Wasp spray for PD.....who knows?

[IWLAFART]

GEEZ and I just ordered a holster for wasp spray with crimson trace laser sites

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Hopyard]

Methinks there is a lot of exaggeration concerning the toxicity of wasp spray for humans. Do you want it in your eye? No. Will you kill yourself if you get sprayed full on in the face? No.

First off there are dose to mass/ concentration issues. Insects, have tiny mass. Humans, big mass.

Second, there is the issue of how much gets absorbed through the skin. Probably not much except in extreme situations and long term exposures.

Third, there are medicines to counteract the anti-cholinergic properties (or is it the cholinergic properties-- I don't recall) and these are used in ERs all the time.
It is not uncommon for farmers and ranchers to overdose while treating a field with one pesticide or another.

The wasps drop because they are getting a big dose of poison relative to their mass. Humans, are pretty massive compared to wasps.

I worked in a toxicology research lab where the effects of pesticides on cattle and sheep were studied. And on the other side of the building folks studied the effects of pesticides on insect and pest control.

While that was a very long time ago and I don't remember all that I wish I could remember, and don't know the present formulation, my instinct here is to call bs on the dire claims that wasp spray is lethal or even effective beyond its effect as an eye irritant.

There are plenty of times I have sprayed wasp or hornet nests and the dang stuff has either bounced back onto me from the ceiling or wall or been carried back with the wind. Solution, wash it off.

I'm not saying it is impossible to get sick from this stuff, just that it would take a huge amount.

[itschuck]

Well it may not be wasp spray but brake clean is some wicked stuff on mole crickets..and that stuff you dont want in your eyes either.

[rickmn50]

I have to tell you that the gentlemen that taught our CCW class (a 19 year ex-county cop) suggested at the end of the class that with all the legal issues of shooting someone (even in your home) that a strong flashlight, air horn and wasp spray is an effective measure against someone in your house. Blind them, deafen them, spray them in the face with wasp spray and then beat the crap out of them with a baseball bat (Twins commemorative addition). No jury in the world would ever have issue with that.

I found it interesting anyway!

[Hopyard]

I have to tell you that the gentlemen that taught our CCW class (a 19 year ex-county cop) suggested at the end of the class that with all the legal issues of shooting someone (even in your home) that a strong flashlight, air horn and wasp spray is an effective measure against someone in your house. Blind them, deafen them, spray them in the face with wasp spray and then beat the crap out of them with a baseball bat (Twins commemorative addition). No jury in the world would ever have issue with that.

I found it interesting anyway!

It is interesting. I never thought of the air horn. Its a nice touch.

Disorient, blind, thwack. Disorient is why the strobe flashlights are so nice. They both blind and disorient.

[OldVet]

I don't think anyone ever insinuated that wasp spray would be lethal. The LEO who recommended it to me simply said it works better than Mace--as a disabiling device.

[Hopyard]

I don't think anyone ever insinuated that wasp spray would be lethal. The LEO who recommended it to me simply said it works better than Mace--as a disabiling device.

Not sure if you directed that to me, but if so, understood. I misunderstood the remark someone made about there being no antidote as a suggestion that the stuff was lethal.

Sand thrown in the face works too.

I have fire extinguishers at home that throw out a fine powdery dust. That too would work.

My next remark maybe deserves a separate thread. IF BG home invader is armed with a strobe, how does or should the homeowner defend against that? An aware BG might know to hold the light away from his body as most people would shoot to the light. So, if you can't see and are getting disoriented--well, how do you prevent that from happening with a home invasion situation?

[Guantes]

I would consider the use of a strobe light by a burglar or other BG to be a tactic in an overall strategy to attack me with lethal force.
Dump a load of buck on either side of it and I bet it goes away.

[OldVet]

Methinks an air horn would be deafening to everyone in the room. Might be surprising, but may also trigger the BG to unload in all directions.