Brigid has a post up about self defense in the home (go read, its got some great thought points). And points out that the common advice to carry wasp spray instead of pepper spray might not be such a good idea.
Reminded me of an online conversation I had recently with the wife of a gentleman who taught at my high-school. She got quite mad at me for pointing out the possible legal ramifications of such use. But when I insisted that its also not nearly as debilitating as everyone insists she did the online equivalent of storm off in a huff.
No, I’ve never gotten a full face spray directly from the can of wasp spray. But we use it quite a bit here at our property. And I have, on more than one occasion, been spraying down a nest only to have the wind gust back at me and result in me catching a full face of spray. And sure, I drop everything and run inside to wash it off…..but I don’t do it because its painful or the like. I do it because its potentially long term dangerous. Infact, its not painful at all. No worse than catching a faceful of water spray infact. Turning a can of wasp spray on an attacker might slow him down, just from the surprise of catching a faceful of liquid. But you might as well just carry a water gun and avoid the possible legal problems that go with wasp spray use.
I also have to note that the supposed length of spray is utter BS on those cans. Sure, somewhere out at 20-30feet there’s a fine mist of wasp spray…..but if you actually want a concentrated stream to hit something you’ve got to be a HECK of alot closer to your target. Like, in the 10-15ft range…..