A U.S. Forest Service scientist is conducting some interesting native plant research on Missoula’s hillsides. According to a story by the Missoulian’s Martin Kidston, with photos by Michael Gallacher, Dean Pearson is trying to deter mice from eating native plant seeds using a powder derived from hot chile peppers.

It’s not just any chile pepper, though – it’s the bhut jolokia, aka “ghost chile,” at one time declared the hottest pepper of all by Guinness World Records.

According to Kidston’s story:

One man who ate a bhut jolokia pepper on a dare allegedly spent hours vomiting, sweating and hallucinating. Pearson said such reactions to the pepper pertain to mice and men alike, along with all other mammals, making it an effective deterrent.

There are numerous videos of people attempting to eat the chile. Read the full story here.