http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/world/docs/japan30.htm Published Wednesday, July 1, 1998, in the San Jose Mercury News Hot idea to fight monkeys' munching TOKYO (AP) -- After years of unsuccessful attempts at keeping crop-eating monkeys out of the fields, a Tokyo research team says finally it may have found a solution: red-hot chile peppers. The team has successfully produced a new weapon that shoots chile powder up into the air, irritating the eyes and noses of hapless monkeys that pass in front of carefully placed sensors. ``We've tried electrified wires, fences and all kinds of other preventive measures, but monkeys are smart enough to outwit the tricks,'' Toshiaki Wada, director of the Tokyo Forestry Experiment Station in western Tokyo, said Monday. The monkeys are blamed for pilfering $468,500 worth of produce in 1996. Among the monkeys' favorite vegetables are young horseradish, potatoes, turnips and carrots.