Why does my wasp and hornet spray say it's nonconducting and give dielectric breakdown voltage?

Question

What does electricity have to do with this can of insecticide?

Answer 1

Lets say the wasp nest is inside the electrical panel!!

Thats why

I've seen them inside underground vaults and transformers...

Answer 2

Wasps and hornets have a habit to form nests inside the crevices or holes in wood or rocks or walls. Any holes or gaps on the sides of electrical panels in the walls provide them the ideal site for nesting and hiding.

Some wasps do build a nest singly and they have a small nest with 4-5 eggs or chambers in a row in small round cavities like that in bamboo. They find the plug pin socket cavities which are left open and not used as ideal for nesting.

So if the nests are closer to the electric supply lines, then your anti wasp spray should be insulating in nature and should not short circuit the electric supply.

Hence the spray gives the dielectric constant ( the resistive power to remain insulative till the mentioned voltage is reached).

The dielectric voltage is one above  which an insulating substance becomes electrical conductor.

Hence...

Answer 3

I assume that is to reassure someone who has a wasp nest near an electrical fixture or in and around wiring.  

Dielectric is a fancy name for "insulator", and the breakdown voltage would refer to what level of voltage it is able to withstand before it breaks down and becomes conductive.   Really important around high voltage wiring such as might be found on a utility pole upstream of a transformer.

Answer 4

Let's say you are a power line worker and up a pole or on a boom.  Do you think you'd want to know that when you happen into a wasp nest?