How to Make Your Own Pepper Spray At Home

Being able to make your own pepper spray assures you of a continuous supply of pepper spray, free of charge. It also assures you of some level of protection against assailants or intruders.

No one knows what is going to happen tomorrow. You could wake up and find that the peaceful world you are so used to is gone. There are only chaos, destruction, and mass hysteria. So, you start to panic wondering what to do, that is if you are one of those people who never prepared in advance for an emergency situation.

But, if you are a prepper and suddenly you find yourself in SHTF situation, at least you have an idea of what to do. Your mind immediately shifts to survival mode and you know that you have to do whatever it takes to protect your family and your stockpile.

Chances are that if your neighbors or friends know that you were a prepper, they are likely to come to you for help in case of an SHTF situation. Others, however, may take a whole different approach and may choose to literally come and steal from you.

When things go bad, you will be surprised just what people would do to survive or escape a situation. This is why it is crucial that you learn techniques that will be useful to you in the case of an SHTF situation like making your own pepper spray.

What precautions and protective gear is needed in the process?

Okay! First things first. Before you dive into making your own pepper spray, you need to take some precautionary measures.

First, if you are asthmatic or you have breathing problems, get someone else like a friend, relative, colleague or neighbor, who does not have breathing difficulties to help you make the pepper spray.

Secondly, you will want to wear gloves, since you will be handling very hot peppers because if by mistake you touch your skin or rub your eyes, you will experience a burning sensation, which can be very uncomfortable.  It may also be a good idea to wear goggles and a respiratory mask. 

What are the ingredients needed for home made pepper spray?

Making home made pepper spray based on chili is actually a quite easy process.

To get started, you need some hot chili peppers and a spray container. Keep in mind that the hotter the peppers, the more effective your pepper spray will be. Other items you will need include vinegar or alcohol, baby oil, and garlic.

How to prepare chili for pepper spray?

The first thing you should do is prepare your chili peppers. If you are using fresh chili peppers, you need to dry them first. There are various ways of drying chili peppers.  Some methods are slow and others are fast.

The fastest ways to dry chili peppers is by oven-drying or dehydrating them using a dehydrator. Oven drying takes a couple of hours and you will need to set your oven to about 100 degrees or so. Just ensure that you are baking them at low heat.

Using a dehydrator is a much simpler way of drying peppers because it does not require much effort. You just need to pop the peppers in the dehydrator, leave them there overnight, and by morning, they will be dry.

Sun-drying peppers are the slowest method of drying chili peppers. It can take weeks before the chili peppers are completely dry. But, if you are in a place where there is no oven and you do not have a dehydrator, this is the best way to do it.

How to mix ingredients?

Once your chili peppers are dry, you can either blend them or grind them, whichever method you use, just make sure that they are finely ground. The next step is to blend or grind some garlic, you may use powdered garlic instead; it works just as well.

Mix the garlic with the chili peppers and then pour in some baby oil. Mix the ingredients well, then add some vinegar or alcohol. You want to make sure that you do not splash the solution on yourself, so handle it with care. Pour out your pepper solution into a container and leave it overnight in a cool place. This increases its effectiveness.

The reason for adding baby oil is so that it can stick to the clothes and face better. The vinegar or alcohol preserves the pepper spray.

How to use home made pepper spray?

The following day, transfer your pepper solution into your spray container. Use a strainer to filter out the seeds and another residue, and a funnel to facilitate the transfer. Then store your pepper spray in the fridge or in a cool storage area. Always make sure that the container is leak free and it closes tightly. The last thing you want is pepper spray leaking all over your bag or purse.

You may want to test your pepper spray to see if it is effective. You can test it on a friend or relative, who is willing to volunteer or simply test it on yourself.

Final thoughts

You should not feel very disappointed if your pepper spray does not have the kind of punch as the commercial ones, but if you use super-hot peppers, it will be extremely effective. Adding ingredients, such as black pepper, lemon, and bleach will make your pepper spray more potent.

Make sure that the size of your spray container can fit in a bag or purse. You also want to find a spray container that has a range of 10 to 15 feet. The delivery system and the pressure of your spray container will determine just how far or close you need to be near your assailant for it to be effective without affecting you.

Lastly, shake your pepper spray regularly to maintain the effectiveness of the mixture.

Watch the video below how to make homemade pepper spray

Read more about survival guns and weapons and find other interesting articles for preppers from the main page. Check also our article about DIY weapons you can make at home.

Have you tried home made pepper spray? Please leave your questions and comments below!