e. drugs (crack as you mention) or alcohol. Pepper Spray is an inflammatory which will cause the eyes to slam shut no matter the situation. That’s why over 40,000 law enforcement agencies carry it nationwide and even the smallest canisters will fire 10 ft while the larger canisters will fire 25 to 30 ft.
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Old 27-07-2011, 14:32   #10
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

And, if you are going to use pepper spray inside your boat make sure you have your full face respirator on and that you and your crew are wearing body armor.
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Old 27-07-2011, 15:53   #11
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

Not to mention pepper spray is illegal in many places.
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Old 27-07-2011, 16:10   #12
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

when the "custodials" would come in from prison to triage with pepper spray in their eyes, took 4 hours to clear. hurt also, by appearances-- you donot wanna get that in your own eyes.......
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Old 01-08-2011, 17:03   #13
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

This exact thread was in a gun forum years ago. I KNOW this will sound like lawyer gibberish, etc, and I'm not arguing that you'd be "safer" using a gun. However, at least in the good ole Litigous USA, if you spray someone with wasp spray, it can be a problem. Why? Believe it or not, because of the WARNING on the side of the can and the DIRECTIONS! Yup, as absurd as it sounds, some "experts" chimed in and pointed out that, legally and technically, you can be in big doo - doo. Now, if someone were going to hurt me, I'll take my chances. People who believe in protecting themselves will often say, "Rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6". But, if you do use wasp spray, be aware that you better have a good reason, and even then... Legally, it's better to use pepper spray on a perpetrator, because THAT is what it's supposed to be used for. Hey, I'm NOT a lawyer - don't blame me! lol...
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Old 02-09-2011, 07:32   #14
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

Since there were a number of comments about the effectiveness being a 'myth', I looked for the ingredients in a common 'wasp spray' and I think that the main self defense component is in the 'other ingredients'.

Wasp Spray (Raid) –
00.20% Tetramethrin
00.20% Peremethrin
99.60% Other Ingredients

In a report by the New York environmental Protection Bureau, dated May 2000 (?) ordered by Elliot Spitzer, New York’s then Attorney General, it was determined “Pesticide products contain a variety of ingredients that either are known to be toxic or have not been adequately tested for toxicity and the public is denied of their presence.” These inert products can include:

Chlorethane - It is a colorless, flammable gas. Ethyl chloride is supplied as a liquid in a spray bottle propelled by its own vapor pressure. Like other chlorinated hydrocarbons, it is a central nervous system depressant, albeit a less potent one than many similar compounds. People breathing its vapors at less than 1% concentration in air usually experience no symptoms. At higher concentrations, victims usually exhibit symptoms similar to those of alcohol intoxication. Breathing its vapors at 15% or higher is often fatal. [This likely is the propellant]

Cresoils - It consists of a solution of mineral oil, preferably of an asphaltic base, and cresoil, or cresylic acid. For general use the solution should be in the proportion of 95% of mineral oil. [Not sure but perhaps some of the pesticide dissolves in the mineral oil and this then provides a kind of persistent effect]

Dibutylphthalate - The National Fire Protection Association has assigned a flammability rating of 1 (slight fire hazard) to dibutyl phthalate. Flash point: 157 degrees C (315 degrees F) (closed cup). Contact of the surface of the eye with DBP causes pain and tearing, but no permanent eye damage. The acute toxicity of dibutyl phthalate is low. A worker who reportedly swallowed 10 grams of DBP became nauseated, dizzy, and developed photophobia, tearing, conjunctivitis, keratitis with loss of corneal epithelium. He recovered promptly and completely.

Dimethylphthalate - The National Fire Protection Association has assigned a flammability rating of 1 (slight fire hazard) to dimethylphthalate. Flash point: 146 degrees C (295 degrees F). Has been used as an insect repellant since World War II; there are no reported cases of skin irritation or sensitization. If splashed into the eye, dimethylphthalate causes pain and may cause mild and transient damage. Ingestion causes irritation of the esophagus and stomach with hemorrhage, vomiting, diarrhea, possible central nervous system depression, coma, and hypotension. It is also reported to cause burning of the lips, tongue, and mouth. Inhalation produces coughing.

Epichlohydrin - (AKA Epichlorohydrin) Flammable - note wide explosion limits and low flash point. Flash point: 32 C (closed cup); Explosion limits: 3.8 - 21%. Poison. Harmful if inhaled - may cause delayed lung damage. May be fatal if swallowed. Causes burns. Contact with eyes may cause permanent damage.

Isophorone - is used mainly as a solvent and is also used in some herbicide and pesticide formulations. The only acute effects of isophorone reported in humans are irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat, headache, and dizziness.

Napthalene - (AKA mothballs) Not soluble in water so likely dissolved in a hydrocarbon liquid if present. Cataracts have also been reported in workers acutely exposed to naphthalene by inhalation and ingestion.

Phenol - The National Fire Protection Association has assigned a flammability rating of 2 (moderate fire hazard) to phenol. Flash point: 79 degrees C (175 degrees F) (closed cup).
Local effects include irritation of the eyes, skin and mucous membranes. Concentrated phenol solutions are severely irritating to the human eye and cause conjunctival swelling; the cornea becomes white and loses sensation.

Toulene - Flash Point: 4 deg C., Flammable liquid and vapor. Causes eye, skin, and respiratory tract irritation. Breathing vapors may cause drowsiness and dizziness. May be absorbed through intact skin. Aspiration hazard if swallowed. Can enter lungs and cause damage. Eye: Causes eye irritation. Vapors may cause eye irritation. Skin: Causes skin irritation. Ingestion: May cause effects similar to those for inhalation exposure. Inhalation: Causes respiratory tract irritation. Inhalation of high concentrations (>200 ppm) of toluene are clearly associated with lassitude (weakness, exhaustion), impaired coordination, and impaired reaction time.

Snopes had an entry on this issue and noted that an experienced self defense instructor recommended the use of this spray. They did NOT debunk it as not working or being ineffective.

My initial thought was that such a device is likely to be effective – not that the minor amount of active ingredients (0.4%) is likely to do any significant damage to a human, but that the hydrocarbon carrier was likely to be unpleasant when sprayed onto the face and upper torso of a miscreant. Judging by the effects that the various ingredients have on the eyes and respiratory tract, one could certainly expect a useful self defense reaction. I have also noted that should the chemical effects not be enough to discourage an attack, one could potentially use an incendiary source to set fire to the miscreant’s saturated clothing which is likely to cause them some distraction and disrupt any continuing attack.
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Old 02-09-2011, 08:03   #15
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Re: Wasp Spray - The Almost Perfect Solution

For sheer distance, bear spray is more effective than wasp spray. Propels 30 feet, which is deck clearing on a center cockpit 42 foot boat. But I don't know what's in it.
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