I was wondering if chili peppers (small hot red ones) lose their sting
if they're laid out in the sun. I wanted to use them to discourage
insects in my organic garden, drying and crushing them would make it
easier to spread around where I need them, but I don't want to do that
if it impedes their effectiveness. Another thought is to soak them in
water or alcohol then spray the liquid but I don't think I could ever
extract the active ingredient in them altogether that way, whereas
with crushing nothing would be wasted provided the process of drying
doesn't waste away the active ingredient.

Ian