Have you ever wondered how a dryer sheet made its way into your mailbox? As it turns out, there is an explanation for it.
The trick is one used by postal workers in order to protect themselves from wasps! Who would’ve thought this would be an actual thing?
The dangers of yellow-jacket or wasp stings are a real hassle that often plagues many postal workers. These hardworking employees spend their days sticking their hands and arms into many outdoor boxes which can sometimes be prime real estate for wasps looking to make their nest. Therefore, if a mail carrier sticks their hand into the wrong post box, it could result in disaster.
Fortunately, it seems there is a solution to this problem, and one mail carrier took to Reddit in order to share the secret of the dryer sheet solution.
In the post they explained:
“I can’t tell you how many times, especially during this part of the year, where I’ve opened up a box to see a little nest with three to five yellow jackets just chillin [sic]. If I’m really unlucky, they will have made their nest at the very back of the box so I wind up sticking my hand in not knowing they are there…Getting to my point. We’ve found that they hate scented dryer sheets.
If we encounter a box that is a problem for nests, we’ll often put one in there and it does the trick.
So please, if you one day randomly see a dryer sheet at the back of your mailbox, just know that your carrier more than likely put it there to deter these Satanic creatures from building their home in it.”
Surprisingly, there were many other Redditors who took to the comment section to agree. In fact, it seems that the entire consensus is that dryer sheets make great wasp deterrents.
A few people mentioned that there are some restaurants that will sneak them underneath the table cloths of their outdoor dining areas in order to keep them away. Adding to that, there have been some people who mentioned putting them as lining in their pot plants in order to keep all bugs away in order to encourage healthy plant growth.
Of course, the OP did state that they should be only used as a preventive means rather than a solution to an already established problem. The OP said that if someone notices a wasp or yellow jacket nest that has been built inside a mailbox then it needs to be taken care of by a professional.
What do you think of the dryer sheet trick? Let us know!